[3] It spans the Breitstrom, a branch of Gera River, and connects two town squares – Benediktsplatz and Wenigemarkt.

[6] The construction of the houses on the Krämerbrücke was completed in 1486, following a fire in 1472 which destroyed nearly half of the city and the market stalls on the stone bridge.

[4] The bridge was part of the Via Regia, a medieval trade and pilgrims' road network, which linked Rome with the Baltic Sea, and Moscow with Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain.

[11][5] For about the first hundred years following the stone bridge's construction, mainly local produce was sold in its stalls.

These continued to have stalls on the bridge, selling "Apoteki", such as herbs for healing and culinary use, wine and vegetables.

[11][13] During the 16th and 17th centuries, after the current half-timbered houses had been built, trades people such as toymakers, furriers, passementerie makers and leather tanners began to operate from the workshops on the bridge.

[12] In 1624 the city council gave permission for street musicians to play on and around the bridge, with flutes, fiddles, trumpets, crumhorns and pommers.

Street musicians still play on the bridge today; both traditional music and contemporary bands are an important part of the annual Krämerbrückenfest.

[11] St. Benedict's Church at the west end of the bridge was sold in 1807 and later demolished, apart from its tower, in 1810, in order to build a new house.

In 1895 the tower was also demolished to enable the construction of the Rathausbrücke (town hall bridge), which crosses the river parallel to the Krämerbrücke on its south side.

[14] An extensive restoration of the whole bridge structure, including the arched vaults, was carried out by the East German government in 1985 and 1986.

The foundation strictly controls what type of businesses can operate from the bridge to ensure that it remains in keeping with its historical roots.

The festival is officially opened by an actor playing the folkloric character Till Eulenspiegel, who according to legend visited Erfurt and fooled the professors at the university that he had taught a donkey to read.