Tag Archives: Germany

Making Tracks to Dinner on the Diner

From tea in a British buffet car, to luxury dining on the Trans-Siberian Express, eating on trains can be a true culinary adventure.

By Sharon Hudgins
Photos by the author

I grew up riding trains across America just before the era of classic passenger service ended on the railroads and before Amtrak was a gleam in the government’s eye. Later I rode trains all over Europe from northern Scotland to central Italy, from the coast of France to the plains of Hungary. And in Russia I’ve logged nearly 40,000 miles on the legendary Trans-Siberian Railroad, crossing the continents of Europe and Asia between Moscow and Vladivostok several times.

That’s also a lot of dining on trains, snacking on railroad station platforms and eating at station buffets.

DINING ON BRITISH TRAINS
I remember riding first class on British Rail across England and Scotland many years ago, when smartly uniformed stewards served tea in your private train compartment, first spreading a starched white cloth on the little table under the window, then pouring the hot brown brew from a silver-plated teapot into a porcelain cup (with milk added first or last depending on where you stand on that contentious issue). A small plate of sweet biscuits (cookies, in American English) always accompanied the tea. What a civilized way to spend a morning or afternoon, sipping tea, nibbling on biscuits, and watching the British countryside roll by outside the window.

Morning coffee and afternoon tea were included in the price of the ticket. But like many travelers on trains all over the world, I often chose to save money on meals by purchasing food from station vendors to eat on the train. Once in a while, however, I’d splurge on a meal in the dining car, luxuriating in the “white-tablecloth service” and the selection of foods that were so different from those I’d eaten on American trains.

(left) Conductor on the Cheltenham Flyer, historic steam train of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire line of the British Great Western Railway.

Traditional English pork pie from the buffet aboard the Cheltenham Flyer

Alas, in 2011 contemporary trains in Britain did away with the last of their full-service dining cars, replacing them with airline-type meals served at the seats of first-class passengers and microwaved snacks sold in the buffet car for everyone else. But there’s hope for the future: In 2013 the First Great Western Railway re-introduced full-service “Pullman dining,” with fine wines and locally-sourced foods, on the UK’s only remaining regularly scheduled train with a real restaurant car. But, strangely, the dining services don’t operate on weekends or public holidays!

Restored 1950s-era buffet saloon car on the Cheltenham Flyer

However, special tourist trains in Britain, including many historic trains, still provide a range of enjoyable culinary experiences. Recently I traveled through England’s lovely Cotswolds countryside on the historic Cheltenham Flyer, a 1930s-era steam train that chugs along the Gloucestershire Warwickshire branch of the Great Western Railway, which has been operating trains in western England since 1838. The train included a restored 1950s “buffet saloon car” whose menu offered Scotch eggs, pork pies, bacon rolls, homemade flapjacks and homemade cakes, along with a range of hot and cold drinks, alcoholic and non-. At certain times of the year, the historic trains running on these rails also offer special culinary tours, from Fish & Chips Specials to Ale & Steam Weekends (sampling 24 real English ales) to Luxury Pullman Style Dining Experiences with multi-course meals served on china plates, accompanied by wines poured into crystal glasses.

CONTINENTAL RAILROAD DINING
The railroad dining experience on the European continent varies from country to country, type of train, and distance of travel. Some local trains have no dining facilities at all. Others have only a small snack bar or buffet, or vendors who come through the train with a cart stacked with packaged foods and canned drinks. Some have a full-service dining car, with a menu featuring multi-course meals and a selection of wines. If fine food and white-tablecloth dining are an important to you on a rail journey, then you need to seek out the trains that have a separate dining car and well rated menus.

For the ultimate in Old World luxury train travel (and dining), book a journey on the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, a modern revival of that classic train, which operates several tours of different lengths between London and Istanbul. The trains also feature three beautifully restored dining cars from the 1920s, with haute cuisine to match. Wear period dress to dinner, and you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time into an Agatha Christie novel.

Who could resist the special Swiss Chocolate Train that takes you on a day trip to a cheese-making factory, Gruyères Castle, and the Cailler-Nestlé Chocolate Factory in Broc for cheese and chocolate tastings at those stops? Travel in a vintage Pullman Belle Epoque-era train car or in a sleek, ultramodern panoramic car with large windows for viewing the Swiss Alps, the vineyards surrounding Montreux and the medieval town of Gruyères along the route. Bring along a shopping bag and leave your calorie counter behind.

Don’t overlook the foods to be found inside train stations, too. If you don’t want to spend big bucks to travel on a luxury train but you still like to eat well, you’ll find plenty of choices at many of Europe’s train stations, particularly those in the larger cities. I’ve been especially impressed with the train station buffets and take-out selections at major Swiss, German and French stations, as well as those in capital cities such as Budapest and Madrid. But for the ultimate in elegant, nostalgic, train-station dining, don’t miss the beautifully restored Le Train Bleu (The Blue Train) restaurant in Paris’s Gare de Lyon—a Belle Epoque-style restaurant with a pricey French menu and a gorgeous decor to match.

DINING ACROSS CONTINENTS
Finally, for the travel adventure of a lifetime, board the British-owned, Russian-operated Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express whose route covers nearly 6,000 miles between Moscow and Vladivostok. Almost half that distance is on the European side of Russia, from Moscow to Kazan to the Ural Mountains. Each comfortable cabin on this luxury train has its own private bathroom. And three times a day, professional chefs in the a fully equipped kitchen car turn out freshly cooked meals featuring regional specialties, all served in an elegant dining car designed to evoke the Golden Age of train travel. During the 12-day journey across Europe and Asia, the menu is different at every meal except breakfast. On this longest train trip on earth, you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the best of Russian cuisine and international wines while watching the fascinating changes of scenery outside the dining car windows.

So wherever you travel by train in Europe, enjoy the experience of dining on (and off) the diner. It’s a great way to taste a wide variety of regional foods and expand your culinary and geographic horizons at the same time.

For more information see:

Enjoy Coffee in Leipzig: Hot, Strong and Sweet

Photos courtesy Leipzig Tourism and Marketing

Coffee and Leipzig, Germany are inseparable. It was in the Saxon metropolis where the first palm court musicians of Germany entertained their guests: Georg Philipp Telemann made music in the coffee shops at the Market Square together with the collegium musicum, founded in 1701.

For more than two decades Johann Sebastian Bach visited the Zimmermannsche Kaffeehaus on Katharinenstrasse twice a week. His Coffee Cantata is seen as the highlight of Saxon palm court music of the 18th century. The lyrics had been written by the Leipzig poet Christian Friedrich Henrici (pen name Picander) in 1732.

Even the canon “C-a-f-f-e-e” was invented in the coffee country of Saxony. The composer was a concerned music teacher from Zittau, who wrote the song to warn his pupils of the harmful effects of the “brown Turkish drink.”

Coffee beans from Ethiopia

In the first half of the 18th century, while in other places canon balls were cast, Leipzig became the most important place of coffee mill production. After the first load of coffee beans arrived in Leipzig in 1693, more and more coffee shops began to open.

Consequently, Europe’s oldest coffee shop (after the Café Procope in Paris) is in Leipzig. Adam Heinrich Schütze opened the Baroque Coffe Baum on Kleine Fleischergasse 4 in 1694 and sold the first coffee drink.

In the course of the following three centuries this became the place where the intellectual elite of the city met to enjoy the popular drink. Among the guests there was the literature professor Johann Christoph Gottsched, the painter Max Klinger, the poet E. T. A. Hoffmann and the composer Richard Wagner. Also Goethe, Lessing, Bach and Grieg were often here. In a room in the ground-floor (now the Schumann Room) Robert Schumann regularly met his circle of friends between 1828 and 1844. Even revolutionaries like Robert Blum, Karl Liebknecht and August Bebel established their “second living-room” here. In 1990 Helmut Kohl and Lothar de Maizière discussed the possibilities of German unification in this place.

The sandstone relief above the entrance to Coffe Baum is famous. A Turk with a big coffee is proffering a cup of coffee to a cherub. This symbolizes the encounter of Christian occident with Islamic orient. August the Strong is said to have donated of this relief in 1720 in gratitude for amorous services provided by the landlady.

On the third floor there is the coffee museum—one of the most important worldwide. In 15 rooms more than 500 selected exhibits from 300 years of Saxon coffee and cultural history are presented. Among the table roasters and coffee mills from different epochs, a high-tech sample roaster is an attraction for visitors.

Real bean coffee and original Meissen porcelain have always been the most outstanding identification marks of the “Coffee-Saxons,” who received their nickname from Frederic the Great during the Seven Years War. The lack of coffee resulted in a lack of motivation among the Saxon soldiers, and they refused to fight, complaining: “Ohne Gaffee gönn mer nich gämpfn,” which means in English, ” No coffee, no fighting!” The insulting remark of the Prussian monarch, who called them “Coffee Saxons,” did not disturb them in the least, as feasting on cake and coffee suited their taste much better than fighting on Europe’s battlefields.

But how do people like their coffee in Leipzig? “Siesse muss d’r Coffe sein,” says a Saxon proverbial expression, which means that the coffee must be sweet. When the caffeine drink is too weak the spoiled Coffee Saxons despise it as “Plempe” or “Lorke.”

As in hard times, even coffee fans of the wealthier classes had to count their coffee beans; they served so-called “sword coffee” when they had guests. The concentration of the coffee was so low that the blue swords from the bottom of the Meissen porcelain cups could shimmer through. Since 1729 this is also called Blümchenkaffee”—the coffee is so weak that you can see the little flowers (Blümchen) on the bottom of the cup. An anecdote from the 18th century tells about an economical host who roasted and ground 14 beans for 15 “Schälchen Heessen” (cups of the hot drink).

The basic rule for a good Leipzig cup of coffee could be the following historic statement of Cardinal Talleyrand:

“The coffee must be
As black as the devil
As hot as hell
As pure as an angel
As sweet as love.”

Leipzig’s guests who visit the cafés and coffee shops can confirm his words: coffee is magic, coffee is erotic and coffee is spirit.

Those who would like to learn more about Leipzig’s coffee history can join a two-hour guided city tours under the headline “Ey, wie schmeckt der Coffee süsse…” (“O, how sweet the coffee tastes …”).

For more information, go to: Leipzig Tourism

THE SAXONS AND THEIR COFFEE: BLIEMCH’NGAFFEE AND MUGGEFUKK

The first exhibition of coffee beans was the Leipzig Trade Fair in 1670. Lehmann, Chocolatier to the Royal Polish and Saxon courts, opened the first coffee stall in the marketplace in 1694. In 1719 coffee lovers were flocking to a café in the Kleine Fleischergasse, the “Coffe Baum,” which had been made famous by Robert Schumann.

A quick lesson in the Saxon dialect will aid you in understanding these strange terms.

Bliemch’ngaffee is the dialect form of “Blümchenkaffee,” or “flower coffee”—so-called because it has so much water in it that when the coffee was poured into a traditional Meissen porcelain cup, it was still possible to see the typical floral design on the bottom. You could say it’s a coffee that’s easy on the heart.

Muggefukk—”Moka faut” was the call of French soldiers as Napoleon’s troops entered Leipzig. This was a coffee with malt or large amounts of chicory mixed into it. The phrase “moka faut” was mangled by the Saxons into “Muggefukk.”

Experience Meissen Culture

The Meissen Manufactory in Meissen, Germany, home of the famous Meissen porcelain, should be added to any visit of this German city. Taking a tour of Albrechtsburg Castle, where it all began, is also necessary to learn the origins of this porcelain, followed by a factory tour in town.

At the factory, you can also sign up for special events, such as the two listed below, led by the knowledgeable Beate Debernitz.

TEA, COFFEE AND HOT CHOCOLATE—THE THREE EXOTIC HOT BEVERAGES
Funny and interesting facts about the three exotic hot beverages—tea, coffee and hot chocolate, and about the varied shapes of Meissen tableware are presented in an entertaining manner. Coffee, tea and hot chocolate are served in an appropriate cup of Meissen porcelain, together with a small sweet delicacy. Visitors can enjoy the proverbial Saxon Gemutlichkeit. The tour takes about an hour.

TABLE CULTURE AT MEISSEN
A three-course meal served on famous Meissen porcelain services from three centuries provides pleasant insights into table culture, past and present. Entertaining stories are shared about table culture, table manners and the delights of the table, as well as table arrangements then and now. Duration of the program is approximately two hours.

For more information, go to Meissen.com

All This Country’s Culinary Delights Are There for the Eating…

By Don Heimburger
Photos by the author

Grabbing a “taste” of Germany today doesn’t mean just visiting its Medieval castles like Neuschwanstein or Wartburg Castle, or visiting its thousands of half-timbered buildings such as you’ll find in Wernigerode, Bamberg and Cochem, or being one of the millions who take pictures of the famous Cologne Cathedral.

A “taste” of Germany in 2018 takes on a special meaning: this year Germany’s National Tourist Board officially unlocks its treasure chest of culinary delights as part of its promotion of the country, and there are many appetizing foods to be enjoyed, and 16 federal states in which to enjoy them.

With eight straight years of record growth in tourism, Germany is primed for more tourists in the year ahead who can also appreciate this country’s flavorful foods. In 2017, a total of 83.9 million overnight stays by foreign visitors in establishments with at least 10 beds were recorded, according to Petra Hedorfer, chief executive officer of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB).

The German Tourist Board is trying to get travelers’ attention by saying “Attention foodies: Germany is now open for tasting.” And there are many towns and regions in which to conduct this culinary research, as well as numerous restaurants, wineries, breweries and farms that are eager to show visitors what Germany has to offer.

HANNOVER CURRYWURST
In Hannover you can stop in at an interesting restaurant called the Ständige Vertretung at Friedrichswall 10. The “StäV” as it is named, is not just any cafe, but a political reading book … where the history of political happenings and famous German politicians from past decades can be found on the walls and in photos. But go also for the famous “explosive” currywurst offerings. There’s the German Chancellor Filet “Schröder Art,” the Bundestag Filet, and the Chancellor Tarte, all part of the currywurst menu. All come with spicy sauce.

THE ARISTOCRAT OF VEGETABLES
At Fritz Bormann’s 25-acre asparagus farm near Nienburg in Lower Saxony northeast of Hannover, vast fields of white asparagus (Spargel) covered by large plastic tarps, sit waiting for harvest. In early spring, workers pour into the fine sand-like fields, armed with long, sharp cutting tools and a bucket to pluck the revered savory asparagus stalks from underneath the heaped mounds of dirt.

The “white gold” is then cleaned, graded and quickly delivered to farmstands and markets where it is snapped up by eager eaters. Combined with a hollandaise sauce or hot melted butter, and perhaps a plate of potatoes and pork or ham, the pale, long-stemmed vegetables are a nationwide sensation.

Germany sets aside about 62,000 acres for growing asparagus every year, and it’s estimated the country consumes up to 125,000 tons of it, but some of that is grown in other nearby countries. And nearly every restaurant in the asparagus-growing regions feature Spargel specials on their lunch and dinner menus. The picking season ends promptly on June 24 every year.

If you’re lucky, you can even meet one of the local Spargel queens, like the 2017/2018 queen, Nicole Cybin from Nienburg, or visit the local asparagus museum, part of which is housed in an original 1663 building. The museum displays, among other things, old tools which were once used for harvesting asparagus, dishes and serving plates with asparagus themes painted on them and even molds in the shape of a bunch of asparagus.

ASPARAGUS ROUTE
There’s even an Asparagus Route (Spargelstrasse) which begins in the town of Schwetzingen (it also claims the title of “Asparagus Capital of the World”). When you walk through the city, look for the statue of the Spargelfrau (literally means asparagus woman). The town holds an annual Spargelfest and in 2018 celebrates 350 years as a major Spargel grower.

While you are in Nienburg, be sure to stroll around this fascinating 1,000-year-old village and find the 16th century half-timbered Rathaus built in 1533, as well as the same period St. Martins Church. There are also medieval mansions, other carefully restored half-timbered homes, and a large town center with wide streets. The castle and town of Nienburg were once the residence of the Counts of Hoya, and their tombs can be found in St. Martins Church.

You can also visit the Dobberschuetz Fishery & Smokehouse alongside the banks of the Weser River which flows through the town and get the catch of the day. Eels are their speciality. Get there on a Saturday and enjoy their Saturday fisherman breakfast.

No sleepy little village, Nienberg today has as many as 100 trains a week stop there.

OTHER GERMAN CULINERY DELIGHTS
At the sprawling Rotkäppchen winery in Freyburg, Sekt or sparkling wine is produced, with brothers Moritz and Julius Kloss and a friend establishing a wine store and producing Rotkäppchen champagne as early as 1856. The first 6,000 bottles were bottled in an apartment in the back of the house of the Kloss family.

In the large historic Rotkäppchen building in Freyburg, select grapes are used to make various cuvees, and the brand today is the most successful in Germany, and also holds a 30% international market share. This Sekt takes its name from the unique red cap on its bottles.

Every year the company sponsors a Jungweinprobe, where last years wines are sampled in the courtyard of the Rotkäppchen winery. It’s always a popular and crowded affair with everyone allowed to pour their own glass of wine from a staggering selection. Here, too, you can meet the local Wine Queen, and ask her which cuvees she prefers. In 2017/2018 the reigning queen was Juliana Beer, 22. Not just a queen in name only, she enjoys the aged wines, and can explain the nuances of wine growing and wine-making.

The Rotkäppchen winery boasts one of the largest storage barrels in Germany (from 1856) which can hold 160,000 bottles of wine. And you can also enjoy a great German meal as you sit near the giant wooden barrel and try to figure out how they made such an elaborate wooden vessel.

WEINGUT PAWIS IS A STANDOUT
Also in Freyburg, Weingut Pawis is a standout winery housed in a renovated stone building. As a 10-year-old boy, Bernard Pawis didn’t have much luck with a hoe in his father’s vineyard. But when he learned the wine profession in Radebeul years later, he was on his way to gaining national recognition with his wine production.

Taking over from his father in 1998, he constructed a new wine cellar and later rebuilt an old horse stable into a modern, welcoming and innovative winery with 30 acres of vineyards.

The family produces a number of wine varieties, including Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Riesling, Bacchus, Kerner, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, Portuguese, Dornfelder, Pinot Noir and Regent.

Their unique operating philosophy includes sustainable economics, conscious handling of nature, respecting the soil and the vine as their most important commodity, and they work according to environmentally friendly cultivation methods.

The innovative Pawises offer wine tastings, art exhibitions, guided vineyard tours, champagne receptions, a Christmas market, and even a lookout tower on the historic estate.

BLUEBERRY HEAVEN
At Bickbeernhof, you’ll find just about every conceivable way to serve blueberries that you can think of. Owner Sylke Herse has already done the planting, growing, and the packaging for you, and draws upwards of 1,000 visitors a day to her blueberry world in Landesbergen. “Very busy, very organized. Long wait lines at peak times, but worth it. Big juicy blueberries. Every year a must!” are the typical comments from customers.

Blueberry fields are located right behind the processing plant and company store, and there is a wide variety of blueberry-made products offered in the gift shop including blueberry wines, jams, juices, books about blueberries and much more. In their restaurant, customers can order salads with blueberry dressing, blueberry marmalade blueberry pudding, blueberry smoothies and many other blueberry delicacies.

BORN FAMILY VINEYARD
Motorcycle-riding Jochen Born and the small Born Family Weingut in Höhnstedt, located near the famous Luther Walking Trail, produces a variety of wines from its mostly “vertical” vineyards lining the slopes of the area hills. The hills around Höhnstedt contain a lot of limestone, and help from the sun, the wind and the rain make it an ideal place to grow grapes. Jochen is an amicable host and willing to tell his guests about the intricacies of his wine brands and its production in his compact and cozy tasting room adjacent to the wine gift shop.

SCHLOSS WACKENBARTH
Schloss Wackenbarth in Radebeul, is a well-situated, picturesque winery, and one of the oldest sparkling wine producers in Europe. On the well-manicured grounds is a Mediterranean-style palace erected by Augustus the Strong. Since the 18th century Schloss Wackerbarth has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors because of the charming setting, and of course the delicious wines.

Tours through the winery and grounds are conducted, and many social events, including weddings and banquets, take place on the grounds each year. Interestingly, the federal state of Saxony owns the winery. The winery calls itself an ambassador for the state of Saxony, and indeed it has the stature and appeal of something regal.

While every year Germany is certain to attract millions of visitors for its culture, history, sights and its uniqueness, 2018 calls out for a visit for all of the above, and especially its many and varied succulent, edible delights.
Guten appetit!

For more information go to www.germany.travel.com or www.germany.travel/culinary-germany

Destination Erfurt: Germany’s City of Towers

Described as the ‘Thuringian Rome,’ it is steeped in history

By Don Heimburger
Photos by the author
Home page photo by Barbara Neumann, courtesy Erfurt Tourism and Marketing

The reformer Martin Luther once said that Erfurt, Germany “is situated in the best location. It is the perfect place for a city.”

Little did he know 500 years later that Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia, with a population of 200,000 and right in the center of “modern” Germany, would attract large crowds of visitors, many just to see the city in which Luther became an ordained priest.

Erfurt is the capital city of the German state of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical center of modern Germany, located 60 miles southwest of Leipzig. With the Luther Decade ending in 2017, Erfurt has put on its best face to show what is has to offer, and visitors won’t be disappointed.

Erfurt was all spit and polish for the 2015 German Travel Mart in April 2015, when thousands of journalists worldwide, buyers (travel agents and meeting planners) and German suppliers (hotels, Germany’s cities and regions, and commercial attractions) all met in Erfurt (and next-door Weimar) for a three-day-long conference to put Germany on display.

ONE OF LARGEST DOMPLATZ
The town’s domplatz is said to be one of Europe’s largest, and it sits next to the impressive central church in Erfurt, St. Mary’s Cathedral, the oldest ecclesiastic building in the city, founded in the 8th century.

Initially the Romanesque-turned-Gothic cathedral served as the bishop’s seat, and up to the 19th century was the seat of the collegiate chapter of St. Mary. Martin Luther himself was ordained in the church in 1507.

The Mariendom (St. Mary’s) and St. Severi form an imposing backdrop for the annual Cathedral Steps Festival held in Erfurt.

The largest free-swinging bell in the world, the “Gloriosa,” with a diameter of 8 feet, hangs in the church today, but because of its age is only rung occasionally. Inside the cathedral there is an elaborate Gothic chancel with a series of 13 colored stained-glass windows which are 42 feet high and are among the greatest works of medieval stained-glass art. The cathedral contains a number of art treasures from various centuries. Guided tours of the church can be arranged in advance.

A flight of 70 steps that lead to the cathedral date back to the 14th century, and today many concerts and events are held on the steps.

Next to St. Mary’s on the hill is St. Severi Church, and together with St. Mary’s the two churches dominate the heart of this medieval city.

Nicknamed the “Rome of the North” for its profusion of some 30 spires and steeples, Erfurt is unquestionably one of Germany’s most beautiful cities. The old heart of the city with its half-timbered buildings looks like something out of the movies from years ago.

“Erfordia turrita” or “Erfurt, city of towers” is how Luther once praised Erfurt with its 25 parish churches, 15 religious foundations and 10 chapels. This impressive list of ecclesiastical buildings, in conjunction with the magnificent architectural motif of the cathedral and the Church of St. Severus (now the city’s emblem), inspired historians such as Ernst Stida (1585–1632) to refer to the city as the “The Thuringian Rome.”

Most of the churches are still intact and blend in with the beautifully restored half-timbered houses of the Andreas quarter and with the brightly-colored façades of Renaissance buildings. The medieval part of the city is one of the largest and best preserved historical city centers in Germany.

The Augustinian Monastery, built in 1277, is of Gothic design; stained glass windows date from the beginning of the 14th century. The monastery is considered one of the most famous places related to the Reformation.

LUTHER’S MONASTERY
In 1505, Luther became a monk and took up residency at the beautiful and peaceful Augustinian Monastery in Erfurt, built in 1277. Recently renovated, the gothic monastery has functioned as an Evangelical/Lutheran church and school since 1525. Visit the chapter house and enjoy the same wonderful acoustics that Luther did in his day, or see the reconstruction of Luther’s cell. The Augustinerkloster possesses valuable stained glass windows dating to the beginning of the 14th century. Martin Luther lived here as a monk from 1505 to 1511. You can also spend the night in one of the 51 comfortable guest rooms at the monastery. Today the abbey serves as an ecumenical conference center and a memorial to Luther.

The Luther Stone stands to the east of Stotternheim near Erfurt. On July 2, 1505 Martin Luther, then a law student at Erfurt University, was returning to Erfurt after visiting his parents in Mansfeld. He was making the journey on foot, and as he approached Stotternheim he witnessed a severe thunderstorm that put him in fear of his life. He is said to have cried out, “Help, St. Anne, I will become a monk.” The site where the memorial stone now stands is sometimes described as the birthplace of the Reformation.

Merchant’s Bridge, a landmark in Erfurt, is the longest bridge in Europe covered by houses that are still inhabited today. In early times, traders sold their wares from this unique bridge.

The Krämerbrücke/Merchants’ Bridge is Erfurt’s most interesting example of secular architecture. This arched stone bridge was constructed in 1325 over the river Gera where the original ford was located along the “via regia” trading route. The Krämerbrücke is the only bridge north of the Alps to be built over entirely with houses that are still used as residences. In medieval times there were two churches built at each end of the bridge, one of which, the Ägidienkirche, is still in existence.

In 1695, the first foundation stone was laid for one of the few remaining 17th century city fortifications to be found in Germany. Today the Petersberg Citadel is an impressive example of European fortification construction dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Parts of the fortification were open to the public in 1964, but after 1990 it was extensively renovated, and today the greater part of the casemates, esplanades and bastions inside the fortification area are open to visitors. The completion of the citadel and the Petersberg are Erfurt’s largest undertaking.

(left to right) The Erfurt Rathaus is located at the Fischmarkt; origins of the building go back to the 11th century.; Erfurt city guide Matthias Gose points out aspects of the town on a scale model cast in metal.; Erfurt architecture

Haus zum Breiten Herd, historic Renaissance guild house, Fischmarkt square, Erfurt. In earlier times, rich merchants of the the city decorated the fronts of their homes with delicate carvings.

The neo-Gothic town hall at the Fischmarkt was built between 1870 and 1874. Inside the stairwells and the Festsaal (main function hall) there are numerous wall paintings depicting legends and scenes from the life of Luther, as well as pictures illustrating the history of Thuringia and Erfurt.

Erfurt city guide Matthias Gose points out aspects of the town on a scale model cast in metal

The Old Synagogue is one of very few preserved medieval synagogues in Europe. Thanks to the extensive preservation of the original structure, it has a special place in the history of art and architecture and is among the most impressive and highly rated architectural monuments in Erfurt and Thuringia. The synagogue was constructed during the Middle Ages on the “via regia,” at the heart of the historical old quarter very close to the Merchants Bridge and the town hall.

Many parts of the structure still remain today, including all four thick outer walls, the Romanesque gemel window, the Gothic rose window and the entrance to the synagogue room. After extensive restoration, the building was reopened in 2009. On display in the exhibition rooms is a collection of medieval treasures discovered during archaeological excavations. This includes 3,140 silver coins, 14 silver ingots, approximately 6,000 works of goldsmithery from the 13th and 14th centuries, and an intricate wedding ring of the period, of which only two others are known to exist in the world.

One of the buildings that reflects the history of Erfurt in a special and unique manner is the Kaisersaal in the Futterstrasse, which, after radical reconstruction, was reopened in 1994. It was built out of three patrician houses at the beginning of the 18th century to serve as the university’s ballroom. It is the oldest center for cultural events and meetings in Germany.

The Goldhelm Schokolade shop in Erfurt provides a selection of fresh chocolates every day

The Anger Museum with its variety of wood and stone sculptures is situated in the middle of the old part of the city. It was built between 1706 and 1712 as a packing and weighing station, both for Philipp Wilhelm Reichsgraf von Boineburg, the governor of the city, and for Archbishop Lothar Franz von Schönborn. It is one of the most important early 18th century buildings.

The Erfurt city museum, in the magnificent Haus zum Stockfisch building, was founded in 1886 to house the artworks that Erfurt inherited from one of its most famous sons, the Romantic painter Friedrich Nerly. The museum’s four floors present the city’s culture, economic development, politics and religion.

Flowers decorate the Gera River channels in Erfurt.

Erfurt’s last water mill to still be in use is located on the banks of the Gera River near the town hall. Besides the water-driven grinding mill, there are also exhibition rooms displaying historical machines. The museum also contains an illustrated history of Erfurt’s water mills in particular and of the history of hydraulic power in general.

Erfurt, said to be Germany’s largest single heritage site, is a popular destination for tourists, thanks to its medieval ambiance and storied history.

For more information, go to erfurt-tourismus.de or www.germany.travel.