view from domplatz to marktstraße & allerheiligenkirche.
erfurt - this city conjures up a feeling of nostalgia, it is full of memories and recollections of my younger years, growing up very close to it! i've been there numerous times from the time i was born until my early 20ies, before moving to wiesbaden. while this city now is nostalgic and precious to me, during the time i have lived in thuringia, i haven't always looked so favourably at this city. it was too big for me, too busy, at times it looked devastated and dirty even. looking back now i realize that my teenage self was doing it a big injustice, and over the years more and more wonderful memories have started to re-emerge and i have started to love this city on every rare visit i have made in recent years. i actually now love it so much, that i would even consider moving to this city, which has always been a big no-go for me in the past, preferring the much more idyllic and smaller city of weimar.
erfurt has a medieval city core that is hugely intact to this day with small winding alleys lined with absolutely gorgeous historic timber-framed houses dating back at least 4 centuries, maybe even 5. but also, you can discover new-age architecture as well, art nouveau is equally as numerous as architecture from our current modern timeline. i used to love exploring the city before i headed to my apprenticeship. i always had time to kill because public service from my little village to erfurt was super spotty and i had to head into erfurt basically 2 hours early if i did not want to arrive late at work. my favourite roaming place was the altstadt quarter and andreasviertel, occasionally i ventured out of that area into the 19th century parts of town.
erfurt is quite exciting architecturally, and i get all giddy when i think about taking chances to explore it some more. and especially with my interest in GDR architecture i aim to eventually visit more of these buildings and document them as well. i just realized that i am quite ready to give erfurt a visit once again, and my hopes are high that i will return this year, especially since it's also the year of the federal garden exhibit taking place there. erfurt is well-known for being a center of gardening, as the egapark ( opened in 1961 ) - a garden exhibition area - over a long period of time was very significant during the german democratic republic era. i really want to visit the exhibitions this year, but probably will only get around to it after i have been completely vaccinated. thankfully, the exhibitions last until october, so there's still plenty of time to check it out, right? and hopefully, i will also get to see some parts of the city i haven't quite explored as much, yet! it is still a city i want to reconnect with in the future, especially since i have been so dismissing of it during my childhood and teenage years 😅
so, let me take you on a little walk through erfurt that i made together with my parents.
marktstraße again with allerheiligenkirche. this roman-catholic church was built between the 12th and 14th century and has the highest church spire of the old town with 53 meters height. it also is special in two more ways. it has an irregular layout which is oriented to the two streets passing it by, creating a sort of triangular layout. the second special thing is a modern columbarium installed inside, which is equally dedicated to deceased non-christians and christians, which, in a catholic church, is quite a concession.
erfurt has an extensive and practicable cable car network, which keeps cars out of the tiny and labyrinthine alleys of the old town. i think that's one of the most amazing things about erfurt. in germany there are some nay-sayers that claim that cable cars and the infrastructure are unsightly and dangerous ( looking at you, wiesbaden citizens, who just recently voted against the installation of a cable car network in this city ), but i personally think erfurt demonstrates that the opposite is true. it really keeps the inner city free of congested car traffic and it definitely does not mutilate or disfigure the beauty of the old city. actually, the views are mostly free of ugly parking car lines on each or one side of the street, giving you perfect vision onto the historic architecture in a lot of places. i am pretty sure this would be a very good solution here in wiesbaden, too, as wiesbaden is frequently jammed and has huge traffic problems. having in mind that in the future we all have to dial down on the privilege of owning expensive, huge, combustion engine cars, which wiesbaden is very fond of - it is a self-declared car-loving city, after all - i think that only a cable car system will manage to connect people from a to b in a short amount of time and without creating more exhaust gases. the bus system currently installed is a joke in my eyes, all the buses driving in wiesbaden contribute to the blockages in everyday life ( that, and the constant fall-out of important tangents and bridges - as the doomed salzbachtalbrücke and for the longest time also the schiersteiner brücke are perfect examples ). the time tables of the buses are also infrequent, and certainly not tightly clocked, most of all in the outer districts which are sometimes even completely cut off from any public transport possibility! you see, it makes perfect sense to install a cable car system in wiesbaden, it would solve so many problems, but no, wiesbaden citizens claim it would destroy the beauty of the inner city with all the cables installed and the trains dominating the streets, they say that thousands of trees would have to fall and leave barren streets ( which is not true at all, erfurt also has lots of trees in close proximity to the cable cars! ) and the most important thing to them about the whole thing is of course, they would have to give up driving their expensive cars and being more 'mobile' and visible on the streets ( you know, to show off their cars as a status symbol ). people against the cable car system also complain that the installation of it would create a huge chaos in traffic - but you know what? the recent suspension of the salzbachtalbrücke proves that the city already is in a chaotic condition and the installation of 'environment lanes' for buses and taxis intensified the pressure even more. not to mention that they all want better air quality and less exhaust fumes inside the city, and seeing that the climate crisis really is getting worse these days, creating weather that hugely affects our clime ( recently the devastating flood in north rhine westphalia and rhineland palatinate come to mind ), one would think that creating a system that would serve us better in the long term for a better future, should be on everybody's brain, no? 💁
but...you know, what do i know? i only know that in my time i had to use the public transport in erfurt i have rarely experienced late trains and it mostly went smoothly! the connection from my village 25 kilometers outside of erfurt was waaaaay more difficult to handle, but still better than the connections the city of wiesbaden offers their outer district citizens these days. at least i had like 6 buses throughout the day that would bring me to erfurt and back, whereas wiesbaden doesn't even manage to connect their 10 kilometers and closer outer districts at least two times per hour and even recently gave up a call-system bus offer due to alleged 'sparse demand'.
oh, it's a subject i could talk in length about, and yes, i do own a car, albeit a very small and fuel-efficient one, but i wouldn't mind using the public transit more often again if it wasn't so spotty and sketchy and more efficient. also, i would definitely buy myself an electric car if i knew there were more charging stations everywhere and if they would be a lot less expensive than they are now, but even that infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired, still... it's funny, i wonder how germany wants to manage the EU's official announcement from a few days ago that the petrol engine will have to be gone by 2039, seeing as germans are so attached to their combustion engine cars! not to say that it would create a huge social divide, seeing as electric cars are not even affordable to people who actually really need it to sustain their lives and jobs. a lot of food for the brain, right?
oh, anyway, let's jump back into erfurt's cityscape 😅
walking along the allerheiligenstraße, next to the allerheiligenkirche ( all saints church ), which is situated on the right side.
many streets in erfurt are this small, which obviously contributes to the charm of the city! 1.600 listed buildings can be found all over erfurt, which is a huge amount!
the wonderful timber-framed house on the left is called 'zur löwenburg' ( to the lion castle ) and is assumed to date back to the 1640ies.
also situated in this street is a venue called 'engelsburg' ( angel's castle - the entrance is right next to the allerheiligenkirche ). it is a student community center basically, which offers lots of cultural activities, serving mostly as a concert venue and bar. it is very 'alternative', meaning directed towards more politically left leaning people, and it is a super welcoming institution in erfurt. the original engelsburg ( in which in historic times humanists met for meetings and discussions ) does not exist anymore, though, it was torn down in 1952. what is left of that former building are walls of the ground level and cellars, the rest is basically a courtyard now, framed by other historic structures. i have not taken a photo of the engelsburg, but you can check out their website here or read some more on the wikipedia site.
right on the opposite of the engelsburg is this gorgeous building, the house to the wind mill ( haus zur windmühle ). you can see a tiny wind mill symbol above the entrance. it was built in 1560 and is a wonderful example of the german renaissance style. i especially love the arched main entrance and the beautifully decorated lintels. it was a woad merchant's operating building in the old times, it is now part of the civic music school erfurt.
the gorgeous wooden portal is a master piece of art. the little holes you see to the left and to the right of it, by the way, have a curious purpose: they are called 'bierlöcher' ( beer holes ) and are relicts of the times when this house was also used as a beer bar. they are basically pits deep enough to put in wisps of straw, it indicated that a new keg of beer just had been opened and you were invited to come on in and drink a pint or two.
we're still in the allerheiligenstraße, which has even more cute houses to offer, such as this overgrown one! the house to the colourful lily ( haus zur bunten lilie ) is directly next to the engelsburg ( which is outside the frame on the right ). i think it is also part of the engelsburg complex. unfortunately, no year of construction is passed down to us, but can be determined that it probably was erected during the time the engelsburg was constructed as well ( around 1400 ).
a teeny tiny lane is the waagegasse ( scale lane ). it is super difficult to pass through with a car, though i've seen it happen! it is one of my favourite streets in the old city because of its narrow build! the big gloomy timber-frame house my dad stands in front of is a former warehouse from the 16th or 17th century ( the whole waagegasse consists of these granaries bascially ). they were erected to offer wares that had to be sold under staple right for a few days, before the merchants were allowed to re-load their goods again and continue their routes. inside the house number 2 resides another little venue simply called 'speicher' - readings and small concerts take place here, but you can also just sit down for a coffee and cake in the afternoon, or some drinks and snacks in the evening!
i certainly like the slightly semi-finished look of this particular granary, love the way the bricks in the upper level are visible and of course the uneven infill of the partitions.
the future does not stop in these old streets of erfurt ;) of course in these modern days you will certainly find e-scooters haphazardly deposited in the little alleyways.
this gorgeous lattice house is the backside of one of the granaries, we discovered it by entering through a portal and coming out in the backyard. what i love most about these timber-frame houses are the patterns that were created with the latticework! they are always different ( and probably did have some sort of symbolic meaning to them, too, i think! ) and so you will discover individually charming buildings.
narrow and tight - would you want to ride through with a car or carriage?
erfurt is also a city of tags and graffiti, something that is quite visible and sort of adds a very rustic and raw charm to it.
when modern architecture meets an over 800 years old building! the great weigh house from 1354 was originally even built 14 years prior, but after a pogrom took place in erfurt in 1349 it was destroyed, due to having a jewish owner. in 1717, after having been the city's weigh house for a very long time and a relocation to a bigger weigh house, it was purchased by a high functionary for private use. this gave the house its current baroque look. from 2014 to 2017 the old structure was renovated and enhanced in a beautiful way, showing that modern minimalism goes well together with historic structures! the architecture firm günther was responsible for this housing project, which included a small, narrow house right next to the weigh house ( you can see the narrow roof on the left! ). this house was pretty ruinous, but they managed to preserve it well. another part of the project was the new construction inside the courtyard, it is basically a two-room appartment!
i absolutely adore this little gem, i wouldn't mind living here :D
some details on a different facade in another street. the doorway arch of the modern masters bar is a beautiful example of renaissance art. the house to the black horn on michaelisstraße is from the 15th century and it has a rich history, mainly because it housed a printing press that produced many scripts of martin luther & adam ries!
the sun illuminated the modern masters sign so beautifully, i had to take a photo.
michaelisstraße eventually leads onto the krämerbrücke - one of erfurt's most famous sights. on this bridge - which is one of the very few bridges in europe that are covered with houses - you can find the most perfect little handicraft shops ever. from thuringian food specialties, to tiny independent bookstores, from one-room art galleries to glassblowing & pottery shops, there's definitely something for anyone seeking extraordinary gifts & gimmicks. i passed by this pottery and completely fell in love with these dishes inspired by bauhaus ( which was created because of the 100th birthday of that iconic school of architecture and design that year )! i am actually quite mad at myself that i did not go in and purchase a cup, as these were one of a kind and seem to be out of shop 2 years later 😢
the porcelain manufacture reindel is an institution on the bridge ( who am i kidding, actually every shop on there is! ), existing since the 1980ies ( i think ). they are constantly changing the styles of their product range, the things you see here can't be found in the onlineshop anymore. i also loved the swirly cutlery in the bottom of the window!
walking on the super charming krämerbrücke ( dates back to 1325 ). it is 125 meters long and has a width of 26 meters. on each side of the street tiny houses were installed over time and form an ensemble that is quite original in this world. the bridge spans the breitstrom - a branch of the gera river - erfurt's biggest river. on the eastern end of the bridge you can find one of formerly two churches guarding the entrances of the bridge - the ägidienkirche ( originating in 1110, but this incarnation was completed in 1325 ). the one on the western side was called st. benedict's, it was torn down in 1810 to make room for another house and later on, the nearby rathausbrücke ( city hall bridge ).
another shop on the bridge is one called 'erfurter blau' - which is all about one of erfurt's most famous historic products, one that made erfurt quite rich by producing and trading with it, the plant isatis tinctoria ( commonly known as dyer's weed ). it's most distinctly known for creating a dye called 'indigo', though it wasn't as deeply blue as the original true indigo plant ( it also looks different and blooms yellow instead of pink/purple ). you can purchase anything that has to do with that plant, like dyed fabrics, clothes, books on the 'blue gold', everyday goodies decorated with the image or the actual plant, and much more. they, too, at the time we were visiting, took the chance of making a little more money with the bauhaus celebrations serving as the inspiration for some of their dyed products! the shawls they sold were quite gorgeous - and again... i did miss out on purchasing something. i can't really remember on which day we visited erfurt, but i have the feeling it was on a sunday, and on sundays most shops are closed, so i guess that was the main reason why i haven't gotten to buy anything of the wonderful bauhaus-related things. i probably also wouldn't have gotten a shawl anyways, as it turned out after researching, that they were worth between 180 to 220 euro, which is quite a proud price, i'd say. they were of really lovely quality, though, made out of merino wool and pongé silk, which are very premium-quality fabrics to begin with. if price is not of much concern to you, though, check out their webpage, they still have some of the bauhaus products on offer ( they called the collection blauhaus - very clever 😉 )
thuringia is also well-know for being a state of glassblowing tradition and so it is self-evident that there would be a shop ( glaskunst gutgesell ) on the bridge that sells all kinds of glassblown products!
these cute figurines are well-known throughout germany as they depict famous children show figures! the fox ( herr fuchs ) and the magpie ( frau elster ) and also the duck ( schnatterinchen ) and kobold ( pitti platsch ), are characters from the show 'unser sandmännchen' ( our sandman ) - which in the GDR was a huge deal for every kid! i grew up on that, too, and i am still very fond of it! the show is absolutely charming and the little stories the characters told were always so enticing and comforting, their adventures often close to real life but also sometimes took super fantastic forms. of course there was always something you would learn out of those stories, something that would be essential to life. the creators also managed to keep it fairly propaganda-free, serving kids truths and insights that should be mandatory to society in general. i couldn't recommend the show enough - and i am a true fan of it even to this day!
other figurines are the elephant and the mouse ( from the tv show 'die sendung mit der maus' - which is a show that explains concepts and objects in a child-friendly way - fairly easy to understand and with great enthusiasm ). and the lone dragon you see here is 'tabaluga' - another famous kid's series character, who even made it into the musical scene - german musician and singer peter maffay contributed greatly to the popularity of the little dragon.
right next to the children show figurines are - you guessed it - figurines inspired by bauhaus! the whole bridge was under the bauhaus spell in 2019 ;)
as you can see, most shops were definitely closed, so it most likely was a sunday visit after all. the bridge gives off the most coziest vibe, and when i was a small kid i always dreamed of living on it! of course the krämerbrücke is a tourist magnet, so on most days of the year it is fairly crowded, so it probably isn't that much of nice living, unless you love crowds. what i have always loved about it, though, was the fact that it still maintained its extraordinary handcrafty atmosphere and never adhered to the gentrification trend spreading everywhere. i think the traditional road every merchant on the bridge took is the recipe to their success!
tiny cafes and culinary shops are also part of the bridge environment, serving local specialties! the 'thüringer spezialitätenmarkt' is one of those shops providing all things culinary made in thuringia!
not only is the bridge worth seeing, but also the little details of the houses on it! the sign is telling you that the name of the house is 'zu den störchen' ( to the storks ). in erfurt many houses have names, they historically served as distinguishing features as house numbers weren't a thing in medieval times. house signs were created to also help out people recognize the houses.
a shop window full of gorgeous lamps made out of natural materials. nonwovens is the name of the producer, the creator, sylvia döhler, has her atelier on the bridge a few houses down. these are probably not very cheap, but they sure look like something i'd like to purchase!
sooner or later you are bound to step off the bridge and find yourself back onto the myriads of other charming streets of erfurt's inner city. i don't know why this cafe intrigued me so much that i had to shoot a picture, my guess is, that i just loved the sunny chairs in front of it and some of the dictums displayed in the windows. the kurhaus simone is a hip coffee place not far away from the krämerbrücke on wenigemarkt - a tiny market space that once served local produce, but now has several restaurants and cafes surrounding it, which use the free spaces as their outdoor option.
nobody can be free, as long as not everybody is. - erich mühsam
i think that was the initial detail that lured me into taking a photo of the cafe. erich mühsam was an anarchist poet, publicist and antimilitarist who fought for freedom of humanity, later on he was murdered by the nazis. i used one of his poems for my 'weaving sunshine yarns into autumnal fabric' article a few posts ago and it's quite remarkable that now we encounter him again. probably he might be more close to my heart than i currently know, which means i should check out more of his work, i guess?
reflections in the modern glass facade of a contemporary building directly opposite to the haus zum naumburgischen keller ( house to the nuremberg cellar ) and haus zum güldnen kreuz ( haus to the golden cross ), both buildings that date back to 1370.
this street is actually another bridge over the breitstrom, and situated directly next to the krämerbrücke. it's the rathausbrücke. in the back you can see the modern house with the glass facade mirroring the aforementioned houses. on the right are some of the krämerbrücke houses. the bridge was newly erected between 2015 and 2017, now looking much better than it did before! it is much more inviting and open-spaced and quite effortlessly blends into the historic enviroment.
along the breitstrom river you'll find more pretty buildings, many of them have a direct access to it. if i knew that rivers weren't so volatile, i'd be craving a house purchase so fucking much, but these houses are constantly in danger to get destroyed. there were some floods in the past - and though they were not devastating in a way that it would stop rebuilding and reconstructing, with the climate crisis in mind, this might turn into a more dire problem in the future. which does not keep me from enjoying and admiring places like these nontheless ❤ the white building with the long arched windows is the 'kleine synagoge' ( little synagogue, from 1840 ) - which is now a cultural center that informs you about the jewish community in erfurt during the 19th and 20th century. jews have always been an integral part of the city's history, going back as far as the 11th century! in close vicinity you can also visit the old synagogue ( the oldest still existing synagogue in europe ), which houses the 'erfurter schatz' - a treasure that was hidden nearby the religious building during the 1349 pogroms.
you know i love me some whimsy sculptures! also, aren't these decks over the river absolutely neat? i'd put up some more plants and a cozy seating area for more thorough enjoyment if i was living in these buildings!
the breitstrom into the direction of schlösserbrücke. the island near the street junkersand ( on the left ) is home to lots of ducks, which you can hear clearly whenever you pass it by ;)
on schlösserstraße you will encounter more recent architecture as well, for example this one! it was probably built in the late 1920ies, early 1930ies, though an exact date and the name of the architect is unkown. i always love to find architecture from that era in general, but here it means bauhaus or new objectivity found its way even into a mostly medieval city structure! the rounded bay is a very distinct detail for these styles, but also the strip of windows inside the corner wall.
on fischmarkt you'll encounter a new objectivity gem right next to the historic city hall - it's an administrative building for the sparkasse - a savings bank. it was built between 1934 and 1935 by the architect johannes klass. this building was constructed under the impression of national socialist ideals and propaganda, serving everyone who looked at and entered it a depiction of the nazi's moral concepts. on the front facade you'll see various figures ( six vices ) & reliefs of the 12 zodiac signs that were designed by hans walther ( who seems to not have too tight connections to the nazi regime ). he was scarred by the experience of the first world war and often abstained from using any weapons or violence in his work, which the nazis did not really approve of, but he still was able to work under their government, though they did tear down one of his monuments. it also seems he was a kindred spirit to ernst barlach, another sculptor that wasn't liked be the nazis either. so it's quite remarkable that he worked on this project, which propagated industriousness, connectivity to homeland and tradition and the faulty idealization of a proper german family. some freskos inside painted by luise klempt were definitely promoting that, and not in a general kind of way, there's no doubt it was intented due to the 'art within architecture' order that was exclaimed by leading politicians who of course followed a doctrine here. anyway, to not completely stomp this building into the ground, it's still an interesting one and thank goodness the glorifications of nazi doctrines are not visible anymore.
getting a closer look at the vice sculptures. the one on the right is supposed to be foolishness, the one in the middle laziness and the woman on the left is ( of course - big eyeroll ) vanity.
i did quite develop a liking to miss vanity, though, as she was the only woman within the 6 vices. i absolutely adore the depiction of a 1930ies woman, it's so rare to see sculptures from that era showcasing them in the attire they actually wore in these times.
directly next to the sparkasse is the neo-gothic city hall of erfurt from the 1870ies, an artful and splendid building dominating the fischmarkt. the city hall has always stood in this place, probably even before 1275 when a town hall was first mentioned. before 1830 the city hall was fairly medieval in appearance, but someone decided to tear it down, labeling it derelict, even though the damage only was a leaking roof. the demolition was widely protested, but it did not help the final endgame. an architect called theodor sommer finally erected the neo-gothic 'monstrosity', which would end up being one of erfurt's most beloved buildings. it is quite beautiful, that is for sure, as you will see further down this post.
... but before we reach that image, here's a last picture of one part of the sparkasse building.
also on the fischmarkt is this absolutely breath-taking renaissance house 'zum breiten herd' ( to the wide hearth, built in 1584 ). this house was even visited by napoleon in 1808! the rich decorations were created by hans friedemann, the old, and the portrayals seen in the first level of the house, depicting the 5 senses of humans, were designed after templates provided by frans floris, an artist from antwerp.
looking back towards the city hall and the sparkasse. from here you can finally see the splendidness that make the city hall so beloved. also, do you think the cable car tracks and cables distract from the view? because i surely don't think so 😜 there's even a cable car coming around the corner and i didn't even notice it at first while looking at the picture!
our path led us back to the domplatz, where i did not have eyes for either the erfurt cathedral nor the adjoined church st. severus. ( i did cover both these churches here and several more times, though i have to admit i never quite dived deeper into the fabric of them! surely need to remedy that in the future! ) instead, i fell in love with the art nouveau house to the tall red bottle ( zur großen roten flasche, from 1906 by carl haddenbrock ). it housed the very first cinema in erfurt, which also opened in 1906! talk about buildings not having any interesting history! this surely had one!
the memorial & education center andreasstraße, a former prison that held convicted people from 5 political system, starting during the emperor's empire, weimar republic, national socialism, GDR and, for a few years after the fall of the wall, the federal republic. in this museum you can mainly learn about the unjust practices of the justice system during the GDR era, it was infamous for being one of the main prisons for political dissidents in thuringia. it is also a place of civil disobedience in 1989, where a group of people occupied the prison to stop the stasi ( GDR's state security ) from destroying important evidence and the files of formerly imprisoned people, after the berlin wall came down. i haven't been inside yet, but would really like to someday, i think its always important to learn about historic wrongdoings, lest you start to idealize and trivialize a time that wasn't at all as rosy as some people make it out to be.
the prison was built between 1874 and 1876 and served as one until 2002, after which it was set up to be a memorial and educational center. in the courtyard, you can also find the 'cube of the peaceful revolution' which tells you all about the happenings around the collapse of the GDR, and especially what happened in this prison.
the cube was designed in 2012 by the architecture office stadermann and the art on the glass facade was created by simon schwartz. the art depicts several scenes from the time during the peaceful revolution, as inspiration for this the artist took several photos from that happening and created a total work of art. the banner says: no violence!
next, we made our way into the little city quarter of andreasviertel, which is mainly a living quarter divided into small sections, covered with small houses, often medieval, but also sometimes with modern ones. strolling through the alleys here is always very calming, as it is quiet and peaceful. occasionally you'll find teeth hanging around ( this one indicates a resident dentist :P ).
the house of the dentist! a little overgrown dream!
the andreasviertel has always been a living place for 'simple' people, for artisans and craftsmen. that's why you don't find a lot of those stately big buildings you can find in other parts of the old city. small and narrow houses line the equally small and narrow streets, and everything still gives off that unpretentious and unsophisticated vibe, while still looking like you are walking through a dollhouse quarter!
in the GDR era the whole quarter was almost torn down completely, the government wanted to build a four-lane street. thankfully, these plans were warded off and we get to enjoy this special quarter to this day! during my apprenticeship in erfurt, i LOVED to stroll through the streets of the andreasviertel, admiring the little houses and imagining how it would feel like to live in one.
not only do you find medieval houses in the andreasviertel, you can also ogle at wonderful modern architecture ❤! what looks like it could be a bauhaus structure turns out to have been built in 2003 ( house d by deckermesterarchitects ).
a very classicist green house was just around the corner. it's called 'haus zur güldenen tuchschere' ( house to the golden textile scissor ). it probably belonged to a well-off weaver once. for many houses in the quarter, it is not clear when they were built. as an ensemble, though, most of the andreasviertel ( which was first set up about 1000 years ago ) is a listed monument.
a beautiful green and red entrance! love the cotoneaster framing the door!
the modern houses are also part of the monument list, they all are very special in their design! the colours of this house reminded me again of bauhaus ( bauhaus' most prominent colours are primary, so red and blue - and very often also yellow - are signature colours ). unfortunately i could not find the architect to this gem and when it was built.
i loved the chubby woman in the lower corner next to the door! so sneaky!
the bell tower of andreaskirche, most iconic church in the quarter! this protestant church is sitting at a prominent place, right next to andreasstraße, and basically builts an entree to the quarter. it dates back to 1216, though it has been altered several times throughout the centuries. inside you can find a wooden model of a memorial that was dedicated to martin luther, it is said to be the oldest existing memorial for this famous man. it was created by a local bronze founder in 1548.
the southern main portal has a crucifixion group above it from 1370, the sculptures next to it are probably from the same era.
back in the streets of andreasviertel, discovering more bright and colourful homes! this house is actually a modern one, only the facade is historic! i think it was realized in 2002, the architects who reconstructed it are goedeke.raschke.
a cute house front with a dancer in the window.
random scrap metal insect i found in one of the streets. unfortunately i forgot who created it and i was unable to find out more about it 😅
it is always quite worthwhile to focus on the details of these old houses, chances are good that you will find some peculiar ones! this little badge shows an angry looking dude who exclaims: he, you can tell him, he can lick my ass. it's a statement that johann wolfgang von goethe put into the mouth of the hero of his drama götz von berlichingen, the kight with the iron hand. basically, it's proof that mooning someone has been a thing that goes way back historically. in this case, götz von berlichingen showed disrespect to the emperor who put him under the ban of the empire and it is said that he, upon getting these news, said that the emperor could 'as well lick his behind then', which was then rewritten by goethe for his drama. it is a euphemism that is now very common in german parlance.
a yellow cute house ( called 'house to the red bottle )...
... that stood inside a street ( glockengasse ) with a whole lot more colourful houses! the wide variety of colours you can find in the andreasviertel is one of its main attractive features! the red house was the house with the badge with götz von berlichingen on, it is also called 'house to the yellow lion'.
view into a different corner of the glockengasse ( bell alley ) where you can also find contemporary architecture as well!
one of the biggest and most impressive buildings in the andreasviertel is the 'kornhofspeicher' ( grain court granary ). today it is used as a parking garage for the local residents as parking spaces are close to impossible within the tight streets of the quarter. the building is over 600 years old, a dinosaur of erfurt architecture!
the granary was built on the site of a former jewish cemetery in the years between 1465 to 1467. it functioned as a depository for interest yielding grains.
the street andreasstraße is the western boundary of the quarter and it boasts some bigger buildings such as this yellow beauty, which was an industrial building before it was turned into a senior citizen center. i could not dig up much else about this building!
some of the houses on andreasstraße are heavily decorated with fashionable details from wilhelminian times. i loved this horse meets beer drinking baby situation! the house itself was built in 1897, and though there is not much info on it on the web i am convinced that this building might have been built for a brewing company. on different parts of the house were some banners that indicated that there were beer lovers once living inside this home. 2 slogans are most telltale: hopfen & malz, gott erhalt's. malz & hopfen gibt gute tropfen. ( hops and malt, god may preserve. malt and hops grant good drops. )
a random late november fall leaf situation, beautifully illuminated by the sun.
we climbed up to the petersberg citadel, from which you can have a fantastic view on erfurt. the citadel is another major sight of the city ( i have written about it in a post from july 2020 - i can't believe i haven't gotten over the 2019 mark yet since then, how slow am i? ). i love walking over the bastion walls and taking in the views, i think they are the best views you can get of erfurt. the image here shows you a residence building of the 'deutsche telekom', which is situated in a former GDR high-rise ( now of course improved to a contempary trendy design ). the andreasviertel is behind that building, as well as the hanseviertel, johannesvorstadt and eventually some of the many wind wheels that surround erfurt in every direction.
view over the roofs of the andreasviertel. you can see the long-stretched roof of the medieval granary from earlier, and on the right corner of the image, the building with the little turret, is the current police department of the state of thuringia. on the left, the high-rise & and low-rise building of the telekom concern.
part of the petersberg citadel is a building that's always been rather decrepit, the defense barrack which was built between 1828 and 1831 and it's been a ruin since i can remember. i hear, that for this year's federal garden exhibit, which takes place in erfurt, they have revived these ruins a bit and turned some parts into artist residences. i have to say, i am itching to visit the exhibit, but for now, i wasn't able to make time for it, yet. it is running until mid-october, so time is slowly trickling off, but i sure hope i will be able to visit it this year.
anyway, when we were giving the barrack a visit i discovered some street art on the slow genocide of the indigenous population in latin america.
100thousand dead
without name the silent war
without grave the
bewitched & raped genocide in
humans of the world latin america.
i think, the impulse to this message was the genocide in guatemala, which is still denied to this day ( especially by the 'guatemalan elite' ) and is still concerning the country's politics today.
i actually did not have a lot of knowledge on the whole issue, but i think the wikipedia page is super helpful in understanding it. when it comes to the art and the symbols depicted here, i can't comment on that, because my grasp is quite minimal on this subject.
hidden behind big citadel walls, the glashütte ( glass hut ). it was built in 2000 by KLP architects. it's a restaurant!
view towards st. severi church ( front ) and erfurt cathedral ( back ) from peter's ravelin - an outwork of the citadel grounds.
concluding this erfurt extravaganza with a rather simple picture of beautiful birch tree foliage!
phew, that was a long one, right? i hope you enjoyed it a little bit!
until next time, stay curious!
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