This is a small overview of part of Wuerzburg. The big building towards the right side with two towers is Kiliansdom, otherwise known as Dom. It is one of the largest Romanesque churches in Germany, which was begun in 1040. It was completely destroyed in 1945 and then reconstructed in May, 1967. That is where we got off the Strassenbahn (trolly type thing) every morning for class. Its right in the heart of Wuerzburg. All around Dom are little shops and tons of little cafes and restaraunts. The big market square is a couple of blocks down. From Dom it is about a ten minute walk yet to the part of the university where we had classes.
This is the Fortress Marienberg - the castle that stood on a hill overlooking the city of Wuerzburg. It was founded around 1200 and was home to the prince bishops from 1253-1719 until the Residenz (below) was built for that purpose. About 1600 Julius Echter changed the fortress into a Rensaissance palace. After the defeat by Gustav Adolf of Sweden in 1641, the fortress was reconstruction as a Baroque fortification and the Prince's garden was laid out. It is surrounded by vineyards and is on the river. It is accessible by foot, but I recommend taking the bus. Its about a ten minute trip by bus. You can tour inside the castle and wander around outside. There's even a little gift shop in the couryard. The Mainfrankishces Museum is also right there. It has an excellent collection of Franconian works of art, including the world-famous sculptures of Adam and Eve by Tilman Riemenschneider. It offers a great view of the city and has a beautiful garden on the side facing the city. I only went up there once, but I recommend going more than that if you plan to stay in Wuerzburg for any extended amount of time. One guy in our group made the trip almost daily. If nothing else, its worth the view.
This is the Residenz, probably the most prominant building in Wuerzburg next to the castle. Above is a view from the front where there is a large fountain in the courtyard. The building probably takes up close to a whole block. It was built from 1720-1744 as the prince bishop's palace and was designed by the famous architect Balthasar Neumann. We took an afternoon to tour inside also. This is a definate must. The paintings on the ceilings are absolutely amazing and the staircase is mind boggling. Personally, the Residenz was my favorite building in the city.
This is a view from the back of the Residenz. Unfortunately parts of it were being renovated at the time, but its hard for anything to diminish the beauty of the building. The back of the Residenz is a very large Baroque garden full of trees and flowers. It is absolutely gorgeous. I think I spent two hours just wandering in the back one afternoon. There is also a large garden on one side with more trees and flowers and fountains.
This is the grand staircase inside the Residenz. On the ceiling is the largest ceiling-painting in the world by the Venetian Tiepolo. Tiepolo did other frescoes in the interior also, as well as the alter paintings in the court chruch which is connected to the Residenz. The interior is absolutely amazing. There are regular tours going through, both in English and German I believe.
This picture was taken in the side garden of the Residenz, which you can see behind us. There was a big wine festival in the garden one evening, so we went and checked it out. Hundreds of people crammed on picnic tables and the ground in the garden listening to music and drinking wine. Wine is very large part of the German way life, so they know how to celebrate it well.
Wuerzburg is the center of the Franconian wine-growing region. Three of Germany's largest vineyard estates are located here (Staatlicher Hofkeller, Burgerspital zum heiligen Geist, and Juliusspital). Franconian wine in the typical "Bocksbeutel"-bottle (seen above) can be enjoyed in numerous little taverns. We were even able to have a wine tasting one night at the Haus des Frankenweins (House of Franconian Wines).
