Erfurt, Gotha and Bach House

In the morning we traveled to the capital of Thuringia by train. In Erfurt, we didn't have much time, so we decided to take a guided city tour to see the most important places in the city.

First, we saw one of the most beautiful squares in the city: the fish market. There are various Renaissance houses, such as 'Zum Roten Ochsen' from 1562. Our tour guide pointed out the 'Gaffköppe' above the windows, which observed the hustle and bustle on the square.

At this house, they show very different expressions. One of the heads even underwent a special medical procedure during the last restoration a few years ago: previously he had crossed eyes, but now his eyes have been corrected and he looks straight at the market.

At the Domplatz we saw two large churches side by side: the Dom and St.-Severi. Both were originally small chapels that were gradually expanded until the mountain became crowded.

The Mainz Archbishop wanted to demonstrate his power with the construction of the cathedral, while the Erfurt citizens opposed it by building St.-Severi.

Before the tour, we had time to see the interiors of both churches.

Right in front of the cathedral, a stage with seats and social distancing was set up on the cathedral stairs. The cathedral festival actually takes place in the summer, although not with the originally planned performance of Nabucco, but with various musical performances.

Erfurt was once a wealthy city and was hardly destroyed in the war. That's why many old houses can still be admired today.

Part of the wealth Erfurt owed to the production of blue dye from the woad plant: it was collected and then treated in basins with water and urine for a long time to extract the dye. That's why it was probably displaced by the easier-to-process indigo from India. Today, cultural events take place in the old woad warehouse.

Erfurt was also a city shaped by trade. The merchants had to drive through narrow streets to the merchants' warehouses. Even today, you can still see the scratch marks left by less skilled wagon drivers.

A bit further away, we saw the old synagogue, which is the oldest surviving synagogue in Central Europe. It was probably built in the 11th century, but only served as a synagogue until 1349. That year, as a result of the plague epidemic, all Jews in Erfurt were murdered.

Today, it houses the 'Erfurt Treasure', which was found about 20 years ago during construction work. It consists of numerous valuables belonging to a murdered Jew, who had buried them to protect them.

At the Christoffel inn, we learned about the function of a 'Bierloch' (beer hole). In medieval cities, many houses had the right to brew beer. To let everyone know where fresh beer was available, there were three possibilities:

1. It was announced during Sunday church service.

2. The beer crier walking through the streets announced it.

3. You could tell by the beer hole, which was filled with fresh straw when there was freshly brewed beer.

In Erfurt, you can also find traces of Luther: he lived in the Augustinian monastery of the city as a monk after abandoning his law studies at the university.

Finally, we arrived at the Krämerbrücke, which has been built with houses since the 12th century. Previous buildings were destroyed by fires, and the current buildings probably date back to the 17th-19th centuries.

When you're on the bridge, you no longer realize that you're above the water: it looks like a normal alley with houses on both sides.

As our tour guide praised Gotha highly, we left Erfurt past the city museum and Anger and made our way to the train station to spend some time in the former residence city of Gotha.

While Erfurt impressed us and had impressive buildings, we were disappointed with Gotha as the city resembled a construction site and many places were closed. Therefore, in the afternoon, we went to the Bach House in Eisenach.

In the (supposed?) birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach, there is now an extensive exhibition about his life and work.

In addition to historic rooms, there is also a modern section with audio samples and information about the reception history.

The highlight of our visit there was a small concert with explanations on historical Baroque instruments.