Erfurt generally possesses a rich historical heritage and one of the largest contiguous medieval old towns in Europe. In the city center there are three buildings that henceforth count among the most significant legacies of humanity: The Old Synagogue is considered one of the oldest synagogues in Central Europe preserved up to its roof. Today, the building, whose oldest structural traces date to around 1094, houses a museum with testimonies of medieval Jewish life in the city. Not far away there is a medieval ritual bath, a mikveh, and also in the old town stands the so-called Stone House, erected around 1250. Thuringia now hosts five World Heritage sites: in 1996, the Bauhaus in Weimar was awarded this title, in 1998 classical Weimar as the place of work of Goethe and Schiller; in 1999, the Wartburg near Eisenach made it onto the UNESCO list, and in 2011 the Ancient Beech Forests in the Hainich National Park. (hw)
Erfurt's Jewish-Medieval Heritage Achieves World Renown
North facade of the Old Synagogue in Erfurt's old town. Image: www.unesco.de/pressefotos - © Pro Denkmal
Share this article:
