24 Sep: Würzburg

Going to Würzburg

Today's trip was to Würzburg. Over breakfast we rather arbitrarily decided to go by train instead of driving. We are a 5-minute walk from the bahnhof. Bamberg to Würzburg is an hour's train ride, and we had a town map showing that Würzburg's bahnhof was close to the town center. So it wouldn't take much longer, and would be less stressful as we wouldn't have to search out a parking garage in a strange town. (Locating parking in an unfamiliar, medium-sized town can be tough. There usually are several garages, but signage to them can be hard to follow on one's first entry to a town. Or on one's 3rd or 4th entry, if our experience in Tübingen is any guide.)

So we caught a 9:30 train, arriving at 10:30. This cost €30 for a tageskarte (day-pass) good for two people to ride anywhere all day—the cheapest option for that trip, the railroad ticket guy said.

On arrival at the Würzburg, we stepped outside the station and as we expected, found the "Bus Bahnhof," a plaza where city bus and tram lines converge, and there (with a little hunting) found a machine that for €9 dispensed a tageskarte good for a family (up to 5) to ride any city transit all day.

This arrangement—a central train station, with bus and tram lines converging on clearly signed platforms right next to it, and ticket machines that take coins or bills and make change—is typical. Even tiny Dachau had it. Good, comprehensive public transport is one feature of Germany we will miss.

Oh, and the cost? Our car uses about 7 liters per 100Km. (That's how the car's computer reports it; it works out to about 30mpg.) The round-trip would have been about 200Km, so 14L*1.50 = €21, give or take, plus at least €4 for parking. (We would have wanted the €9 city transit pass regardless.) So the train only cost a bit more than driving.

The Spires of Würzburg

So we got on a tram and headed into town. About 3 stops along we thought we were close to the Dom (cathedral). Little did we guess that Würzburg has many ecclesiastical establishments. We hopped off the tram and found ourselves facing what we immediately assumed to be the Dom.

Wouldn't you?

We went in and looked around but couldn't find the particular tombs we expected, the ones with Riemanschneider sculptures. And the place seemed a bit plain. We knew that Würzburg had been flattened during the War, and the Cathedral restored, but this one seemed to have been completely rebuilt.

So we looked at our map and said, Aha! This is the Marienkappel, it's across the street from Dom. We went back to the tram stop and found, if we had only faced the other way when getting off, we'd have been looking at this.

Doh! That must be the Dom!

So we went inside and looked around, it was quite florid and had a sculpture, sort of, in the form of ordered (nylon?) filaments that emanated over the altar and caught the light.

Filaments of goodness.

But we still couldn't find the things the guidebook said would be in the Dom. So we took another look at the map and doggone if there isn't a Neue Münster next to the Dom. It turns out that the Dom is set back and kind of in the shadow of the Münster. Here's a shot of its front we got later.

The real Dom rises above ignorant tourists.

Later we got a shot of the towers of all three buildings through a window in the Rezidenz.

Left to right: Dom, Münster, Mariankappel.

The Rezidenz

The Prince-Bishops of Würzburg, who held both secular and spiritual authority and a more than adequate supply of money, wanted a palace that properly reflected their dignity, so they built the Rezidenz, a palace complex. Here is a picture of about one-fourth of its front.

Just a little pied-a-terre in town.

The first highlight of a visit to this palace is the grand staircase, which rises under a ceiling that is an unsupported span of 18x30 meters (30x100 feet), and all frescoed over by Tiepolo. At first you only see the rather Escher-like staircase itself.

Then you begin to realize there is a big painted ceiling up there.

Very big.

Be sure to click through and check out the guys in the corners of the ceiling.

Anyway, this leads to the white hall,

We'd have some detail of this rather nice stucco-work, but about this time a polite young official told us that photos were not allowed. Oh. OK, sorry. So in the next and final hall, the Imperial Room, we snuck one shot.

Riemanschneider

Our final target for the day was a museum atop a hill (took a bus up, walked down) where we could see a gallery full of sculptures by Tilman Reimenschneider, whose work is all over this part of Germany. (His story is kind of interesting, see the link to the left.)

Here are a few highlights of his work. There are some more views including two more of the painted Madonna and an unusual "double Madonna", in The Gallery, as well as more views of the three churches.

Saint Nicholas

Madonna

And just to show he didn't do only Church work, a chandelier from a hunting lodge.

Coming down the hill from the museum we found a nice view of downtown Würzburg.

Rainy Evening

By now the sky was rather threatening, and only a short time after we got home to Bamberg, a fairly heavy rain began. We took our umbrellas and walked downtown where we treated ourselves to coffee, cake, and a liqueur at Graupner, an old up-scale cafe/bakery. We sat for an hour in the open-fronted cafe, nibbling our nummies, sipping Bailey's Irish Cream, and watching people scurrying home in the rain.