{"id":2185154,"date":"2026-10-08T07:33:42","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2185154"},"modified":"2026-10-08T07:33:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:33:42","slug":"what-was-the-plague-really-like-in-germany-experts-explain-the-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2185154","title":{"rendered":"What was the plague really like in Germany? Experts explain the facts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/94\/30\/48\/1200x675_cmsv2_154ed58e-736b-5ae1-a455-62c66be0cc53-9943048.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"abe-2931677-pos1-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-1 m-modeDesktop-1\" data-nid=\"2931677\" data-cid=\"9942681\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2931677-label-pos1-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/94\/26\/81\/189x106_cmsv2_22300f64-7779-5a8d-95a8-94134be1a718-9942681.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"FILE. 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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attends a joint debate ahead to the 15-16 October EU summit in Strasbourg, France, 6 Oct. 2026\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Economy<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    EU debt could hit \u20ac1 trillion by 2027, auditors warn\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2930723-pos2-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2\" data-nid=\"2930723\" data-cid=\"9941355\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2930723-label-pos2-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/93\/80\/98\/189x106_cmsv2_2bc19e26-2653-5320-b4ea-88157b9df303-9938098.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Patient hospitalised at S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o Hospital receives visit from pet, Porto, 2 October 2026\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Health news<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Portuguese hospital lets pets visit owners on wards: a new model?\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2931990-pos3-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2\" data-nid=\"2931990\" data-cid=\"9944185\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2931990-label-pos3-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/94\/41\/85\/189x106_cmsv2_c20ca1d0-e7c7-576e-9ec1-9aea1cb58434-9944185.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"File - Chief Executive of Ryanair, Michael O&apos;Leary, speaks during a press conference in London, Tuesday, 31 Aug. 2021. \" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Business<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Ryanair CEO sees no European jet fuel shortages into summer 2027\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2931973-pos4-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 the-media-object--has-video\" data-nid=\"2931973\" data-cid=\"9944059\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2931973-label-pos4-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/94\/40\/59\/189x106_cmsv2_20048355-2f6e-5ca8-b6c7-d0f1cdbe98e8-9944059.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"President Donald Trump dances at a campaign rally at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Wednesday, Oct. 7\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    World News<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    \u201cI settled eight wars\u201d: Trump says he deserves Nobel Peace Prize\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"helper-site-row o-article-newsy\">\n<div class=\"helper-site-container o-article-newsy__container\">\n<div class=\"o-article-newsy__main\">\n<header class=\"h-grid o-article-newsy__main__header\">\n<nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumbs\" class=\"c-article-breadcrumbs\">\n<div id=\"adb-article-breadcrumb\" class=\"c-article-breadcrumbs__list\">\n<p>                          Europe<\/p>\n<p>                          Europe News<\/p><\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<h1 class=\"c-article-redesign-title\">\n                            What was the plague really like in Germany? Experts explain the facts<\/h1>\n<div class=\"c-article-image-video u-position-relative \">\n<div class=\"js-superdiv u-aspect-ratio-16x9 u-position-relative \" data-controller=\"video-player\" data-sponsored=\"Partner content\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-poster-img c-article-media__img\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/94\/30\/48\/1536x864_cmsv2_154ed58e-736b-5ae1-a455-62c66be0cc53-9943048.jpg\" width=\"1536\" height=\"864\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Paul F\u00fcrst, &quot;Doctor Schnabel of Rome&quot;, historical illustration of the plague\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-caption u-position-absolute\"><i id=\"article-caption-content\" class=\"c-article-caption__content\"><span class=\"c-article-caption__text\"><br \/>\n              Paul F\u00fcrst, Doctor Beak of Rome &#8211; Historical depiction of the plague<br \/>\n                    <span class=\"u-color-white\">&#8211;\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"c-article-caption__copyright\">Copyright\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"c-article-caption__credit\">Eugen Holl\u00e4nder, Die Karikatur und Satire in der Medizin: Medico-Kunsthistorische Studie von Professor Dr. Eugen Holl\u00e4nder, Stuttgart:Ferdinand Enke, 1921)<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-image-copyright c-article-image-copyright--novideo\">\n      Copyright\u00a0Eugen Holl\u00e4nder, Die Karikatur und Satire in der Medizin: Medico-Kunsthistorische Studie von Professor Dr. Eugen Holl\u00e4nder, Stuttgart:Ferdinand Enke, 1921)\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"h-grid o-article-newsy__main__body u-article-content\">\n<div class=\"o-article-newsy__contributors-publication-date\">\n<div class=\"c-article-contributors\">\n  By&amp;nbspKirsten Ripper&amp;nbsp&amp;&amp;nbsp<b>Euronews<\/b><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-publication-date\" data-timestamp=\"1791444822\">\n         Published on<br \/>\n            <time datetime=\"2026-10-08 09:33:42 +02:00\">08\/10\/2026 &#8211; 9:33 GMT+2<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-share-comment u-align-items-center u-display-flex\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__links u-align-items-center u-display-flex u-justify-content-center js-c-article-share-comment-share\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Share<\/span><\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Comments<\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label c-article-share-comment__label--always\">Add Euronews on Google<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-share-comment-popup-overlay js-c-article-share-comment-popup-overlay u-display-none\">\n<div id=\"js-c-article-share-comment-popup\" class=\"c-article-share-comment-popup js-c-article-share-comment-popup\">\n<div class=\"c-article-share-comment-popup__header u-display-flex\"><span>Share<\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/icon-close.svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" alt=\"Close 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decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-bluesky.svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" alt=\"bluesky\" loading=\"lazy\"><span>Bluesky<\/span><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-bluesky.svg\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" alt=\"bluesky\" class=\"u-show-for-desktop\" loading=\"lazy\"><span class=\"u-display-flex u-gap-1 u-show-for-mobile-only\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-threads.svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" alt=\"threads\" loading=\"lazy\"><span>Threads<\/span><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-threads.svg\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" alt=\"threads\" class=\"u-show-for-desktop\" loading=\"lazy\"><span class=\"u-display-flex u-gap-1 u-show-for-mobile-only\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-whatsapp.svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" alt=\"whatsapp\" loading=\"lazy\"><span>Whatsapp<\/span><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-whatsapp.svg\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" alt=\"whatsapp\" class=\"u-show-for-desktop\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"c-article-summary\">\n        Global concern after an incident at a Russian plague lab is making headlines. German plague experts tell Euronews what lessons the &#8220;Black Death&#8221; holds today.<br \/>\n    <\/h2>\n<div class=\"c-article-content js-article-content\">\n<p>After a 28-year-old laboratory assistant working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia died from a &#8220;lung infection of unknown origin&#8221;, many questions remain unanswered. Most recently, even US President Donald Trump sounded the alarm.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"c-ad u-show-for-mobile-only\">\n<div class=\"c-ad__placeholder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-ad__placeholder__logo\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/logos\/logo-euronews-stacked-outlined-72x72-grey-9.svg\" width=\"72\" height=\"72\" alt loading=\"lazy\"><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-ad u-show-for-desktop\">\n<div class=\"c-ad__placeholder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-ad__placeholder__logo\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/logos\/logo-euronews-stacked-outlined-72x72-grey-9.svg\" width=\"72\" height=\"72\" alt loading=\"lazy\"><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>But how dangerous is the situation really? And how can plague research help to put the current case into perspective?<\/p>\n<h2>Where and when was the Black Death worst in Germany?<\/h2>\n<p>During the lockdowns, many people compared the coronavirus with the plague epidemics of past centuries. At the plague column in Vienna, people laid flowers during the Covid-19 crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, as archaeogeneticist Johannes Krause from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig explains to Euronews, the plague in Central Europe is far older than is often assumed. &#8220;The plague bacterium <em>Yersinia pestis<\/em> can be identified via DNA from skeletons dating back to the Neolithic and Bronze Age, including in southern Germany \u2013 for example in the Augsburg region.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Krause says: &#8220;The best-known outbreak is the Black Death between 1346 and 1353. It reached the territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1348 onwards via Italy and France. According to tradition, M\u00fchldorf am Inn was the first German-speaking town to be affected, on 29 June 1348. The port cities of L\u00fcbeck and Hamburg followed in the summer of 1350, probably via sea routes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6558345642540621\">\n<div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n<div class=\"widget__contents\">\n<figure class=\"widget__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/94\/30\/48\/808x532_cmsv2_eb853a25-546a-5341-b167-9e05089f3fbb-9943048.jpg\" alt=\"The plague in Marseille\"><figcaption class=\"widget__caption\"><span class=\"widget__captionWrap\"><span class=\"widget__captionText\">The plague in Marseille<\/span><span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Von Michel Serre <\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Exactly where the plague epidemic raged most fiercely is unclear. &#8220;It is not really possible to name a single &#8216;worst&#8217; city; the sources are patchy,&#8221; says Johannes Krause. &#8220;Chronicles, for example, report around 12,000 deaths in Erfurt in 1350, and Vienna is thought to have lost around a third of its inhabitants. Overall, probably between a third and a half of the population died, with considerable regional variation.&#8221; <\/p>\n<h2>Pathogens spread along travel routes<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;The spread of the plague was also rooted in long-distance trade links,&#8221; explains Martin Bauch from the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO), &#8220;in a sense it was a side-effect of early &#8216;globalisation&#8217;.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Looking at the history of the plague, Johannes Krause notes &#8220;that pathogens spread along human trade and travel routes \u2013 then via the Silk Road and the Black Sea, today by aeroplane.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While the plague case in Russia has not been confirmed, even if there was spread of the bacteria, because of the sanctions imposed in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin&#8217;s full-scale war of aggression in Ukraine, travellers from Europe are currently a rare sight in Siberia.<\/p>\n<p>The plague also teaches us that many pandemics originate in animals and that pathogens change through mutation and adaptation, as Krause explains. &#8220;The plague illustrates this impressively, because we can trace its development over thousands of years in DNA.&#8221; And the history of the plague shows that early, determined measures are effective. &#8220;Quarantine was invented as a response to the plague.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>&#8220;Epidemics change societies&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p>Another lesson from the history of the Black Death, according to Johannes Krause, is &#8220;that epidemics change societies, up to and including the persecution of minorities. The pogroms against Jewish women and men in 1348 and 1349 are a sobering warning.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Martin Bauch agrees: &#8220;What we can see very clearly is society&#8217;s search for scapegoats: in the context of the Black Death there were pogroms against the Jewish population, and even with coronavirus there were deep social tensions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-euronews\nwidget--size-fullwidth\nwidget--align-center\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n<div class=\"auto widget__ratio widget__ratio--16x9\">\n        \n      <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>And finally, as Johannes Krause points out, &#8220;the plague has not disappeared: it survives in rodent populations and repeatedly causes outbreaks, but today it can be treated very effectively with antibiotics and therefore does not pose a threat to humanity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id data-event=\"widget_related\">\n<div class=\"c-widget-related__title\"><b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b><\/div>\n<ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\" id=\"abe-article-related-1\">\n<li class=\"c-widget-related__item\">Trump to talk plague with Putin as Russia plays down fears of outbreak<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-widget-related__item\">Russia denies plague death but quarantines hundreds without explanation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Possible plague mass grave discovered near Erfurt<\/h2>\n<p>At the beginning of the year, an interdisciplinary research team from Leipzig, which includes Martin Bauch, discovered what may be a plague mass grave near Erfurt. <\/p>\n<p>Commenting on the find, he said: &#8220;For the first time we may be able to understand the reasons for the high mortality during the &#8216;Black Death&#8217;: did it make a major difference that people at the time were repeatedly exposed to periods of malnutrition, also because of climatic fluctuations and cooling processes? We can ultimately see this in the bones, but also in the records examined by historical research.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>According to chronicles, during the 1350 plague outbreak, around 12,000 dead were buried in eleven large pits outside the city of Erfurt. Using sediment cores, the researchers reconstructed the medieval landscape and identified an area of around 10 metres by 15 metres by 3.5 metres containing fragments of human bone. According to the researchers, analyses date the human remains found to the 14th century.<\/p>\n<p>On the discovery, Johannes Krause said: &#8220;Particularly interesting is the fact that the grave was deliberately searched for and found. Experts point out that there are fewer than ten securely dated mass graves of the Black Death in Europe. However, whether this is really a plague grave can only be shown by an excavation with DNA analysis. Alternative explanations, such as famines or other disasters, cannot yet be ruled out. If the suspicion is confirmed, the material would make it possible to compare the plague genomes from this region with those from other parts of Europe.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                                  Go to accessibility shortcuts<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-article-share-comment u-align-items-center u-display-flex\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__links u-align-items-center u-display-flex u-justify-content-center js-c-article-share-comment-share\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Share<\/span><\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Comments<\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label c-article-share-comment__label--always\">Add Euronews on Google<\/span><\/div>\n<div id=\"adb-article-you-might-also-like\" class=\"perf-cv-auto c-article-you-might-also-like\">\n<h2 class=\"c-article-you-might-also-like__title\">\n        Read more<br \/>\n      <\/h2>\n<div class=\"c-article-you-might-also-like__item\">\n<h3>\n<p>                  Trump to talk plague with Putin as Russia plays down fears of outbreak<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-you-might-also-like__item\">\n<h3>\n<p>                  Russia denies plague death but quarantines hundreds without explanation<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-you-might-also-like__item\">\n<h3>\n<p>                  US probes EU carbon border tax over potential trade barriers<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"perf-cv-auto\">\n<ul id=\"adb-article-tags\" class=\"c-tags-list\">\n<li class=\"c-tags-list__item\">\n<section class=\"tc-cta\" data-twig-component=\"Cta-default\">\n  Epidemics<br \/>\n<\/section>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-tags-list__item\">\n<section class=\"tc-cta\" data-twig-component=\"Cta-default\">\n  Medical research<br \/>\n<\/section>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-tags-list__item\">\n<section class=\"tc-cta\" data-twig-component=\"Cta-default\">\n  Russia<br \/>\n<\/section>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-tags-list__item\">\n<section class=\"tc-cta\" data-twig-component=\"Cta-default\">\n  Germany<br \/>\n<\/section>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-tags-list__item\">\n<section class=\"tc-cta\" data-twig-component=\"Cta-default\">\n  Disease<br \/>\n<\/section>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-tags-list__item\">\n<section class=\"tc-cta\" data-twig-component=\"Cta-default\">\n  History<br \/>\n<\/section>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tp-vuukle\">\n<div class=\"c-vuukle-skeleton\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"c-vuukle-skeleton__header\"><span class=\"c-vuukle-skeleton__title\">Comments<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"o-article-newsy__aside\">\n<div class=\"c-ad-wrapper o-article-newsy__aside__content-1\" data-ad-name=\"adzone-halfpage\">\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad-halfpage u-show-for-desktop\">\n<div class=\"c-ad__placeholder\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-ad__placeholder__logo\" 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class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/94\/40\/10\/320x180_cmsv2_9c47b560-67e7-5d42-884d-f9956f54d550-9944010.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Image shared by Vadym Filashkin.\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    At least 30 killed after Russian strike hits two buses in Donetsk<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-top-stories__item\">\n<article id=\"abe-2931960-pos3-top-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2931960\" data-cid=\"9944009\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2931960-label-pos3-top-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" 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src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/94\/34\/41\/320x180_cmsv2_20a161d1-e17e-5a88-9d40-0ab7ab35bb46-9943441.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A police officer stands behind a drone with a &quot;Counter LAV Jammer HP 47 + PR V7&quot; during a demonstration as part of the opening of the drone defense center in in Erding, Germay\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Only one in three EU counter-drone systems on track, report warns<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2931062-pos1-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2931062\" data-cid=\"9942462\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Russia asks Vietnam for planes as seized Western fleet falls apart<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2930173-pos2-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2930173\" data-cid=\"9942974\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Longevity: why do Poles live shorter than Western Europeans?<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2931781-pos3-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2931781\" data-cid=\"9943232\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Russia dismisses transparency calls amid reports of second plague case<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2931810-pos4-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2931810\" data-cid=\"9943352\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Russian would-be fugitive receives labour camp sentence<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2931650-pos5-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2931650\" data-cid=\"9942519\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Czechia will not compete in Eurovision 2027 due to budget pressures<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"articleBody\" data-key=\"articleBody\">After a 28-year-old laboratory assistant working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia died from a &#8220;lung infection of unknown origin&#8221;, many questions remain unanswered. Most recently, even US President Donald Trump sounded the alarm.But how dangerous is the situation really? And how can plague research help to put the current case into perspective?Where and when was the Black Death worst in Germany?During the lockdowns, many people compared the coronavirus with the plague epidemics of past centuries. At the plague column in Vienna, people laid flowers during the Covid-19 crisis.Yet, as archaeogeneticist Johannes Krause from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig explains to Euronews, the plague in Central Europe is far older than is often assumed. &#8220;The plague bacterium Yersinia pestis can be identified via DNA from skeletons dating back to the Neolithic and Bronze Age, including in southern Germany \u2013 for example in the Augsburg region.&#8221;Krause says: &#8220;The best-known outbreak is the Black Death between 1346 and 1353. It reached the territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1348 onwards via Italy and France. According to tradition, M\u00fchldorf am Inn was the first German-speaking town to be affected, on 29 June 1348. The port cities of L\u00fcbeck and Hamburg followed in the summer of 1350, probably via sea routes.&#8221;Exactly where the plague epidemic raged most fiercely is unclear. &#8220;It is not really possible to name a single &#8216;worst&#8217; city; the sources are patchy,&#8221; says Johannes Krause. &#8220;Chronicles, for example, report around 12,000 deaths in Erfurt in 1350, and Vienna is thought to have lost around a third of its inhabitants. Overall, probably between a third and a half of the population died, with considerable regional variation.&#8221;\u00a0Pathogens spread along travel routes&#8221;The spread of the plague was also rooted in long-distance trade links,&#8221; explains Martin Bauch from the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO), &#8220;in a sense it was a side-effect of early &#8216;globalisation&#8217;.&#8221;Looking at the history of the plague, Johannes Krause notes &#8220;that pathogens spread along human trade and travel routes \u2013 then via the Silk Road and the Black Sea, today by aeroplane.&#8221;While the plague case in Russia has not been confirmed, even if there was spread of the bacteria, because of the sanctions imposed in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin&#8217;s full-scale war of aggression in Ukraine, travellers from Europe are currently a rare sight in Siberia.The plague also teaches us that many pandemics originate in animals and that pathogens change through mutation and adaptation, as Krause explains. &#8220;The plague illustrates this impressively, because we can trace its development over thousands of years in DNA.&#8221; And the history of the plague shows that early, determined measures are effective. &#8220;Quarantine was invented as a response to the plague.&#8221;&#8221;Epidemics change societies&#8221;Another lesson from the history of the Black Death, according to Johannes Krause, is &#8220;that epidemics change societies, up to and including the persecution of minorities. The pogroms against Jewish women and men in 1348 and 1349 are a sobering warning.&#8221;Martin Bauch agrees: &#8220;What we can see very clearly is society&#8217;s search for scapegoats: in the context of the Black Death there were pogroms against the Jewish population, and even with coronavirus there were deep social tensions.&#8221;And finally, as Johannes Krause points out, &#8220;the plague has not disappeared: it survives in rodent populations and repeatedly causes outbreaks, but today it can be treated very effectively with antibiotics and therefore does not pose a threat to humanity.&#8221;Possible plague mass grave discovered near ErfurtAt the beginning of the year, an interdisciplinary research team from Leipzig, which includes Martin Bauch, discovered what may be a plague mass grave near Erfurt.Commenting on the find, he said: &#8220;For the first time we may be able to understand the reasons for the high mortality during the &#8216;Black Death&#8217;: did it make a major difference that people at the time were repeatedly exposed to periods of malnutrition, also because of climatic fluctuations and cooling processes? We can ultimately see this in the bones, but also in the records examined by historical research.&#8221;According to chronicles, during the 1350 plague outbreak, around 12,000 dead were buried in eleven large pits outside the city of Erfurt. Using sediment cores, the researchers reconstructed the medieval landscape and identified an area of around 10 metres by 15 metres by 3.5 metres containing fragments of human bone. According to the researchers, analyses date the human remains found to the 14th century.On the discovery, Johannes Krause said: &#8220;Particularly interesting is the fact that the grave was deliberately searched for and found. Experts point out that there are fewer than ten securely dated mass graves of the Black Death in Europe. However, whether this is really a plague grave can only be shown by an excavation with DNA analysis. Alternative explanations, such as famines or other disasters, cannot yet be ruled out. If the suspicion is confirmed, the material would make it possible to compare the plague genomes from this region with those from other parts of Europe.&#8221;<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2026\/10\/08\/what-was-the-plague-really-like-in-germany-experts-explain-the-facts&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/94\/30\/48\/1200x675_cmsv2_154ed58e-736b-5ae1-a455-62c66be0cc53-9943048.jpg&#8221;] Economy EU debt could hit \u20ac1 trillion by 2027, auditors warn Health news Portuguese hospital lets pets visit owners on wards: a new model? Business Ryanair CEO sees no European jet fuel shortages into summer 2027 World News \u201cI settled eight wars\u201d: Trump says he deserves Nobel Peace Prize Economy EU debt [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[226,36],"class_list":["post-2185154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international","tag-crawlmanager","tag-euronews-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2185154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2185154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2185154\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2185154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2185154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2185154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}