Wurzburg Germany & the Marienberg Fortress

With a rich history that spans ancient, medieval, and modern times, this German town also possesses an abundance of irresistible charm     . . . 

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Another stop along my winter adventures through Germany brought me to this amazing experience in which included architectural Old Town delights and an interesting history held within a mighty stronghold up on the hill.
Here is what happened:

Exploring History in the Land of Franconia

I rolled in to Wurzburg bright and early by train to begin a long day of walking around in search of exciting historic locations and whatever else may come my way. Heading into the heart of it all, one of the first sights that caught my attention was Romanesque-styled Neumunster Catholic Church. Which has origins dating back to the 11th century. 

Neumunster, Wurzburg Cathedral, St Mary's

Right next door was the Wurzburg Cathedral, which was founded a bit earlier in the year 1040. This one is actually one of the tallest churches in Germany, and serves as a burial place for the Prince-Bishops of the area. 

Nearby will find the main town square which rests pleasantly in the shadows of the magnificent 14th century Gothic construct known as St Mary's Church. All three of these offer a brilliant old-world design, but were unfortunately damaged during WWII air raids of 1945. What you see now is a product of the restoration efforts that occurred throughout the following decades. 

Julius Echter & The Chronos Fountain

Remember I mentioned the Prince-Bishops? The first statue above is of Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn. He was the guy in charge during the late 1500s, and that street you will find that memorial on is appropriately named Julius Promenade. Back behind those first two churches we saw, I strolled along Hofstraße to encounter that second work of art known as The Chronos Fountain. Apparently Chronos was pointing at something, and as I followed his lead it brought me to The Wurzburg Residence. 

Franconia Fountain & Wurzburg Residence

This Baroque-styled palace was built in the 18th century to be the new home of those ruling elites. It is now classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monument in front is the Franconia Fountain which was installed in 1894 as a gift to the Prince Regent of Bavaria. You may ask, where did that affluential family live before that? We are exploring that one next!

Festung Marienberg

Yes, for this part of the journey we are going to cross the Main River and head on up the hill to to that enormous stronghold you probably noticed earlier. To accomplish this we will be taking the photogenic pedestrian pathway simply known as The Old Main Bridge, which is lined with statues depicting characters ranging from Knights to Saints. 

I'm not gonna lie, the climb up the hill is a bit of a hike, but the view from up top is absolutely worth the effort. Along the way you will pass through a series of gates that have you eventually arriving at the magnificent Marienberg Fortress.

This hilltop location is said to have originally been a lookout consisting of a small fort many ages ago. The 13th century would witness a much larger scale of construction taking place to secure the area. Most of the structures you see now were built in 16th and 18th centuries using Renaissance and Baroque styles of architecture. During this time it would serve as the Palace of the Prince-Bishops.

As you can see in the photo below, there was a bit of construction going on during my visit too, but hopefully that means they will have this marvelous castle restored to its former glory by the time you make your way here. 

Activities can be booked on site that take you on a guided tour of the interior to hidden locations such as the dungeon, but I was on a tight schedule. I opted to forge my own exploration of the Fortress Museum to take a look at their collection of items of antiquity that provide a glimpse back into the history of the region.

Throughout the halls of the museum you will encounter artifacts that helped craft this intriguing settlement, as well as the oil paintings and sculptures that were the products of an enriched society. 

After making my way back down the hill I realized how exhausted I actually was. It was all I had in me to snap a few evening shots of the town. In the two below you see the 13th century Old Town Hall, and tight there Infront of it is the Fountain of Cardinal Virtues. 

Old Town Hall & Fountain of Virtues

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There you have it, a full day exploring the history and architecture of Wurzburg, Germany. If you would like, you can also follow along in my video in which I make a short documentation of the entire experience ... and I promise I'll do all the walking. 

I hope you enjoyed this adventure!
​Let me know in the comments below.