Timeless Erfurt: Discover Germany’s Medieval Jewel

If you are the kind of Indian traveller who likes spotting familiar desi faces on holiday, Erfurt is not the place to look. Tucked deep into Thuringia, the “green heart of Germany,” this city of 2,15,199 people is one of those charming places that rarely finds a mention in itineraries focused on the big-city lure of Munich, Frankfurt, and Berlin. But those who make the detour are rewarded with one of Germany's best-preserved medieval cities.

Unlike Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg and Cologne, Erfurt escaped the large-scale WW2 bombing that devastated Germany's industrial and military centres. Its medieval Altstadt—with its churches, half-timbered houses and winding streets—survived largely intact. After the war, the city became part of East Germany, where decades of limited redevelopment preserved its historic fabric.

When I arrived in Erfurt in mid-June, as part of a press trip organised by the German National Tourism Board, Europe was reeling under one of the most severe heatwaves in its history.

Nothing quite prepares you for the intense sunlight beating down relentlessly, unfiltered through clear skies from dawn till night. But blistering temperatures be damned. I was excited to explore a 1,000-year-old city. Few Indians make it here, and I was going to brave it out no matter what.

It helped immensely that we were staying at the Dorint Hotel am Dom, that is just minutes away from the Domplatz, with key attractions like St Mary's Cathedral and St Severus Church on Domberg Hill and the Petersberg Citadel within walking distance.

Besides, Erfurt is so compact that exploring the city on foot was not as gruelling or exhausting, as it could have been in the heat.

Erfurt’s Unusual History

Erfurt lays claim to some of the most astonishing facts about its past, some of them steeped in the murky cesspits of medieval history.

For instance, in 1184, when King Henry VI convened a royal assembly on the upper floor of Provost's House, near the cathedral on Dom’s Hill, the wooden floor gave way, sending the congregation of noblemen plunging into a latrine pit full of sewage beneath the building. Many drowned, while others were killed by the fall or falling debris. The incident is called the Erfurter Latrinensturz (Erfurt Latrine Disaster).

I looked for remains of the Provost’s House atop Cathedral Hill, only to learn that nothing of it survives today.

Later, as we explored the 700-year-old Krämerbrücke, or Merchant’s Bridge, Europe’s longest continuously inhabited stone bridge, and Erfurt’s pride and joy, our guide Corinna Köhlert from Erfurt Tourismus let us in on another smelly tale from its colourful past, featuring a blue dye extracted from the Woad (Isatis tinctoria) plant. As we stood in front of Erfurter Blau, a pretty little shop on the bridge that still manufactures and sells woad-dyed products, she informed us that the fermentation process to extract the blue pigment required stale, ammonia-rich urine! “Not urine from animals but urine from men,” she specified. “And with 120 woad traders, you can imagine how the whole town stank. But then, Germans believe that ‘money doesn’t stink’,” she added with a laugh.

Unsavoury though the process was, woad, or "Blue Gold," made Erfurt enormously wealthy during the 14th and 15th centuries, before Indigo usurped its position in the 17th century. Its trade funded landmarks such as the Krämerbrücke, Universität Erfurt, St Mary’s cathedral, and grand houses like the ornate Haus zum Breiten Herd on Fischmarkt square.

If you are looking for a truly medieval experience, I highly recommend a walk up the Krämerbrücke, which feels less like crossing a bridge than strolling through an ancient lane. It spans the river Gera, but you can’t see it because the bridge is lined with 32 tightly packed half-timbered houses that are more than 500 years old. These double as residences and shops selling artisanal handcrafted items such as woad-dyed clothes and accessories, spices, glass artefacts, jewellery, and handmade chocolates. The houses belong to the Erfurt municipality, which has stringent policies about setting up shop here, so you won’t find chain outlets or big brands.

Speaking of chocolates, the delightful Goldhelm Schokoladen Manufaktur at Krämerbrücke 12, is a must-visit. Founded over 25 years ago by Alexander Kühn, it has enough varieties of pralines to make a chocolate junkie go mad. Think fresh artisanal flavours like Cherry Nougat, Blueberry Yoghurt and Pistachio Praline infused with the scents of lemon and bergamot, all ensconced in the finest Peruvian chocolate.

Never have I ever felt as bad about my chocolate allergy as I did on that day, surrounded by delights I couldn’t eat!

Preserved in Time

When you climb up to the top of Citadel Hill, the plateau that houses the grand, star-shaped Petersberg Fortress (Zitadelle Petersberg), you get a sweeping view of Erfurt’s Old Town. I could see the looming spires of the Erfurt Cathedral (St. Mary's), which boasts the Gloriosa (the world's largest free-swinging medieval bell), and the adjacent St. Severus' Church on Domberg Hill, all the way to the tower of St. Giles' Church.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, one of Germany’s most revered literary greats, called Erfurt "Thuringian Rome" (Rom Thüringens). The nickname was inspired by the city's extraordinary skyline of church spires, many of which still dominate Erfurt today. In Medieval times, the city had more than 25 parish churches, monasteries, and chapels packed into the city centre, and, remarkably, most of them are still standing.

But while Erfurt was a centre of great Christian influence, it was also home to one of medieval Europe’s most prosperous Jewish communities, with a history going back to the 11th century. In fact, the Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt was officially inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023.

The UNESCO listing includes the 11th-century Old Synagogue, the medieval Mikveh and the Stone House, together offering one of Europe's most complete pictures of medieval Jewish life.

We walked up to the Old Synagogue, its austere façade giving little hint that it is the oldest surviving synagogue in Central Europe. I was moved as I looked up at the 1,000-year-old edifice, preserved to its roof, that had survived waves of persecution, including the Black Death pogrom of 1349, which wiped out much of Erfurt’s Jewish community.

The Synagogue also functions as a museum and exhibition space, and it famously houses the Erfurt Treasure within its recesses. Discovered in 1998, the magnificent hoard includes more than 3,000 silver coins, gold and silver tableware, jewellery, and a large gold wedding ring that has the words “Mazel Tov” engraved on it. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, but unfortunately, it was closed on the day I visited, so I could only visualise the riches through our guide’s vivid descriptions.

Whispers of Another Age

Erfurt has such an old soul that if you nudge yourself towards the willing suspension of disbelief, you can almost imagine yourself mired in feudal conspiracies, backstabbing lords, and medieval machinations. And as I descended through a series of damp, slippery staircases into the subterranean Horchgänge, or “listening tunnels,” of the Petersberg Citadel, I could picture soldiers sitting in the clammy darkness, their ears pressed to the stone walls, listening for signs of enemy movement.

We were handed torches at the entrance, and as we wound our way down almost 25 feet, lighting our way to avoid a fall, the air felt progressively cooler. Köhlert had told us that the temperatures in the tunnels remain at a constant 10 to 15 degrees centigrade year-round, regardless of the outside temperature.

The underground cavern the tunnels led to was deliciously cool and a much-needed respite from the oppressive heat outside. It has now been reimagined as a wine cellar where one can taste the wines from the Thuringia and Saale-Unstrut regions. I wouldn’t have minded lingering a little, revelling in the lethargy induced by the comfort of the cool air. But Frau Köhlert would have none of it and shepherded us out before the tunnels shut for the day. The way out is a bit of a maze, and if it weren’t for her, this Indian may have still been bumbling about the passages like a claustrophobic earthworm, with just a ghostly soldier or two for company!

What to Eat in Erfurt

If you love your beer, meats and fresh produce, Erfurt has enough options to suit your palate. Try Thuringia’s two “national dishes”: Thüringer Rostbratwurst (grilled sausage in a bread roll with local mustard) and Thüringer Kloesse (fluffy potato dumplings served with roast meat, gravy, or red cabbage). If you want to go the whole hog (forgive the poor pun), try the pork knuckle with sauerkraut and beer at Wirsthaus Christoffel, a medieval-themed restaurant at Michaelisstrasse.