Erfurt is the largest city in Thuringia and was first mentioned by St. Boniface in 742. It has a rich tradition as a university city with a magnificent cathedral and important connections with Martin Luther.
As Thuringia's economic, intellectual, cultural and political centre, Erfurt has always attracted great individuals, especially those who influenced the spirit of their age: Martin Luther, the mathematician Adam Riese, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich von Schiller, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Johann Sebastian Bach, Tsar Alexander I and Napoleon Bonaparte.
Buildings such as the cathedral, the Augustinian Monastery and the Imperial Hall are closely linked with these figures and have been extensively restored to give visitors a vivid impression of the past.

In 1505 he graduated with a Masters from the university's faculty of philosophy. It is said that a violent storm close to Erfurt that same year prompted him to become a monk at the Augustinian Monastery in gratitude for his survival.

Martin Luther stayed in Erfurt until 1511 and was ordained as a priest in the cathedral. Even after he had left the city, he often returned to preach to enthusiastic crowds, in the university church (St. Michael's) for example. It is more than 500 years since Luther was a student at the collegium maius, the old Erfurt university's main building, which is now being restored. On 10 November every year, Erfurt celebrates Martin Luther's birthday and remembers St. Martin with the St. Martin's Festival on Domplatz.

was born in Eisenach in 1685, a fact which - to this day - enriches Thuringia's cultural life in myriad ways. The Thuringian Bach Festival, held annually in March and April, bears eloquent witness to this unparalleled musical legacy. Musical life in Erfurt is greatly indebted to the Bachs, various members of Johann Sebastian's family, who were engaged as organists and town musicians. On the Bach trail: Merchants' Bridge, Fischmarkt, Kürschnergasse or Junkersand.

Erfurt is close to Weimar and it is not difficult to find traces of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the great man of letters, here too.
A number of buildings in Erfurt have Goethe inscriptions, for example. Goethe often travelled to Erfurt, both on business and privately, and he liked the city so much that he called it "Thuringia's Rome".

a well-known German mathematician, worked in Erfurt from 1518 to 1522/23. He lived in Drachengasse, just a few metres from the collegium maius, Erfurt university's main building. Academically, Adam Riese Erfurt years were the most fruitful of his life.

was born on 4 July 1685 in Erfurt (at "Haus Zum LohFinken", Mühlgasse, corner of Bahnhofstrasse). His work, which quickly lifted horticulture in Erfurt to new and greater heights, contributed to the city developing a reputation in Europe for its flowers and horticulture. Christian Reichart was an inspiration for gardeners in Erfurt and a monument was erected to him in 1867. Today it stands next to the Pförtchen bridge near Luisenpark, not far from where he used to work). Reichart died in 1775 but his legacy, highly advanced in both scientific and practical terms, provided a firm foundation for subsequent generations of gardeners.

Erfurt - "Erphesfurt" - was first mentioned in 742 in a letter from St. Boniface to Pope Zacharias asking him to ratify the bishopric of Erfurt. During 2004 a programme of events under the theme "Wege zu Bonifatius"(Paths to St. Boniface) commemorated the 1,250 anniversary of the missionary's death.