route

It’s not entirely clear exactly which route Bach took on his journey from Ohrdruf in Thuringia to Lüneburg in Lower Saxony.

It is likely that he walked alone from Ohrdruf to Gotha, 15 km to the north, where he met up with his schoolfriend, Georg Erdmann. 

Very little is known about Erdmann, except that he was 3 years older than Bach, came from around Gotha, walked with Bach to Lüneburg, where they both became choristers and pupils at St Michael’s school, and that he later ended up in the diplomatic service in Russia. He and Bach probably corresponded regularly in later life, however all but 2 letters are lost.

From Gotha, the fastest route passes through Mühlhausen, then on to Wernigerode, where the two boys would have joined the Hanseatic League trade route to Lübeck. 

From Braunschweig to Lüneburg there are two possible routes, one along the Hanseatic League trade route via Uelzen (the one in the graphic and the route I will be taking), and one via Celle along an army route between Celle and Lüneburg that does not pass through Uelzen.

Whichever route he took, he will have passed through Ebstorf, which is about 30km south of Lüneburg and may have been the last place he stayed in before reaching his goal.

I performed in churches in the places marked on this map.