St. John's - Erfurt - Association

You are cordially invited to Erfurt

Kai Brodersen first came to St John’s College, Oxford, as an exchange student in 1979/80, and again in 1983/84, and was a very happy Visiting Senior Research Fellow at St John's in 2007/08, leaving the College, and the wonderful house at 22 St Giles he and his family were allowed to use, to become President of the University of Erfurt.

The historic University of Erfurt was founded in 1379 (the same year as New College), While it was thriving in the late middle ages (a famous alumnus is Martin Luther), it was closed in the 19th century, and reopened in 1994, five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The University of Erfurt now covers most arts and humanities subjects, including theology, history, philosophy, languages, literature, religious studies, communication & media, pedagogics, education and teacher training, law, economics, politics and social sciences. The modern university library is ideal for these subjects. The great research library at nearby Gotha with important collections of medieval Western and Arabic manuscripts, and early modern printed books, as well as the great Perthes archive and collection of maps, atlases, and geographical literature are also part of the University of Erfurt.

Erfurt (exactly 51°N 11°E and thus north-west of Munich, south-west of Berlin), a cathedral city and the capital of Thuringia, is a beautiful town, with a large unspoilt medieval and early modern (14th to 18th century) town centre. It also boasts a brand new opera house.

Erfurt is well connected by train.There are frequent local trains to Eisenach, Göttingen, Gotha, Jena, Weimar, and Würzburg, and fast intercity trains to Bamberg, Halle, and Leipzig (50 minutes), Berlin and Nürnberg (100 minutes), and Dresden, Frankfurt, and Munich (150 minutes). An hourly direct train service (150 Minutes) connects Erfurt and  Frankfurt Airport.

As a token of gratitude for Kai's (and his family's) time(s) at St John's, and with the kind permission of the College's Governing Body, we have offered - for more than a decade now - a "St John's-Erfurt Association" to any past or present member of St John's SCR, MCR, JCR, or College staff (and their families), who wish to come to Erfurt. We continue to offer active help with finding accommodation, plus all the support I as a professor of the university can give; there is even a Visiting Scholars scheme, which we can approach for funds.

If you are a past or present member of St John's College, Oxford, and interested in a coming to Erfurt, simply write to kai.brodersen@uni-erfurt.de . Thank you!