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Erfurt

Erfurt

Erfurt (German pronunciation: [ˈɛʁfʊʁt] ) is the capital and largest city of the Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000.

Plan a trip to Erfurt From Schkeuditz

It lies in the wide valley of the River Gera, in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest, and in the middle of a line of the six largest Thuringian cities, stretching from Eisenach in the west, via Gotha, Erfurt, Weimar and Jena, to Gera in the east. Together with Kassel and Göttingen, it is one of the cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants lying closest to the geographic centre of Germany. Erfurt is 100 km (62 mi) south-west of Leipzig, 250 km (155 mi) north-east of Frankfurt, 300 km (186 mi) south-west of Berlin and 400 km (249 mi) north of Munich.

Get in

Getting to Erfurt

Erfurt lies on the intersection of two motorways (Autobahnen): A4 and A71. Distances on the motorways to some cities: Berlin 300 km, Leipzig 150 km, Dresden 215 km, Kassel 150 - 200 km depending on route, Frankfurt 260 km, Munich (München) 400 km, Hanover 220 km

  1. 01
    Erfurt Hauptbahnhof

    While the station is a fairly run-of-the-mill affair for a city of its size with the usual shopping and fast food options, it is one of the central hubs of Germany's high-speed rail system.

  2. 02
    Erfurt-Weimar
See

Worth seeing

Much of Erfurt's charm is found in its narrow streets, many of which are pedestrianized, with their beautiful old houses, green areas and little bridges across the Gera river and the Stadtpark and the Nordpark on different sides of the city center. In the tourist office you can buy a small guidebook in one of several languages that leads you through the city along the main sights.

  1. 01
    Dom
  2. 02
    Severikirche

    One of the most important Gothic buildings in Germany.

  3. 03
    Krämerbrücke
  4. 04
    Fischmarkt
  5. 05
    Augustinerkloster

    Augustine's Monastery), Augustinerstraße 10.

  6. 06
    Anger

    Full of stores with the old Post Office building.

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Egapark

    A huge and beautiful botanical garden and accessible by the Straßenbahn.

  2. 02
    Erfurt Theater

    Theaterplatz 1,.

  3. 03
    Stadtpark
  4. 04
    City

    Join a historical city tour organised by the Tourist Information to have better and entertaining insight into the long lasting history of the town.

  5. 05
    Relax

    Right at the Wenigemarkt or behind the Krämerbrücke beside the river you can have a beautiful look at the old houses standing on the 'bridge'.

Eat

Where to eat

The Thüringer Bratwurst (famous grilled sausage) comes from Erfurt, and the city has numerous stalls selling this world-famous delicacy. Don't miss out on trying one or more or sampling the differences.

  1. 01
    Grillteufel

    Here you get the original grilled Thuringia sausage.

  2. 02
    Pizzeria Adem

    Trommsdorffstraße 3.

  3. 03
    Ibras Bistro

    Meienbergstraße 7.

  4. 04
    Siyar Grill

    Meienbergstraße 13.

  5. 05
    Kurdischer Döner

    Marktstraße 46.

How locals move

Getting around Erfurt the local way

  • Get aroundIf you plan to do a day trip the "Thüringen-Ticket" might just be what you are looking for.

From Wikivoyage: Thuringia, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-05.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.