Page 248 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Germany

246  SOUTHERN GERM AN Y BA V ARIA  247

gardens, which were created antique furniture and 5 Fränkische
by Maximilian von Welsch in features a portrait of Schweiz
1715, in what was the then Luther, painted by Lucas
fashionable, geometric French Cranach the Younger. Road map D5. n Oberes Tor 1,
style. It is now laid out in Among the most Ebermannstadt (09191-86 1054).
English-garden style. important buildings in The area popularly known
the old town are the as Franconian Switzerland
+ Schloß Weißenstein late-Gothic church of St (Fränkische Schweiz) covers
Tel (09548) 98180. Open Apr–Oct: Maurice and a beautiful the area between Nuremberg,
9:30am–5pm daily. 8 every hour. & Renaissance college Bamberg and Bayreuth. One
∑ schoenborn.de building that was of Germany’s most beautiful
founded by Prince tourist regions, it offers green
Johann Casimir in 1605. meadows, magnificent highlands
3 Coburg On the opposite side of Interior of the monumental, Baroque covered with cornfields, imposing
Road map D5. * 41,000. £ the market square is the Vierzenheiligen church castles perched on top of high
n Herrngasse 4 (09561-89 8000). town hall, originally built rocks, fabulous dolomite rocks
in 1577–79 and remodelled foundation stone was laid for and deep caves with stalactites.
Red sandstone exterior of Schloß Johannisburg, Aschaffenburg Former residence of the Wettin in the 18th century. the monumental new church, Its towns and villages, with their
family, Coburg is situated on Further along is the town castle, designed by Balthasar Neumann. charming inns and timber-frame
1 Aschaffenburg + Schloß Johannisburg the bank of the River Itz. It is Schloß Ehrenburg, which was Built in 1743–72, this is one of houses, look like a setting for
Schloßplatz 4. Tel (06021) 38 65 70. dominated by a massive built in the 16th century on the the most famous masterpieces Snow White and Seven Dwarfs.
Road map C5. * 41,000. £ # Apr–Sep: 9am–6pm Tue–Sun; Oct–
n Schloßplatz 1 (06021-39 58 00). fortress, the Veste Coburg, site of a dissolved Franciscan of South German Baroque, with The main routes across the area
Mar: 10am–4pm Tue–Sun. & which is one of the largest in monastery. The castle burned magnificent Rococo furnishings. run alongside its rivers –
Situated in Lower Franconia, ∑ schloesser.bayern.de Germany. Coburg’s origins go down in 1693 and was subse- The building is a cross- the Wiesent, Leinleiter,
Aschaffenburg enjoys a scenic back to the 11th century, but its quently rebuilt. The façade shaped basilica, with Püttlach and Trubach.
position on the hilly right bank present-day appearance is facing the square was a monumental twin- The Wiesent, which is
of the river Main. The town 2 Pommersfelden mainly the result of remodelling remodelled by Karl Friedrich tower façade. ideal for canoeing,
became the second seat of the Road map D5. n Hauptstraße 11 that was carried out in the 16th Schinkel in Neo-Gothic style. The interior has cuts across the region
Mainz bishops in the 13th (09548-922 00). and the 17th centuries. The castle has fine interiors, an exceptionally from east to west,
century, the first being Mainz. The fortress consists of a including the Baroque Riesensaal dynamic style, joining the river
The northwest part of the old On the edge of the Steigerwald – number of buildings clustered and Weisser Saal and a chapel achieved by Regnitz near the town
town features a majestic, red a popular hiking area – is the around several courtyards and with rich stucco decorations. combining the of Forchheim. The
sandstone riverside castle, small village of Pommersfelden, surrounded by a triple line of longitudinal and town features many
Schloß Johannisburg, which which is dominated by its walls. The complex is now a + Veste Coburg central planes: the timber-frame houses,
was once occupied by the magnificent Baroque palace, museum, housing various Tel (09561) 87 90. Open Apr–Oct: three ovals laid along including the old town
Mainz bishops-electors. Schloß Weißenstein. The palace collections, including prints and 9:30am–5pm daily; Nov–Mar: 1–4pm the main axis join with hall dating from the
The castle gallery holds a was commissioned by the Mainz drawings, arms and armour. Tue–Sun. & ∑ kunstsammlungen the two circles of the 14th to the 16th century.
fine collection of European Archbishop and Elector and the In 1530, the fortress provided -coburg.de transept. The centrepiece Near Forchheim, in
paintings, dating from the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg, Lothar refuge to Martin Luther who, as + Schloß Ehrenburg of the nave is the “Altar Ebermannstadt, is a
15th to the 18th century. It Franz von Schönborn. It was an outlaw, hid here from April Schloßplatz 1. Tel (09561) 808 832. of Mercy”, which stands Marian church with
includes works by Hans Baldung built, in only five years (1711–16), until October. The room in Open Apr–Sep: 9am–6pm Tue–Sun; at the spot where, a fine Madonna. The
Grien and the most important to a design by the famous which he hid is furnished with Oct–Mar: 10am–4pm Tue–Sun. according to a 1446 Madonna from federal route B470
collection of Lucas Cranach architect, Johann 8 every hour. & legend, a shepherd had Marienkapelle in leads to the picturesque
canvases in Europe. In the Dientzenhofer. visions of the infant Ebermannstadt village of Tüchersfeld,
castle library are valuable This masterpiece of Christ with the 14 Saints which is built into the
medieval codices, such as the secular Baroque 4 Vierzehnheiligen of Intercession. The altar rocks. A good base for exploring
10th-century Book of Gospel architecture is worth Bad Staffelstein. Road map D5. features statues of the 14 saints, this area is the village of
Readings (Evangelarium) visiting for several Tel (09571) 950 80. Open Apr–Oct: and are the work of J M and Pottenstein. St Elizabeth of
from Fulda. reasons. Particularly 6:30am–8pm; Nov–Mar: 7:30am–5pm. F X Feuchtmayr (1763). The Thuringia is said to have
Occupying a scenic position interesting is the three- Closed 9am–4pm Thu. rich stucco decorations and stayed here in 1227. To the
above a vineyard a short storey-high ornamental ∑ vierzehnheiligen.de frescoes were crafted by east of the castle is a cave with
distance to the northwest of ceiling by Johann Rudolf Giuseppe Appiani. impressive stalactites.
the castle is Pompejanum. The Byss. The most spec- High above the River Main is
Bavarian king Ludwig I was so tacular room is the Banz Abbey, a Benedictine
fascinated with the discovery Marble Hall, which monastery built in 1695 by
of Pompeii that he ordered a features paintings by Johann Leonhard and Leonhard
replica of the Castor and Pollux Michael Rottmayr. The Dientzenhofer. Opposite is the
villa (Casa di Castore e Polluce) to well-preserved interior pilgrimage church of the
be built. This he filled with his of the palace houses a Fourteen Saints of Intercession.
rich collection of antiquities. gallery, a library, and a The first two chapels, built
After undergoing restoration valuable collection of in the 15th and 16th centuries,
work to repair war damage, the furniture. After visiting became too small to accom -
museum opened its doors to the palace, you can take modate the growing numbers
the public again in 1994. a stroll around its Ornate entrance to Coburg’s Stadthaus of pilgrims so, in 1741, the Schloß Greifenstein in Heiligenstadt, in Fränkische Schweiz
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp496–7 and pp519–22

246-247_EW_Germany.indd 246 09/10/17 12:49 pm 246-247_EW_Germany.indd 247 09/10/17 12:49 pm