Vegetarier in Deutschland: Essen und mehr: Location Spotlight: Erfurt

German cities love their scale models. Yes indeed.
You're still going to have to take my word that this one is Erfurt's though.

Welcome to Erfurt, the capital of the Free State of Thuringia! Erfurt was founded in its current form in 742, when it was declared a diocese of the Catholic Church. It is home to the third oldest university in Germany (by date of founding, as it was closed for over a hundred years). Some famous residents include Martin Luther (who studied at the university), and Johann Pachelbel (you know that one song that plays at every single graduation ever? The guy who wrote that).

And now, off to some of the sights!

Pronounced: "ahn-gair." You're welcome!

The first up is the "Angermuseum," so called because it sits along the "Anger Square," or old market square (Anger is an old German word for market; it has nothing to do with a particular emotion), and because Germans love compound words. It houses a variety of art, from modern pieces to medieval artifacts. It can be found here, and is immediately noticeable because it has the single brightest exterior of any building in the area.

Also known as "power line central," to me.

This is the where the old market square of Erfurt was. During the Middle Ages, the woad trade (a plant which produces blue dye, also known as the paint that the people that the movie Braveheart portrays would have used), made Erfurt an important trading center for the region. Currently the old market area is pedestrianized, mainly containing shops. To the right hand side of the picture on the left is a large department store called "Anger 1."

I'm not sure why that particular red was all the rage back in
the day.

Next on my tour came the "Hirschgarten," by way of the governor's residence (hopefully I understood the tour guide correctly!). The Hirschgarden (deer park) is directly in front of the building shown on the left, and is a public space for the city. The building shown has been used by the leaders of Thuringia, and for a time, by Napoleon, when he was attempting to work his way across Europe. It was during Napoleon's time that the building was enlarged to its current size.

This is the type of place that ghost stories
come from.

Unfortunately, I don't know much about this particular church, as we were in a bit of a hurry going past, but if you want to see some very old Gothic style architecture, its worth looking into. You pass it heading to the old town hall, coming from the central train station.

It certainly doesn't look like the oldest!

Erfurt's Old Synagogue is the oldest standing synagogue in Europe, ringing in at about 900 years old. It is the current home to the "Erfurt Treasure," a collection of gold coins and items hidden during the time of the bubonic plague. It has survived in part due being put to non-religious use over time.

Our final stop here, less this post turn into a proper travel guide unto itself (and where's the fun in exploring a city then?), is a two for one deal, with St. Mary's Cathedral and St. Severus' Church (the church is the pair of steeples on the right; there really isn't a good way to get both buildings in one picture). St. Mary's is open for visitors during the day, and is home to stunning stained glass windows (hope for a sunny day!). Unfortunately, for the time being, the tower that you see in the middle is currently closed (it would allow you to see over the city) due to construction on the ceiling of the Cathedral.

Well that's it for this time! Good luck exploring the city, and don't forget a camera for all of the old architecture!

For your Amusement: