Erfurt Cathedral

Erfurt Cathedral (Erfurter Dom, St. Mary's Cathedral) and the neighboring Church of St. Severus rise side by side above Erfurt's vast Domplatz square, forming one of Germany's most striking city skylines. A broad flight of 70 steps leads up to the Gothic cathedral, home to rare medieval stained glass and the Gloriosa, the largest surviving medieval bell in the world. If you are exploring things to do in Erfurt, this is where to start.

Where it is and how to get there

Erfurt is the capital of Thuringia in central Germany and a major ICE high-speed rail hub, with fast direct trains from Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, and Leipzig. It also makes an easy day trip from Weimar, just 15 minutes away by regional train, and the Deutschlandticket covers local and regional services. From Erfurt's main station, take the tram to the Domplatz stop or walk about 20 minutes through the old town. Parking is not allowed on the cathedral hill itself, so drivers should use one of the downtown garages.

A thousand years of history

In 742 the missionary Saint Boniface had a bishopric confirmed in Erfurt, and St. Mary's is first documented in 1117. A late Romanesque basilica followed from 1154. In the Gothic era, builders extended the hill eastward on massive vaulted substructures to make room for the soaring High Choir. Martin Luther was ordained a priest here on April 3, 1507. A grimmer footnote comes from 1184, when a floor in the provost's building next door collapsed during a royal assembly and about 60 people fell into the cesspit below and died, an event known as the Erfurt latrine disaster. The church became a cathedral again in 1994, when the Diocese of Erfurt was re-established. Rising 81.26 meters, it is the oldest and most important church in the city.

Highlights inside

• Stained glass windows in the High Choir, created around 1370 to 1420, among the largest cycles of their kind in Germany
• Carved choir stalls from 1329 and a towering Baroque high altar
• The Wolfram candlestick, a bronze figure from around 1160
• The Triangle Portal, with statues of the apostles and the wise and foolish virgins
• The Gloriosa bell, cast in July 1497 by master founder Gerhard van Wou right above the steps and rung only on special occasions; it is famous for the purity of its tone

Opening hours, tickets, and tours

As of October 2026, the cathedral is open outside services from April to October, Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and in winter until 5 p.m.; on Sundays and holidays it opens 1 to 5 p.m. Entry is free. Guided cathedral tours cost €8 (reduced €6) and run daily at 2 p.m. for individual visitors, limited to 15 people. From April to October you can book a bell tour up to the Gloriosa by phone. Wheelchair users can reach the hill by the Severihof road instead of the steps, and a ramp leads to the High Choir.

Is it worth visiting?

Definitely. Plan 45 minutes to two hours, add the medieval Krämerbrücke (Merchants' Bridge) and the Petersberg Citadel nearby, and you have a perfect day in Erfurt. In Advent, the Domplatz hosts the city's Christmas market. The cathedral information office by the cathedral steps sells guidebooks and takes bookings for cathedral and bell tours.

Christmas market 2026

At the foot of the cathedral and St. Severus church, the 176th Erfurt Christmas market takes place from 24 November to 22 December 2026, with more than 200 wooden stalls around Domplatz. Opening hours for 2026 have not been published yet. In 2025 the market opened Sunday to Wednesday from 10 am to 8 pm, until 9 pm on Thursdays and until 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. More in our guide Erfurt Christmas market 2026.