Schweinfurt - Würzburg - Ochsenburg

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Unfortunately, there was no breakfast at the Schweinfurt pilgrims' hostel 'Löwenzahn' (note: from mid-2009 there is a breakfast corner). So I leave the hostel in the somewhat gloomy morning and drive to the city centre. There I find a café for my morning refreshment. Soon the sun shines again and the day becomes friendly. On the way, I eat apples and some plums, which are plentiful along the cycle paths.

Soon after Schweinfurt, I drive past Werneck Castle. Today it houses an orthopaedic clinic and a psychiatric hospital. The castle was built between 1732 and 1745 by the famous court architect Balthasar Neumann on behalf of the Würzburg Prince-Bishop Friedrich-Karl von Schönborn as his country residence.

The Main-Werra cycle path takes me to Rimpar.

Grumbach Castle in Rimpar

There is a small castle in Rimpar. The Way of St. James and the cycle path now follow the little river Pleichbach to Würzburg. In Würzburg I visit St Mary's Church, St Kilian's Cathedral and the baroque Neumünster Church with the tomb of St Kilian. I cycle to the Residenz. The palace impresses me immensely. During a guided tour I see the famous staircase with frescoes by Tiepolo. I cross the Main on the old bridge, leave the bike and climb up to the Marienfestung. Halfway up, there is already a wonderful view of the city.

Here is a selection of sights I visited in Würzburg.

more pictures of Würzburg

The Marian Fortress

The oldest part of the complex that still exists today is the round church built around 1000 in the inner courtyard. From 1253 to 1719, Marienburg Fortress was the residence of the Würzburg prince-bishops. Reinforced several times in the 14th and 15th centuries, it withstood the mighty onslaught of the rebels in the Peasants' War of 1525. In the 30 Years' War, it was conquered by the Swedes in 1631. Not least because of these experiences, Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp von Schönborn (1642 - 1673) had the buildings reinforced with the bastions that still command respect today. In 1945, the fortress was almost completely burnt down, and reconstruction lasted until 1990.

The old bridge over the Main is bustling with tourists from all over the world taking photos.

Among all the statues of saints (Totnan, Kilian, Colonat, Carolus Borromäus, the bishops Bruno, Fridericus, and Burkhard, as well as Joseph with the baby Jesus and Mary), this one particularly appealed to me as a Nepomuk fan. Otherwise, Charlemagne and his father Pippin are represented as statues.
 

This gives an entry in my Bavarian

• Nepomuk collection

More pictures of the Nepomuk

The Franconian apostle Kilian on the old Main bridge. In the background the Marian Fortress.

View of Würzburg from halfway up the Marienfestung

Zoom

Along the River Main on the Way of St. James, the journey continues through the wine-growing region to Ochsenfurt.

There I take up quarters in the Restaurant Bären. During the evening walk through the charming town of Ochsenburg it is already dusk.

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