Leipzig and Erfurt- the heart of Mitteldeutschland

Leipzig vies with Berlin for the title of "Classical Music Capital of Germany", based on it's association with JS Bach, Felix Mendelsohn, Richard Wagner and Robert Schuman, it's well-known conservatory, and the international reputation of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and opera. As this is the summer recess, there were no official concerts when I visited, but plenty of students giving very impressive street recitals. I had visited the Thomaskirche, where Bach spent the largest portion of his career, on my previous visit, so this time I checked out the Bach museum adjacent to the church. Meh. Not the most interesting hour of my life. I came away with the impression that other than his music and the rough details of his biography, we actually know very little about the man himself. Other than some original scores and a few antique instruments, the museum contains very few artifacts from Bach's life.

Bach also regularly performed at the nearby Nicholaikirche, which I visited this time. For a Lutheran church, the interior is surprisingly elaborate. It features a distinct floral motif that I've never seen in a church before. There's also displays showing the role this house of worship played in the downfall of the communist regime in Germany.

Leipzig is full of impressive looking buildings, but the most noteworthy are probably the huge city hall, the Alte Rathaus on the Markt, Hauptbahnhof, the Federal Court House, the Augusteum of the university, and the MDR (regional broadcaster) tower

Finally, I visited the giant Völkerschlachtdenkmal, which sits about a 10 minute tram ride outside the city center. This is a massive memorial erected for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Nations, fought in the area by Napoleonic France versus a coalition of various German states, Sweden and Russia. Online pictures can't really give you a perspective on how huge this thing is. I think it was built in the Jugenstil that was popular at the time, but I may be wrong. I have a theory... the lead designers from Peter Jackson's LoTRs movies must have been familiar with the Völkerschlachtdenkmal because it distinctly looks like something the dwarves of Middle Earth would have built. Think massive stone figures of ancient warriors and angular rock carvings, both outside and in the vaulted interior. You can climb a stair case all the way to a viewing platform to the top, or take an elevator about 3/4 of the way up and walk the remainder. On a clear day, I'm sure the view of Leipzig and the North German Plain must be spectacular. It was extremely humid when I visited, though, so I couldn't see far beyond Leipzig. One complaint, though. As impressive as the monument is, there's almost no placards to explain the significance, and the museum wasn't open. If you didn't know beforehand that it commemorates the Battle of the Nations, you could easily visit and have no idea of it's purpose.

I didn't participate, but Leipzig appears to be part of growing number of German cities that offer Nightwatchman's tours. From what I could hear, though, only in German.

One more note on Leipzig, should you visit. For dinner, grab a table at one of the many restaurants along Barfußgäßchen, just off the Markt. A great people-watching zone. (cont).

Now, a quick visit to Erfurt, capital of the federal state of Thüringen. I forget the exact quote, but within the past few years Mr. Steves wrote something along the lines of "finally finding the untouristy Rothenburg"... which to me, indicates he wasn't looking too hard, since Germany is loaded with towns like Rothenburg. But, because Erfurt impressed him so much, I thought I'd give it look.

Well, I don't agree that it's completely untouristy, and it hardly resembles Rothenburg at all, but I see exactly what sparked Mr. Steves' praise. Erfurt is simply beautiful. Like Leipzig, the majority of the city appears to be from the Grunderzeit period, but there's also a nice splashing of much older Fachwerk here and there throughout the city. Particularly the Krämerbrücke... actually, maybe this is where the Rothenburg comparison is most apt, because the alley behind the houses (you can't see it in the picture) contains the same sorts of souvenir shops and tourist cafés you find in Rothenburg. The communist period is visible, but not too intrusive and mostly outside the historic core. If it reminds me of any other cities in Germany, I would say perhaps Aachen or Aschaffenburg, both in size and in the distribution of architectural styles.

I only spent a few hours in Erfurt, but I think I had a decent overview. Like Leipzig (and many other cities in Germany), most of the Altstadt contains the usual chain shopping stores (H&M, Karstadt, C&A, Saturn, Galleria, Jack Wolfskin, etc.), restaurants, bars, banks, but also a fair number of boutiques. The areas that seem to draw out the most tourists would be the Domplatz and Krämerbrücke, but these two areas sit far enough away from each other so that no part of the city feels overwhelmed by the tourist industry. The two huge churches overlooking the Domplatz (surprisingly Catholic in this traditionally very Protestant region of Germany) are interesting enough, but if you've visited a handful of Gothic cathedrals before, there's nothing particularly new. The nearby fortress, Zitadelle Petersberg, gives you a nice view of the city and surroundings (once again, somewhat obscurred by the overcast weather). I wanted to explore a little further, but rain began to fall too heavily.

There you have it. I'm not sure either Leipzig or Erfurt demand that every first timer to Germany pay a visit, but if you've been to this country before, perhaps consider them if going between Bavaria and Berlin. Leipzig is convenient to some of the major rail and road arteries through the country, but Erfurt much less so. If you're a zoo lover, though, bump Leipzig up on the list of your priorities. It's one of the most well-done zoos I've seen anywhere. Erfurt, although nothing like an "untouristy Rothenburg" (it's not completely untouristy, it looks nothing like Rothenburg, and it's much, much bigger), merits your consideration, if not your absoulte priorities.

Tom, thanks for posting this. I have been looking at Erfurt as a base for central Germany. You make it sound like a good one.

Include Magdeburg too where you can have the opportunity to see those ugly Plattenbau examples. I saw them in 2009 when I was there for a week-end.

If the first timer to Germany had 4 weeks for Germany, I would absolutely recommend that Leipzig be included in the itinerary., ie, to see the cultural history of Bach, Liszt, Mendelsohn, etc and also the Völkerschlachtdenkmal and Museum.

Like Leipzig, the majority of the city appears to be from the
Grunderzeit period, but there's also a nice splashing of much older
Fachwerk here and there throughout the city.

Either I visited a different city, or you spent too much time on the Anger. Because that's the only part of the city where your description is correct. As soon as you enter the small side streets you are surrounded by older buildings. Most of Erfurts old town actually consists of buildings from the 15th to 18th century. That's also what the travel guides say.

Have a look at this gallery with 112 pics, which is a walk through Erfurts old town:
http://s1347.photobucket.com/user/Pixelpusher28/library/Erfurt

Is this a 19th century city?

If it reminds me of any other cities in Germany, I would say perhaps
Aachen or Aschaffenburg, both in size and in the distribution of
architectural styles

Maybe you should visit Erfurt again... ;-)

I think it was built in the Jugendstil that was popular at the time, but I may be wrong.

I was curious about the style too, so I did a little digging on Wikipedia (the quality of the information on here has gotten a lot better but I still take everything with a grain of salt). Jugendstil, from what I remember, is comparable to French Art Nouveau with regard to flowing, plantlike, organic forms. The style of this building is much more severe, with almost Art Deco / futuristic sensibilities. According to Wikipedia, the building was built in the style of Wilhelminism, or the Wilhelmine Period between 1890 and 1918 and referring to the reign of Wilhelm II: "It is used to describe, among other things, an essentially neo-Baroque, extraordinarily prestige-oriented style calculated to give expression to the German state’s claim to imperial power."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelminism

Thanks for the fine reports.

I would add that Leipzig has an extremely good art museum. One reason to go besides the excellent collection is that they have some works by (naturally) The New Leipzig School, founded by Neo Rauch. His work is relatively hard to find in the USA, but quite important and worth seeing. Although I would not expect Tom to help market tourist restaurants, we enjoyed Auerbach's Keller restaurant, which is strongly connected with Goethe's "Faust". I suppose it's a bit touristy, but we really enjoyed hearing a regular concert (not a "tourist concert") in Bach's own church. And because I worked as a stagehand for Kurt Masur (a conductor at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, as well as the NY Philharmonic, and a major political force in the ending of Soviet domination of East Germany), it was neat to visit the other important church of Liepzig (Nicolaikirche) where he and the pastor built the movement that spread across East Germany:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/we-are-the-people-a-peaceful-revolution-in-leipzig-a-654137.html

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/interview-with-conductor-kurt-masur-the-spirit-of-1989-has-been-exhausted-a-721851.html

Erfurt has a unique, very old (c. 1100; Now deconsecrated) Synagogue. It escaped destruction because it had long been converted to other uses before the Nazi era. It's not purely a "Jewish tourism" destination, because so much of it is so old, and because of the volume of very old artifacts displayed there. Their displays also explain Erfurt's medieval prosperity as a monopoly producer of woad, a blue dye. My wife and I like to visit large public gardens with extensive horticultural displays. Erfurt's DDR-era (I think) EGAPark is a very large and enjoyable place, with substantial opportunities for young children accompanying their families to enjoy as well. It's a major attraction with its own tram stop.

Martin, I walked around pretty much all of the old city and drove through a large portion of the outer districts, and from what I saw (side streets and all), Fachwerk and other pre-18th century buildings are in the minority. They're there, no doubt, but I repeat, the majority of the city clearly appears to date from the 18th to the 20th centuries.

"Although I would not expect Tom to help market tourist restaurants, we enjoyed Auerbach's Keller restaurant, which is strongly connected with Goethe's "Faust" Actually, I tried to eat there one night (the big Keller, not the far more expenstive wine bar), but I would have needed to wait an hour for a table. No thanks. It looked interesting, though. I wondered how the Keller survived from Goethe's time, because the building on top of it clearly dates from at least a century later. Had I actually eaten there, I probably would have written something about it.