In the city of Erfurt, in the state of Thuringia, Germany

 Erfurt is a medieval gem in the heart of Germany, where Martin Luther, Napoleon, and Goethe left their marks.

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(in the Thuringian Basin, on the Gera River, 200 miles (320 km) southwest of Berlin) Erfurt is the capital and largest city of the state of Thuringia, It lies in the 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 to Gera in the east. Erfurt is 100 km (62 mi.) southwest of Leipzig, 250 km (155 mi.) northeast of Frankfurt, 300 km (186 mi.) southwest of Berlin and 400 km (249 mi.) north of Munich.

+ Erfurt's Old Town is one of the best preserved medieval city centers in Germany. The Gera is spanned by the Merchants' Bridge (Krämerbrücke), one of the rare bridges with houses built on it. On the Erfurt Cathedral Hill is the ensemble of Erfurt Cathedral (which houses the world's largest free-swinging medieval bell) and St Severus' Church. Petersberg Citadel is one of the best preserved town fortresses in Central Europe. Erfurt's Old Synagogue is the oldest in Europe, and together with the Erfurt Mikveh, which was only rediscovered in 2007, and the Stony House (Erfurt), forms a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

+ The city's central location has made it a logistics hub for Germany and central Europe. Erfurt hosts the second-largest trade fair in eastern Germany (after Leipzig).

+ Erfurt was first mentioned in 724 as Erpesfurt, the site of an abbey and a royal residence at a ford on the Gera River. Boniface founded a bishopric there in 742. By 805 it was a military strong point and an administrative and commercial center on the eastern border of the Frankish empire. It was granted municipal rights about 1250 by the archbishop of Mainz and controlled extensive territories in the Middle Ages. Joining the Hanseatic League in the 15th century, it was until about 1600 a great commercial center for woad, a plant then used for its blue dye extract. The University of Erfurt, established in 1392 as Germany’s third university, was one of the centers of learning in the German-speaking world; it was closed in 1816 and reopened in 1994. Occupied by a Swedish garrison during the Thirty Years’ War, the city became part of the electorate of Mainz in 1664. It passed to Prussia in 1802, forming part of Prussian Saxony until 1945 (In 1808 the Congress of Erfurt was attended by Napoleon, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, and the kings of Bavaria, Saxony, Westphalia, and Württemberg.)

+ Erfurt is now a center of high technology in eastern Germany. Erfurt is dominated by the cathedral and the Church of St. Severus, which stand side-by-side atop a hill called Domberg (“Cathedral Hill”). Another building of note is the Augustinian monastery where Martin Luther was a monk.
Erfurt, one of central Germany's most important cities is a medieval city of grand churches, market squares, museums, and preserved architecture.