Erfurt

The Sommerkurs left for Erfurt, the capital of the state of Thuringia, right after lunch. We spent the afternoon first with a guided tour, then free time. Some students went shopping, others sat in a cafe, some spent time investigating the town. Erfurt is unique in that is was directly on the via regia during the Middle Ages, and was very well know for the plant "Waid", which was used to make a vibrant blue dye. The first picture shows one of the buildings used for curing the plant. There had to be multiple windows in the roof due to the process of using urine/ammonia to cause the reaction.

The city also was never completely destroyed by war/fire so that there is a wide variety of buildings from the gothic cathedral (see the side portal with the "wise" and "foolish" virgins) to buildings in baroque and renaissance styles standing directly to Bauhaus and 21st century buildings.

One of the key sights remaining from the Middle Ages is the Krämerbrücke, a bridge that is filled completely with shops. The 14th century university buildings also still stand.