6/16/2016 - Wurzburg

6/16/2016 - Thursday

We awoke at around 0730 h and got ourselves organized for our day in Wurzburg.  The ship was stuck in a little traffic this morning so we got off before Wurzburg and caught buses for a 30 minute ride to Wurzburg and the Bishops residence.  The countryside on the way to Wurzburg is composed of agricultural land and a whole lot of vineyards... The rock hills in the areas are composed of limestone and this makes the soil ideal for growing grapes.  They grow about 5 types of grapes but about 80% of the crops are riesling grapes.
Würzburg Is beautifully situated along the Romantic Road in Northwest Bavaria. The city straddles the serene Main River in what is known as the Franconian wine region. Scattered throughout the city is an array of architecturally diverse churches that were erected throughout the centuries; there are so many of them that the city is actually known as the city of "100 churches". With a mix of baroque, renaissance, gothic, romanesque and modern building styles along with sculptures from some of Germany and Italy's finest sculptors, Würzburg will surly have something for everyone to be captivated by. (http://www.live-like-a-german.com/germany_related_articles/show/100-Churches-of-W%C3%BCrzburg)


Our first stop of the tour was at the Bishops Residential Palace (It was originally commissioned by Prince Bishop of Wurzburg Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn.  We did not know what to expect and were amazed at the grandeur of the palace.  Construction was started in 1720 and finished in 1744. Unfortunately, the structure was damaged severely in 1945 during high explosive and fire bombing raids.  Ninety percent of the city was destroyed.  Fortunately, one large section of the Residence had a strong stone roof and, even though the timbers on the roof above burned, the stone held.  These sections of the Residence have been restored and are stunning in their opulence and beauty.

It started raining while we were visiting the Residence and we had to continue the tour through the old town while it was raining (a little).  There are 46 churches in the old town but we only visited three of them.  The two we visited were very large and beautiful with a significant historical background( Wurzburger Cathedral- Dom St. Kilian and Marienkappelle).

Go to SwissNomads for more things to do in Wurzburg.

The entrance to the Residence with the fountain originally built in 1744 and thoroughly reconstructed after it was pretty much destroyed in April of 1945 by allied Bombing.

Our tour group at the entrance to the Residence.

As you can see, the rain has started and we had to deploy our umbrellas to visit the gardens of the Residence.

The entrance to the Wurzburg Cathedral is at the end of the main street that leads down to the Main River and the Old Main Bridge (first constructed by the Romans in 1133 and rebuilt in 1473).  The bridge has numerous statues of Saints along its length.

Walking down from the Residence you run into the back of the Wurzburg Cathedral.

Church of our Lady (Marienkepple) is a  Late Gothic period hall church; construction started in 1377 and was finished in 1480 with the erection of a church tower.

The back of the Marienkepple church that is located on the Market Square in Wurzburg.

The main market square in Wurzburg.

It appears that on the day we visited it was mostly produce that was offered in the market square.

A vegetable stand in the market square...

Some of the architecture is really amazing ... the front of this building seems to be like cake decoration!

This is one of the statues on the Old Main Bridge and is of St. Kilian.

We are ending the tour here on the Old Main Bridge and will head back to the ship for a little rest before heading out again.

Marienberg Fortress overlooking the Old Main Bridge.  The hillsides leading up to the fortress are covered with beautiful vinyards.

The Old Main Bridge with the statues of saints visible.

On our way back to the ship for a rest after our tour the old folks stop for a rest.

We got together for an early afternoon break of Riesling wine, cheese, sausage and bread.

Alter Kranen (old crane) a short distance downstream from the Old Main Bridge was used to transfer goods from the river to land using a treadmill and a series of pulleys.  It was constructed in the 1700s.

Eve getting ready to bite the apple as the devil ... does something???  there must be an explanation here?

A view from the Old Main Bridge down towards where our ship was moored.

After our early afternoon respite, we went out for another walk about through the old town and around 1630 hours we joined the local folks for a daily tradition of drinking a class of wine at the window on the left and drinking a toast on the Old Main Bridge.  There is a 5 euro deposit on the glass which you can reclaim once you return the glass!

And, who are we to stand in the way of tradition... the wine was excellent and we felt good following an old tradition.