Erfurt
Erfurtˈɛɐ̯fʊɐ̯t is a city in central Germany. It is the capital of the state of Thuringia with a population of 202,619 (2006).
Erfurt is located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 113 km SE of Kassel and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich, Düsseldorf and Hamburg.
Geography
Since the reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990, Erfurt is the main city nearest to the geographical centre of the country. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, within the wide valley of Gera River, a tributary of the Unstrut. To the south, the city is surrounded by hilly forest ("Steigerwald").
History
Erfurt was first mentioned in 742 under the name of "Erphesfurt". It was an important trading town during the Middle Ages near a ford (river) across the Gera river. Together with the other five Thuringian woad-towns of Gotha, Tennstedt, Arnstadt and Langensalza it was the centre of the German woad trade.
In 1349, during the wave of pogroms which followed the Black Plague across Europe, the Jews of Erfurt were rounded up, with more than 100 killed and the rest driven from the city, and the ghetto burned. Recently, the remains of the medieval synagogue have been discovered beneath newer buildings, and are being restored.
In 1392 the University of Erfurt was founded, which was famous in its time, became defunct in 1816, and was refounded in 1994 by the Thuringian state parliament.
Erfurt became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1802, part of the First French Empire in 1806 as Principality of Erfurt, and was returned to Prussia in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars. Although enclosed by Thuringian territory, the city remained part of the Prussian Province of Saxony until 1944. The city was the site of the failed Erfurt Union of German states in 1850.
On April 12, 1945, during World War II, Erfurt was taken by units of the U.S. Third Army under General George Patton. On July 3, American troops left the city and it was occupied by the Soviet Red Army. In contrast to most other major German cities, Erfurt suffered only limited damage from Allied air raids during the war. Erfurt fell in the Soviet Zone of occupation, which would later become East Germany.
After German reunification, Erfurt became the capital of the re-established state of Thuringia.
