June 21, 2023 - Germany
Wurzburg Town
We arrived in Wurzburg in late afternoon with just enough time to do the Rick Steves walking tour. The main thing to do in Wurzburg is visit the Residenz (prince-bishop's palace) but we would do that tomorrow morning.
Würzburg is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. [Calling a Franconian a Bavarian is something like calling a Scot an Englishman. -- Rick Steves] It spans the banks of the Main river. Würzburg is situated approximately approximately 110 km west-northwest of Nuremberg and 120 km east-southeast of Frankfurt am Main. The population as of 2019 is approximately 130,000 residents.
On 16 March 1945, about 90% of the city was destroyed in 17 minutes by firebombing from 225 British Lancaster bombers during a World War II air raid. Würzburg became a target for its role as a traffic hub and to break the spirit of the population. All of the city's churches, cathedrals, and other monuments were heavily damaged or destroyed. The city centre, which mostly dated from medieval times, was destroyed in a firestorm in which 5,000 people perished. A few weeks later, on 3 April 1945, Würzburg was occupied by the U.S. 12th Armored Division and the U.S. 42nd Infantry Division in a series of frontal assaults masked by smokescreens. Over the next 20 years, the Wurzburg buildings of historical importance were painstakingly and accurately reconstructed.
The Wurzburg Cathedral, dedicated to St. Kilian, is basking in the late afternoon sun. This building's core is Romanesque (1040-1188), with Gothic spires and Baroque additions to the transepts. It was built as a Catholic church and stayed that way after the Reformation. It's narrowness belies its large size, as it stretches back a good distance. The cathedrawl was destroyed in World War II and rebuilt in the 1960s.
Along one side of the market square is the pretty Maria Chappel or Marienkapelle. This two-tone late-Gothic church was the merchants' answer to the prince-bishop's cathedral.
Notice how the church is ringed with "swallow shops", that host small businesses.
From the east side of the Main River, we get a good look at Marionberg Fortress, on the hill to the west of the city centre, overlooking the whole town area and the surrounding hills. "This 13th-century fortified retreat was the original residence of Wurzburg's prince-bishops (before the opulent Residenz across the river was built). After being stormed b the Swedish army during the 17th-century Thirty Years' War, the fortress was expanded in baroque style." -- Rick Steves
A Celtic fort once stood where the fortress stands today.
We head out onto the Old Main Bridge. The bridge, from 1133, is the second-oldest in Germany. The 12 statues lining the bridge are Wurzburg saints and prince-bishops.
The Old Main Bridge was a happening place at this time of day. Wine could be had at that building on the right. Many people were out and about on the bridge socializing.
