Krämerbrücke

The Krämerbrücke (pronounced [ˈkʁɛːmɐˌbʁʏkə]; Merchants' bridge) is a medieval arch bridge in the city of Erfurt, in Thuringia, central Germany, which is lined with half-timbered shops and houses on both sides of a cobblestone street. It is one of the few remaining bridges in the world that have inhabited buildings. It has been continuously inhabited for over 500 years, longer than any other bridge in Europe. The stone, pedestrian bridge, which dates from 1325, is one of the oldest secular structures in Erfurt. It spans the Breitstrom, a branch of Gera River, and connects two town squares – Benediktsplatz and Wenigemarkt.

 North side, Krämerbrücke from the river, 2016 Krämerbrücke, street view looking west

The bridge was part of the Via Regia, a medieval trade and pilgrims' road network, which linked Rome with the Baltic Sea, and Moscow with Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. The Krämerbrücke is on the route from the river Rhine to Silesia.[1] It is also on one of the main routes of the Camino de Santiago, the Way of St. James pilgrimage. Erfurt was at a major crossroads of the Via Regia and it became an important trading centre in the Middle Ages. It was a member of the Hanseatic League.[2]

A wooden bridge was built at sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries at the same river ford as the present day Krämerbrücke.[3] The bridge was first mentioned in 1117 after its destruction by one of many fires.[4]

The first written evidence of a "pons rerum venalium", i.e. "a market bridge", on the site dates back to 1156.[5] Merchants and trades people had already set up market stalls on both sides of the bridge by this date. The name Krämerbrücke, which means "merchants' bridge", has been in common usage since 1510.[6]

There were repeated fires on the wooden bridge in 1175, 1178, 1213, 1222, 1245, 1265, and 1293. The idea of building a stone bridge was discussed after the 1265 fire and in 1293 the municipal administration acquired all bridge rights from the monasteries, who traded goods on the bridge. However, the stone bridge wasn't completed until 1325.[5][4]

For about the first hundred years following the stone bridge's construction, mainly local produce was sold in its stalls. There were a number of important monasteries in Erfurt, including St Augustine's, where Martin Luther was later a monk; the Dominican Prediger Monastery where the mystic Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–1328) was the prior; and the Benedictine monastery of St Peter and Paul, which was on the hill where Petersberg Citadel now stands. These continued to have stalls on the bridge, selling "Apoteki", such as herbs for healing and culinary use, wine and vegetables.[5]

Later, goods such as paper, goldsmiths' work, silk, spices and oriental perfumes such as frankincense from places up to 7000 km away were sold on the bridge, and the locally produced woad, a valuable and important dye for which Erfurt was renowned, was sold to traders who took it across Europe.[5][7]

During the 16th and 17th centuries, after the current half-timbered houses had been built, trades people such as toymakers, furriers, passementerie makers and leather tanners began to operate from the workshops on the bridge.[6]

In 1624 the city council gave permission for street musicians to play on and around the bridge, with flutes, fiddles, trumpets, crumhorns and pommers. Street musicians still play on the bridge today; both traditional music and contemporary bands are an important part of the annual Krämerbrückenfest.[5]

19th and 20th centuries

St. Benedict's Church at the west end of the bridge was sold in 1807 and later demolished, apart from its tower, in 1810, in order to build a new house. In 1895 the tower was also demolished to enable the construction of the Rathausbrücke (town hall bridge), which crosses the river parallel to the Krämerbrücke on its south side. When the Rathausbrücke was being planned, the idea of completely demolishing the Krämerbrücke was discussed.[4]

In 1945, house numbers 11 to 14 were damaged in an allied air raid, with number 12 being completely destroyed. The buildings were reconstructed in 1954.[8]

An extensive restoration of the whole bridge structure, including the arched vaults, was carried out by the East German government in 1985 and 1986.[8] Since then, vehicles up to a weight of 11 tons have been allowed to use the bridge, although it remains essentially a pedestrian bridge, with only small delivery and maintenance vehicles accessing it at restricted times.

Since 1990 the bridge has been under continual maintenance. Over 1 million Euro has been spent on it.[8]

^ Kadagge, Tatjana (Dir.). Unsere Boulevards - Die Krämerbrücke in Erfurt. MDR TV programme (30 min), broadcast 22 August 2017 ^ Dollinger, Philippe (2000) The German Hansa Stanford University Press. Retrieved 11 June 2018 ^ Cite error: The named reference stade was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference SR was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ a b c d e Herz, Andrea (2015) Stadtgucker Erfurt, Krämerbrücke. Erfurt: Herzformat ^ a b Kaiser, Gerhard (1998) Die Krämerbrücke in Erfurt. Lindenberg: Kunstverlag Fink ^ Thirsk, Joan (1997) Alternative Agriculture: A History: From the Black Death to the Present Day, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 81–82 ^ a b c Raßloff, Steffen (c. 2015) Blaetterbuch_Kraemerbruecke.pdf Archived 12 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Erfurt: Stiftung Krämerbrücke. Retrieved 10 June 2018
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