Famous name, famous place. Saxony throbs bountifully from the heart of the schoolroom maps, the verifiable heart of Europe.
And at the heart of Saxony, Erfurt can claim to be the medieval heart of Germany. It is remarkably well preserved, a refuge amid the mayhem of the world wars in the 20th century and the orgy of destruction that was the Thirty Years' War in the 1600s.
What is left is worth a visit: a delightful blend of wealthy patrician townhouses and lovingly restored half-timbered buildings, overlooked by the towering spires of Mariendom and Severikirche, which loosely translate as St Mary's Cathedral and the Church of St Severus. Inside one of the churches the two organs can be played simultaneously by one organist, and regular concerts there are a must-do for visitors.
There is another star attraction. The Merchants' Bridge (Krämerbrücke), with 32 houses built along its 120m length, is Europe's longest inhabited bridge and one of only two of its kind to survive.
But there is more. Just a stone's throw from the cathedral hill is Petersberg Citadel, the only extensively preserved baroque town fortress in Europe, with an intricate maze of underground passageways for visitors to explore. They even installed a car park in modern times.
Originally marking the crossroads of key trading routes, Erfurt now finds itself back as the crossroads of the tourist trade, attracted by an amenity rare in war-ravaged Germany, an intact medieval town centre.
It is enough to make you thirsty. There is a time honoured tradition of stopping off for a beer herearound, one for the 'woad', so to speak.
Blue dye was extremely expensive in 14th century Europe. One gram of blue dye was the equivalent of one gram of gold. In Erfurt they made a lot of money out of dying for Thuringia, as it were.
Woad, the key ingredient for blue dye, was grown in rural districts around Erfurt and because of the mild climate there was usually an abundant harvest. They needed urine to mix with their woad and complete the dye-making process. They sold beer, gathered the end product (an early example of recycling) and, hey presto, got rich.
The houses still have tell-tale holes over the door, straw bushes stuck in them would let townspeople know that the beer was available. Outside the entrance was a wooden vat where you could deposit your urine on the way out.
In all there were five wealthy Thuringian woad-towns, Erfurt, Gotha, Tennstedt, Arnstadt and Langensalza. In 1392 the Erfurt University was founded, (students and beer made an ideal mix even then) and Erfurt was one of the wealthiest towns in Europe.
Nearby is the Scotstift, literally the Irish church, where the Irish missionaries brought the faith during the dark ages. Some say the Irish missionaries also brought the woad on which the prosperity of the town was founded.
And a short walk on is the Augustinerkloster, an ancient monastery, where Martin Luther lived as a monk from 1505-11.
Bach's parents were married there - it didn't get to be Bach's birthplace but it might as well have been. His parents were organ players.
Erfurt managed to survive with little destruction in the world war, so an architectural museum piece greets the visitor. Standing in the main square you can itemise the architectural styles of the houses as you go along the street, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Rococo, the town house in new Gothic and the modernistic Bauhaus style from the Weimar days.
Ega, some of the largest and most flamboyant gardens in Germany, is a tourist attraction in its own right, hosting major cultural events and conferences for up to 6,000 visitors.
After centuries of slumber, it seems Erfurt is indeed waking up and smelling the roses.
Erfurt can be reached by fast train from Frankfurt airport, which is served three times daily from Dublin by Lufthansa.
