SUMMER 2007 - Day 3

Day 3

First stop today, Wurzburg. The Marienberg (St Mary's Hill) Fortress, overlooks Wurzburg and is its oldest landmark. The fortress was the home of the Prince-Bishops for around 5 centuries. The Prince-Bishops ruled until 1719.

Entry to the castle was via the Scherenberg Gate. In the background is St Kilian's Tower.

St Mary's Church and the Keep. The church was built at the start of the 11 th century. It was originally used for baptisms, then the burial place of Frankish apostles and then the church of the princes in 1200.

The Keep is the stronghold of the castle. It's a bit of a place of last resort. If you end up in the keep then the battle isn't going overly well.

This area once housed extensive artillery which was used to subdue the masses below. From around 1523 the area was converted to a garden. The garden is in the shape of a ship with pavilions at each end. The aristocracy used to slurp wine as they looked down on their loyal subjects. (After having been subdued with artillery they were probably fairly agreeable by then).

The prince-bishops lived in Marienberg Fortress until the start of the 18 th century. The prince-bishop Schonborn then decided that he needed something more that befitted his status. Quite a bit more. He had the Wurzburg Residence constructed between 1720 and 1744.

Couldn't take photos but we bought the book - we had no choice. This photo is from one of the books in the souvenir shop.

The staircase (treppenhaus) is rather impressive. Above the staircase is a huge unsupported vault (ceiling). At the time, no one thought the vault would hold and there were offers from other architects to hang themselves, at their own expense, should the vault hold. The ceiling didn't collapse and it also survived the 1945 bombing.

The vault was decorated with a single painting to cover the 30 x 18 metre area. The fresco, "The Four Continents" (at the time only Europe, America, Asia and Africa were known) is meant to be the largest ever produced.

Inside the Court Chapel (Hofkirche)

We ended the day in Wertheim, where the river Tauber flows into the river Main. Our hotel was on the banks of the river Tauber. This view is from the opposite side of the river to our hotel.

Overlooking the town are the remains of the castle of Wertheim.

It was a long, uphill climb but there was a lovely view of the town.

Despite the castle being only ruins, there was still a restaurant at the top. After the climb, we all needed a drink and we then stayed for dinner.