Erfurt is the capital and largest city in the state of Thuringia, central Germany. It is located in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, within the wide valley of the Gera river. It is located 100 km (62 mi) south-west of Leipzig, 300 km (186 mi) south-west of Berlin, 400 km (249 mi) north of Munich and 250 km (155 mi) north-east of Frankfurt. Together with a string of neighbouring cities Gotha, Weimar, Jena and others, Erfurt forms the central metropolitan corridor of Thuringia called Thüringer Städtekette (German "Thuringian city chain") with over 500,000 inhabitants.

Erfurt's old town is one of the best preserved medieval city centres in Germany. Tourist attractions include the Krämerbrücke (Merchants' bridge), the Old Synagogue, the ensemble of Erfurt Cathedral and Severikirche (St Severus's Church) and Petersberg Citadel, one of the largest and best preserved town fortresses in Central Europe. The city's economy is based on agriculture, horticulture and microelectronics. Its central location has made it a logistics hub for Germany and central Europe. Erfurt hosts the second-largest trade fair in eastern Germany (after Leipzig), as well as the public television children's channel KiKa.

The city is situated on the Via Regia, a medieval trade and pilgrims' road network. Modern day Erfurt is also a hub for ICE high speed trains and other German and European transport networks. Erfurt was first mentioned in 742, as Saint Boniface founded the diocese. Although the town did not belong to any of the Thuringian states politically, it quickly became the economic centre of the region and it was a member of the Hanseatic League. It was part of the Electorate of Mainz during the Holy Roman Empire, and later became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1802. From 1949 until 1990 Erfurt was part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The University of Erfurt was founded in 1379, making it the first university to be established within the geographic area which constitutes modern-day Germany. It closed in 1816 and was re-established in 1994, with the main modern campus on what was a teachers' training college. Martin Luther (1483-1546) was its most famous student, studying there from 1501 before entering St Augustine's Monastery in 1505. Other noted Erfurters include the medieval philosopher and mystic Meister Eckhart (c. 1260-1328), the Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) and the sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920).

Erfurt has a great variety of museums:

• The Stadtmuseum (municipal museum) shows aspects of Erfurt's history with a focus on the Middle Ages, early modern history, Martin Luther and the university. Other parts of the Stadtmuseum are the Neue Mühle (new mill), an old water mill still in operation, and the Benaryspeicher (Benary's magazine) with an exhibition of old printing machines.
• The Alte Synagoge (Old Synagogue) is one of the oldest synagogue buildings in Europe. It is now a museum of local Jewish history. It houses facsimiles of medieval Hebrew manuscripts and the Erfurt Treasure, a hoard of coins and goldsmiths' work that is assumed to have belonged to Jews who hid them in 1349 at the time of the Black Death pogroms.
• The Erinnerungsort Topf & Söhne (Topf and Sons memorial) is on the site of the factory of the company which constructed crematoria for Auschwitz and other concentration camps. Its exhibitions explore the collaboration of a civilian company with the National Socialist regime in the holocaust.
• Memorial and Education Centre Andreasstrasse, (Stasi Museum). On the site of the former Erfurt Stasi prison, where over 5000 people were held. On 4 December 1989, the building was occupied by local residents. It was the first of many such takeovers of Stasi buildings in the former East Germany. Today it has exhibitions on the history of East Germany and the activities of its regime.
• The Angermuseum is one of the main art museums of Erfurt, named after Anger Square, where it is located. It focuses on modern graphic arts, medieval sculpture and early modern artisanal handicraft.
• The Kunsthalle Erfurt (Erfurt City Art Gallery) has exhibitions of contemporary art, of local, national and international artists.
• The Margaretha Reichardt Haus is the home and workshop of the textile designer and former Bauhaus student, Margaretha Reichardt (1907-1984).
• The Peterskirche (Saint Peter's church) houses an exhibition of concrete art, i.e. totally abstract art (not art made out of concrete).
• The Deutsches Gartenbaumuseum (German Horticulture Museum) is housed at the Cyriaksburg Citadel.
• The Naturkundemuseum (Natural History Museum) is situated in a medieval woad warehouse and explores Thuringian flora and fauna, geology and ecology.
• The Museum für Thüringer Volkskunde (Museum of Folk Art and Cultural Anthropology) looks at the ordinary life of people in Thuringia in the past and shows exhibits of peasant and artisan traditions.
• The Elektromuseum (Museum of Electrical Engineering) shows the history of electric engines, which have featured prominently in Erfurt's economy.
• Schloss Molsdorf in the district of Molsdorf is a Baroque palace with an exhibition about the painter Otto Knöpfer.