Final excursion today: Erfurt

Yesterday was a busy day. First language classes in the morning, a quick lunch in the Mensa, followed by a walk to the train station and trip to Erfurt. Once in Erfurt, we had a 2 hour guided walking tour of the city, learning about its history. Erfurt lies on the most important east-west medieval trading path, the Via Regia, where it intersects with the north-south one. It was one of the wealthiest cities during the Middle Ages and Renaissance due to its production of the (only) blue dye for fabric, woad (Weid in German). The plant grew well in the area, was harvested, crushed, the formed into balls about the size of a fist. To extract the dye from the plant, ammonia was poured onto large tubs holding the balls, where it fermented for a couple weeks, then was dried and turned into powder. The clever part was how they got enough ammonia to do this: Free beer for urine. You might see the large round openings next to the door in the photo of such an establishment. When the owners were ready to begin fermentation, they would place wheat straw in the holes so that every one could see that there was free beer available. You might also notice the many small windows on top of the building. Those were to get the noxious gas out of the house. Erfurt is said to have been quite a smelly city.

Note: Woad precedes indigo as a source of blue dye, and its exportation from India and the Americas.

Erfurt also has the largest trade bridge north of Italy.  Craftsmen built shops with houses on top of the surface of the bridge (space was really at a premium).  Although the houses have been rebuilt to make them larger (2 to 1, decreasing the number of houses by 1/2), people still live above the shop. 

Be sure to check the students' comments on this city.