EN
Helios Hospital Erfurt is the largest hospital in Erfurt and a hospital of maximum care (Maximalversorgung) in the capital of Thuringia. In plain words, it treats almost every specialty and takes the region’s most complex cases, from severe injuries and tumours to babies born very prematurely.
It has 1,282 beds and more than 30 departments and institutes. As an academic teaching hospital of Friedrich Schiller University Jena, it takes medical students for their final practical year. It is one of the Helios hospitals, part of the German healthcare company Fresenius.
From Erfurt’s Municipal Hospital to Helios Hospital Erfurt
The hospital grew out of the municipal hospital that Erfurt decided to build in 1880, when the city had only a Catholic hospital and a Protestant one that had long been too small. The plans for a general, non-denominational hospital on the northern edge of town came from E. A. Brehme, head doctor of the Protestant hospital, and by 1882 eleven pavilion buildings stood on the site, one of them for infectious diseases. The neighbouring garrison hospital, built in 1894–1896, later joined the grounds. The three-storey surgical building of 1926–1928 was one of the most modern in Germany at the time, and an internal medicine extension in the 1930s completed the expansion of the municipal hospitals.
In the second half of the twentieth century the hospital was the base of the Medical Academy Erfurt, a school that trained doctors. After German reunification the academy was closed, a law that took effect in 1994 formally abolished it, and the hospital carried on independently. It later passed to Helios, part of the Fresenius group.
Departments and Specialist Centres
- Anaesthesia, Emergency Medicine and Perioperative Pain Therapy (Klinik für Anästhesie, Notfallmedizin und perioperative Schmerztherapie)
- Trauma Surgery, Orthopaedics and Hand Surgery (Klinik für Unfallchirurgie, Orthopädie und Handchirurgie)
- Centre for Haematological Neoplasms (Zentrum für Hämatologische Neoplasien)
- Centre for Paediatrics (Zentrum für Pädiatrie)
- Centre for Gynaecology and Obstetrics Erfurt/Gotha (Zentrum für Frauenheilkunde und Geburtshilfe Erfurt/Gotha)
- Centre for Aesthetic Medicine (Zentrum für Ästhetische Medizin)
Adults with leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma are treated in the Centre for Haematological Neoplasms and the 4th Medical Clinic, which offers high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplantation. The trauma and orthopaedic department, which includes hand surgery, treats severe injuries, fractures and joint disease. Gynaecology and obstetrics form one centre shared by the Helios hospitals in Erfurt and nearby Gotha. The anaesthesia team provides anaesthesia and pain relief around surgery and also works in emergency medicine.
The Centre for Paediatrics treats patients from newborns to young adults, combining paediatric and adolescent medicine, paediatric surgery and urology, and child and adolescent psychiatry. Its Level I perinatal centre represents the highest level of care for pregnant women and newborns in Germany and also looks after the smallest premature babies. With paediatric cardiologists, nephrologists and pulmonologists, a cystic fibrosis centre and a paediatric oncology centre on site, a child with several conditions sees specialists of one hospital, without transfers. More in our overview of treatment for children in Germany.
Chief Physicians at Helios Erfurt
Every department is led by a chief physician (Chefarzt), and the medical director is Prof. Rüdiger Gerlach, who also heads neurosurgery and the neuro-oncology centre for tumours of the brain and spinal cord; see also neurosurgery in Germany. Prof. Andreas Steinbrecher heads neurology and is deputy head of the neuro-oncology centre. Prof. Alexander Lauten heads cardiology (3rd Medical Clinic).
Since June 2026, Dr. Dr. Markus Mille has led general and visceral surgery, that is, operations on the abdominal organs, and the centre for cancers of these organs (Viszeralonkologisches Zentrum). Prof. Sebastian Scholl heads the 4th Medical Clinic (haematology, stem cell transplantation, oncology) and is deputy medical director. Prof. Thomas Steiner heads urology, the uro-oncology centre and the robotic surgery centre Robotikzentrum Mitteldeutschland. Prof. Thomas Mückley heads orthopaedics and trauma surgery.
Rooms, Services and Getting to Erfurt
Patients stay in standard rooms; for a surcharge they can book elective services (Wahlleistung) such as a single or double comfort room. The main building has a cafeteria with a terrace and a shop, the hospital has a hairdresser and free Wi-Fi, and rooms with a balcony overlook Erfurt’s North Park (Nordpark). There are no fixed visiting hours, and the wards are quiet at night.
Erfurt is a hub for fast ICE trains to Berlin, Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig, and trams run from the main station to the hospital without a change. The exact route comes with the hospital’s invitation.
Frequently asked questions
Is Helios Hospital Erfurt a university hospital?
No. It is an academic teaching hospital of Friedrich Schiller University Jena and a hospital of maximum care. A university hospital is part of a medical faculty and combines treatment with research and teaching; a teaching hospital trains students but does not belong to the university. Which hospital suits a particular diagnosis is decided on the medical records.
How much does treatment at Helios Hospital Erfurt cost?
There is no fixed price list: the hospital calculates the cost for each case. Doctors in the relevant department review the reports and scans, and the hospital issues an estimate (Kostenvoranschlag). The amount depends on the diagnosis, the treatment and the length of stay. Comfort rooms and treatment by a doctor of choice cost extra, and the invoice is paid directly to the hospital.
Can I choose my doctor at Helios Hospital Erfurt?
Yes, as one of the elective services (Wahlleistung): a patient can arrange treatment by a doctor of their choice, that is, the chief physician of the department or their deputy. Any patient can choose it, and it is paid by private insurance or by the patient. If you want a particular chief physician, say so when your documents are sent to the hospital.
How AlenMed Arranges Treatment at Helios Hospital Erfurt
AlenMed handles the correspondence with the hospital: we translate the medical reports into German and send them, with the scans, to the relevant department. Its doctors decide whether to take the case, and the hospital issues an estimate (Kostenvoranschlag). Every step is described on our page on arranging treatment in Germany.
Payment goes directly to the hospital, which issues the visa invitation after the deposit. We arrange an interpreter for consultations and transfers. Our company office is in Munich and our partner hospitals are all over Germany, so if one of the university hospitals in Germany suits the case better, we will say so.
This material is for reference only and is not an offer. The treatment plan is decided by a doctor at a face-to-face consultation.