Tracing the history of democracy

Sondershausen Palace – two counts between the fronts

Even though Sondershausen itself was not directly involved in the events of the Peasants’ War, the town is closely associated with two people who played an interesting role during this period, namely Count Heinrich XXXI of Schwarzburg and his son Günther XL. These two noblemen sided with the peasants during the famous uprisings 500 years ago. From today’s perspective, the pact with Thomas Müntzer and his followers is quite remarkable. “Indeed, it clearly shows that the line between nobility and peasantry was not as clear-cut as many earlier historians would have us believe,” says Dr Carolin Schäfer, director of the Sondershausen Palace Museum. 

Whether Heinrich XXXI and Günther XL joined the peasants’ “Christian League” because they sympathised with their demands is impossible to determine with any degree of historical certainty. Dr Schäfer suspects it was pragmatism, combining the counts’ desire to protect themselves against further devastation with an intention to expand their influence and domains. The history of the counts and their part in the uprising is the subject of a special exhibition at Sondershausen Palace called ‘Grafen im Zwiespalt’, which opens on 4 May 2025.

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Sondershausen Castle, ©Marcus Glahn, Schatzkammer Thüringen

Schwarzburg Castle – freedom and human rights enshrined in a constitution

Schwarzburg Castle in the Schwarzatal valley is a legacy of Germany’s feudal past. But it is actually better known for being where Friedrich Ebert, the first Chancellor of Germany’s Weimar Republic, spent his holidays than as the ancestral home of the Counts and Princes of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Of course, the holidays themselves were not particularly eventful. More significant was the fact that Schwarzburg Castle was where Ebert signed the first Weimar Constitution - granting constitutional status to freedom and human rights for the first time in German history. A historic milestone of which, remarkably, there is no photographic or video record. 

This makes the work of local enthusiasts all the more important. The Friends of the Castle, the Castle Foundation and the Museum Association have made it their mission to preserve the memory of these events, thus making a vital contribution to today’s discourse on freedom, equality and peace.

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Armoury at Schwarzburg Castle, ©Vanessa Finn, Thüringer Tourismus GmbH

Andreasstrasse memorial in Erfurt – prisoners for freedom

“We didn’t believe that German reunification would happen and wanted our children to grow up in freedom, away from the doctrine of the East German state. That’s why we made the decision to flee.” Ilona Soßdorf is one of over 5,000 people who were held and interrogated at the prison on Erfurt’s Andreasstrasse on political grounds. Their desire for freedom and attempts to flee the republic resulted in the loss of all their civil rights and liberties.

The former prison is now a memorial both to the victims of Stasi repression under the East German dictatorship and to the role played by the prison in the Peaceful Revolution. Because it was here, on 4 December 1989, that brave East German citizens first occupied a “Stasi bastion”, just a stone’s throw from Erfurt’s cathedral square. Today, a multimedia exhibition brings to life the history of the Andreasstrasse prison and the associated struggle for freedom. The restored cell wing is particularly eye-opening, as this is where it becomes abundantly clear what it meant for prisoners such as Ilona Soßdorf to be deprived of their human rights.

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Memorial and Educational Site Andreasstraße, ©Erfurt Tourismus und Marketing GmbH

House of the Weimar Republic – birthplace of Germany’s first democracy

It took exactly 100 years for one of the most significant chapters of German history to be given a memorial site at its birthplace. Called the House of the Weimar Republic, it is situated opposite the Weimar National Theatre and was where the National Assembly met in 1919 and the Weimar Republic was founded. Though the history of the first German democracy is a short one, the Weimar Republic is recognised as being an era of new freedoms. It is synonymous with the cultural exuberance of the Roaring Twenties and with social issues such as women’s suffrage and the establishment of people’s fundamental rights. 

Examining themes as diverse as Bauhaus, the Threepenny Opera, human rights and inflation, the House of the Weimar Republic uses films, pictures, original artefacts and interactive elements to offer a unique insight into this extraordinary period. Its multimedia exhibition repeatedly makes connections to present times and thus highlights the importance of the Weimar Republic to the freedom we enjoy today.

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View of the exhibition in the House of the Weimar Republic, ©Candy Welz, Weimarer Republik e. V.

Augustinian Monastery Erfurt

The Augustinian monastery in Erfurt is a former monastery of the Augustinian hermits. Influenced by an inner call to change, the young Martin Luther entered a strictly regulated monastic community here. To this day, it is an important place of spiritual life, education and democracy. The monastery is also an island of bliss and tranquillity in the middle of the bustling city of Erfurt. The Augustinian church with its 800 old stained glass windows, the adjoining cloister and the historic rooms take you back in time. In the gardens, visitors can feel the sun's rays on their skin in the summer months, hear the bees buzzing - time slows down here and the mind comes to rest. Only when you leave the gate and enter the alleys of the old town does ‘normal’ life begin again.

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Front garden of the monastery, ©Stadtverwaltung Erfurt

Wartburg Castle – the people’s struggle for freedom

Majestic, sublime, awe-inspiring - you can take your pick of adjectives to describe Wartburg Castle, which sits in splendour high above the town of Eisenach. And yet none of them fully capture the unique atmosphere of this historic place. To truly experience Wartburg Castle, you have to go there yourself. Your reward for conquering the ascent to the castle are countless paths back to past times, one of which takes you to the Wartburg Festival in 1817. 

This gathering of around 500 students presents something of a contradiction for historians. On the one hand, it was an expression of demands for a unified German nation state with a democratic constitution and civil liberties. But on the other, it exhibited a radical form of German nationalism as well as open hatred of Jews and the French. For all its unsavoury aspects, the Wartburg Festival must be seen as an important step on the hard road to a German democracy. Even today, the spirit of freedom is tangible within the castle’s ancient walls. Never more so than when you stand on the south tower and let your gaze wander over the wide green expanse of the Thuringian Forest.

Freedom is one of the greatest assets we possess as a society. A look into the past makes it clear that people’s ongoing fight to preserve it has many different facets. Even in our current times, with new crises and wars, it is incumbent on all of us to protect freedom and not to take it for granted.
 

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Wartburg Castle, ©Moritz Kertzscher, Thüringer Tourismus GmbH

Text: Jessika Fichtel is a freelance copywriter, blogger and book author from Eisenach. She creates authentic content with passion and expertise.
Contribution to Augustinerkloster: Carolina von Stojentin, Thüringer Tourismus GmbH
Titelbild: Florian Trykowski is a freelance advertising photographer and licensed drone pilot. In addition to his work as a concert and band photographer, he specialises in tourism.