Stuttering Home
Past and future
Surrounded by numerous bodies of water
The most famous point in the town of Stotternheim is outside the town and is the starting point of our explorations: the Luther monument. This is where the life of the later reformer Martin Luther takes a decisive turn: from studying law to becoming a monk. The storm, which puts the young student in fear of death, also changes European history significantly, affecting many parts of the world.
We continue from the monument to the actual town of Stotternheim. The path is bordered by Lake Klinge and Lake Luther. Two of the numerous bodies of water that surround this part of the city of Erfurt. The most famous is probably the Stotternheimer See, on the west bank of which is the popular “Strandbad Stotternheim”.
we reach the Protestant Church of St. Peter and Paul with the community cemetery. Whoever enters this through the north-eastern gate
His gaze inevitably falls on these elaborately designed gravestones:
These date from the 19th century and are rarely found in Thuringian cemeteries today. It is precisely the details and ornaments of these “memory stones” made of sandstone that differ from the gravestones and urn fields of our time.
Chapter “Spa town Stotternheim” is completed
We leave the cemetery and continue following our east-west route through the town. We leave the noise of the traffic on the busy Erfurter Straße behind us with every step we take. The new development area on the western edge of the town is already in rural tranquility. In the north we now see an inconspicuous piece of forest where an almost forgotten chapter of Stotternheim's history takes place. It is called “The Health Resort Stotternheim”
This is exactly where things really started to happen in the mid-19th century. The Louisenhall brine bath is based on salt production from saline water. This part of Stotternheim's history lasts almost a hundred years. Generations of guests relax here in bathing facilities, the promenade path and a spa park. Stotternheim was a popular health resort in the heart of Thuringia right up until the Second World War. The end of the war in 1945 also meant the end of the spa business. Salt will be mined around Louisenhall for a few more years, but the “Stotternheim health resort” chapter is closed.
Refrigerator from Stotternheim
On our way through the old Stotternheim, which is located north of the Protestant church, we reach this corridor at the end of our explorations at the end of the town in the direction of Alperstedt:
Here you can find the former refrigerator of the Stotternheim community, the Felsenkeller. From 1837, the city's innkeepers were able to store perishable goods in two cellar vaults at this location. Later, a grove of honor will be built above it for local citizens who lost their lives as soldiers. Remnants of this can still be seen today.
Conclusion:
And so our walk through Stotternheim ends as it began: with a piece of the past. We see part of the future on the return trip to Erfurt. Well-known companies have set up their logistics centers on the southern edge of the town. New jobs are being created here and for many Erfurt residents the Stotternheim district is becoming important as a place to work in Erfurt.
