Wenigemarkt

Wenigemarkt is a small, triangular square in Erfurt’s old town, directly beside the eastern end of the Krämerbrücke. About sixty metres on each side, it brings together low historic buildings, cafés, restaurants, and the Ägidienkirche at its western edge. Most of the square forms a pedestrian zone, while traffic-calmed streets trace its eastern and southern sides.

The market first appears in documents from 1217, although merchants may have gathered here since the eleventh century. Its historic route crossed the Gera on the Krämerbrücke, then continued through Futterstraße towards Johannesstraße, linking the Fischmarkt with the settlement east of the river. Trade later shifted elsewhere, leaving local goods such as grain rather than valuable long-distance merchandise.

In the southeastern corner, a fountain carries Heinrich Apel’s bronze sculpture Raufende Knaben, made in Magdeburg in 1975 and 1976. The figures reached this square in 1990, beside the streets and bridge crossings that still shape its character.