ERFURT COUNTRYSIDE
ANDREA QUARTER (Half Timbered Buildings)
AGUSTIAN MONESTARY
PETERSBERG FORTRESS
DOM KIRCHE & ST. SEVEREI
We went into the office this morning and Elder Walters helped Bro. Walker pack the car for our Seminar in Leipzig tomorrow. We left at 12:00, but on the way we saw Erfurt so we decided to look. There are so many places in Germany that have wonderful histories and this is one of them. This town has the most preserved medieval city center. It's history goes back to the 700's. It is known as the city of towers because it boasts 50 chapels in all.. It was glorious there and the town of Erfurt is so cute. They are right, there were many half timbered buildings there. The one Gene loved the most was the green trimmed one he called, the Christmas house. We saw the Andreas Quarter, which is the center of town itself. The Agustian Monestary is where Martin Luther stayed for 5 years as a mendicant friar from 1505-1511. As you know this place was the turning point in Luther becoming a Monk. On a night in 1505, the church where he was studying to become a lawyer, was struck by a terrible thunder storm. Luther feared being struck by lightening, so he prayed and told the Lord, if he would spare his life, he would become a monk, which he did, to his father's disappointment. In 1512 he became a professor at the University of Erfurt.
Then we visited the Petersberg Fortress. It was very large built in the 1600's. Napoleon, Alexander I (Tsar of Russia) and other Kings and Princes stayed in Erfurt at this fortress. This fort is just a small portion remaining of the once large fortress. It was destroyed by a Prussian attack in 1813 and the only things standing are the walls and the gate which was created by the sculptor Petrini. The main attraction is the Dom Kirche of St. Mary and St Severei. They are next to each other and appear to be one church but you can clearly see when you get up to it that it is not. Built in 742 was first a parish church for an order of nuns but today it is a church. We walked completely around it but the front was the best view for pictures. Too bad the sun was behind it instead of in front. Hope you can even see it. We didn't have too much time to sight see so we just took pictures and left.
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