Day 4 - Würzburg


Advertisement
Germany's flag
Europe » Germany » Bavaria » Würzburg
May 7th 2014
Published: May 9th 2014
Edit Blog Post

The flight to Frankfurt, surprise, surprise was uneventful and we collected our rental car no problem at all, well almost no problem, they did not have any maps and did not even sell any maps, no phone shop at our terminal so a minor hold up. We discovered that terminal 2 was where all the good shops were so we caught the shuttle there and within 30 mins we were sussed. Armed with maps, a much needed coffee and a new sim card for Pam’s phone we headed back to the car and on our way. My nerves were a little wound up as I remember how tricky driving is on the other side of the road so with some trepidation we set off trusting the GPS to deliver us to the right place. Piece of cake, leaving the airport about 2ks took us to the autobahn in the direction of Wurzburg. Getting used to the car, a little, near new Ford Fiesta was easy and we soon settled in to the rhythm of the autobahn, with beamers and Audi's screaming past at the speed of light compared to us. With some 120k to Wurzburg and coffee in the cup holders we were set for an easy drive. We came past some little place called Werthiem, little buildings with turrets, deciding to stop for a look we found a high end mall made to look like an old village, disappointing really, a brief stop there and we were back on the road. Reaching Wurzburg we found road works that the GPS did not know about so round and round this tiny little town to find the hotel. We finally got there and parked the car up and checked in. With time still to explore we set off to find the Marienkapplle, a fine gothic church and built in 1377, by, you guessed it, Franciscan monks who seemed to either do all the building or take over abandoned buildings in this part of Germany around this time.

Wurzburg dates back to 1075 BC where it was a haven from the Halletts and was first consecrated in 720ad. Heading off to an old bridge built circa 1320 on the site of an old Roman bridge we found the bridge packed with locals and tourists alike drinking wine in the afternoon sun. The wine bar had a constant queue of around 10 people from the time we arrived till the time we left around hour later. This was a great setting and everyone was just kicking back at the end of the day. Time is now 8.00 and time for dinner. We found a great Italian place that was cheap as chips and we had dinner, drinks and ice-cream for 27euro and had a great time to boot. Tomorrow is the World Heritage “Bishops Residence” and the Fortress Marienberg.



Off to the Bishops Residence the much vaunted World Heritage Site this massive building was the home of the reigning ruler, the bishop of Wurzburg and is second in my view only to the palace of Versailles and St Peters Cathedral in terms of pure obscene opulence and garish decoration. A massive building we saw what was open to the public except the chapel which houses an amazing set of frescos by Tintoretto. As with the fortress this building was badly damaged in 19 45 and has been faithfully restored with much of the interior furnishings saved.



This morning we were off to the huge Fortress Marienberg which dates back to around 1075AD however has grown and changed over the centuries, used firstly by the monks and then the bishops of Wurzburg from around 1500 until 1720 when things had calmed down in the area and peace enabled the building of the Palace or residence. From this time the Fortress was used as a military building until being badly damaged in 1945, by fire it says but we know it was from allied bombing late in the Second World War. Much of the upper structure was damaged but the main walls and base were sound and rebuilding was finally completed circa 1960. An interesting point to note is that this fortress is so damn big with sloping walls 50 feet high and built on a very steep hill the local peasants revolted and this started the 30 year war around 1640-1670 and laid siege to it. They failed, but that is not the surprise, the surprise is that the Swedes later attacked the fortress and took it late in 1600, who knew the Swedes ever invaded anything or anyone, let alone take a fortress as imposing as this one.


Additional photos below
Photos: 16, Displayed: 16


Advertisement



Tot: 0.275s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 15; qc: 80; dbt: 0.0998s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.2mb