Ancestral home of the Bach family – Exploring the history of the Bachs in Erfurt

Merchants’ Church on Anger square – the Bachs’ ‘family church’

The Protestant Merchants’ Church in the northern part of Anger square is one of the city’s oldest parish churches. The first recorded mention of its Romanesque predecessor dates back to 1248, when it was used by the merchants who were based in Erfurt. After the great fire of 1291, the church was rebuilt as a triple-naved Gothic basilica with a high-Gothic chancel and two Romanesque towers. It remains largely unchanged to this day. The Merchants’ Church is an authentic Luther site. On 22 October 1522, Martin Luther delivered an important sermon here, ‘On the cross and the suffering of a Christian’. A crossshaped memorial in the outer wall of the church commemorates this event. Erfurt’s Luther statue stands right in front of the church. The Merchants’ Church is regarded as the ‘family church’ of the Bachs, with church records documenting 145 baptisms, weddings and funerals of this musical family in Erfurt. Johann Sebastian Bach’s parents were married in the Merchants’ Church in 1668. After they moved to Eisenach there were regular ‘Bach family days’, which were also attended by Johann Sebastian Bach.

For information on themed guided tours in German language please see: www.kaufmaenner-gesellschaft.de

Prediger Church

Johann Christoph Bach, Johann Sebastian’s oldest brother, was a student of Johann Pachelbel, the organist at Erfurt’s Prediger Church. Johann Kittel, who lived in a house on Marktstrasse, was Bach’s final student. In 1756, he became the organist at the Barfüsser Church in Erfurt and later at the Prediger Church. The early Gothic hall church was built by Dominican monks in the 13th to 14th century and still retains many traces of Master Eckhart, the great theologian and mystic. In the summer, the church has regular organ recitals.

St Michael’s Church

Johann Egidius Bach was the director of Erfurt’s municipal orchestra as well as the organist of St Michael’s Church. Located in the city centre, the late Gothic edifice is also the city’s university church. These days the church is run by the Protestant City Mission, and its Compenius organ, dating from 1652, is widely renowned. Regular concerts throughout the year feature guest performances by organists from around the world.

Augustinian Church

The Augustinian hermits’ church and monastery were built around 1300. Martin Luther entered the monastery on 17 July 1505. Johann Sebastian Bach regularly visited the city where his relatives lived, including on official business, such as inspecting the new organ of the Augustinian church in 1716.