Rendezvous in the heart of Germany: Erfurt

The dazzling rise of Erfurt to become Thuringia's regional capital owes much to the following three factors: its favourable location at the intersection of the old German and European trade routes, its extensive and long-standing trading and commercial links, and the construction of its imperial palace. But the city wasn't only a meeting place for monarchs and merchants. It also became a cultural, literary and spiritual centre, with visitors welcomed from around the world.

Experience the Middle Ages brought to life every day in Erfurt
Erfurt, City of Towers: this is how Martin Luther once praised the city, with its 25 parish churches, 15 abbeys and monasteries and ten chapels all rising into the sky. The large number of churches, particularly the cathedral and the Church of St. Severus, inspired historians and contemporaries alike to refer to the city as the Thuringian Rome. Indeed the ensemble of both St. Mary's Cathedral and the Church of St. Severus, unparalleled in Europe and majestically dominating the cityscape, is an architectural masterpiece of the German Gothic style. Inside the cathedral there is a particularly impressive chancel with a series of thirteen colourful stained glass windows, each 18 metres high. The Gloriosa, cast in 1497 and the world's largest free-swinging medieval bell, is also magnificent. Nowadays the church towers cast their shadows over lovingly restored half-timbered buildings and beautiful Renaissance buildings. Erfurt's medieval city centre is one of the biggest and best preserved in Germany. The Augustinian abbey in which Martin Luther lived for five years as a mendicant, the Prediger Church – now the main Protestant church and second largest church in Erfurt – and the fortifications on the Petersberg Citadel are all superb examples of medieval and modern architecture.

Erfurt is a city of churches – and of bridges. A total of 142 bridges span the river Gera, its many smaller tributaries and the Flutgraben, a broad ditch of water running alongside the former city walls. The many waterways and bridges earned the old city centre the soubriquet 'Little Venice'. Bridges such as the Lehmannsbrücke and the Lange Brücke were important for trade in the Middle Ages, but the Krämerbrücke (Merchant's Bridge) is by far the most famous in Erfurt. References to this bridge, which was originally constructed out of wood but later rebuilt in stone, can be found as far back as 1117.

Erfurt: where the festival season never stops
There are many good reasons to visit Erfurt – and just as many great opportunities. One of these is the carnival early in the year, another is the Krämerbrückenfest in the old town. Visitors from near and far flock to the old lanes around the Krämerbrücke and let themselves be transported back to medieval times. Erfurt's pottery market is full of ceramic treasures, whilst in the summer the flower and garden market transforms the cathedral square into a brightly coloured carpet. The crop market in the autumn, meanwhile, offers local produce such as fruit, vegetables and honey. Every year on 10 November, singing children proceed through the city's streets and alleyways with home-made lanterns, on their way to the Martinmas market. This is done in honour of St. Martin and to commemorate the church reformer Martin Luther. And during Advent, a splendid aroma of cinnamon, ginger and roasted almonds wafts over the city, as one of Germany's loveliest and best-known Christmas markets gets underway. Set against the stunning backdrop of the cathedral square, with its Nativity scene, fairytale forest, bakeries, handicraft stalls, gingerbread houses and atmospheric music, the market is an experience that both excites and enchants – just like the city itself.