Fodor's Expert Review Waagegasse and Michaelisstraße

In the old city to the west of the Kramerbrücke are two important streets. The Waagegasse is a narrow street, with no outlets, that forced traders along the Via Regia into the city towards the scales that would weigh their goods. Erfurt collected taxes on these goods, and merchants were required to store their wares in Erfurt for two days in a Speicherhaus. There are several of these warehouses at the end of the alleyway.

The Michaelisstraße today, is a street with pubs and restaurants that at least partially remains true to its original purpose. Erfurt owes a great deal of its wealth to the trade in Woad (Waidpflanze), a cabbage-like plant used to create a spectacular blue pigment. Since blue-colored cloth was a symbol of wealth and the only other source of blue dye was indigo from the Ottoman empire, "Erfurt Blue" was in high demand all over Europe. In the many courtyards along the street, A Waidknecht (a Woad-hand) made the valuable dye by fermenting the dried leaves of the plant in urine. Erfurt's wealthy burghers provided a plentiful source of the essential liquid by establishing a number of breweries near the factories. You can still buy the dye and colored cloth at the Erfurt Blau shop ( Kramerbrücke 2  www.erfurterblau.de).