Page 249 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Germany
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       antique furniture and                    5 Fränkische
       features a portrait of                   Schweiz
       Luther, painted by Lucas
       Cranach the Younger.                     Road map D5. n Oberes Tor 1,
         Among the most                         Ebermannstadt (09191-86 1054).
       important buildings in                   The area popularly known
       the old town are the                     as Franconian Switzerland
       late-Gothic church of St                 (Fränkische Schweiz) covers
       Maurice and a beautiful                  the area between Nuremberg,
       Renaissance college                      Bamberg and Bayreuth. One
       building that was                        of Germany’s most beautiful
       founded by Prince                        tourist regions, it offers green
       Johann Casimir in 1605.                  meadows, magnificent highlands
       On the opposite side of   Interior of the monumental, Baroque   covered with cornfields, imposing
       the market square is the  Vierzenheiligen church  castles perched on top of high
       town hall, originally built              rocks, fabulous dolomite rocks
       in 1577–79 and remodelled    foundation stone was laid for   and deep caves with stalactites.
       in the 18th century.  the monumental new church,   Its towns and villages, with their
         Further along is the town castle,  designed by Balthasar Neumann.   charming inns and timber-frame
       Schloß Ehrenburg, which was   Built in 1743–72, this is one of   houses, look like a setting for
       built in the 16th century on the   the most famous masterpieces   Snow White and Seven Dwarfs.
       site of a dissolved Franciscan   of South German Baroque, with   The main routes across the area
       monastery. The castle burned   magnificent Rococo furnishings.   run alongside its rivers –
       down in 1693 and was subse-  The building is a cross-  the Wiesent, Leinleiter,
       quently rebuilt. The façade   shaped basilica, with    Püttlach and Trubach.
       facing the square was   a monumental twin-     The Wiesent, which is
       remodelled by Karl Friedrich   tower façade.   ideal for canoeing,
       Schinkel in Neo-Gothic style.    The interior has   cuts across the region
         The castle has fine interiors,   an exceptionally   from east to west,
       including the Baroque Riesensaal   dynamic style,   joining the river
       and Weisser Saal and a chapel   achieved by   Regnitz near the town
       with rich stucco decorations.  combining the   of Forchheim. The
                           longitudinal and         town features many
       + Veste Coburg      central planes: the      timber-frame houses,
       Tel (09561) 87 90. Open Apr–Oct:   three ovals laid along   including the old town
       9:30am–5pm daily; Nov–Mar: 1–4pm   the main axis join with   hall dating from the
       Tue–Sun. & ∑ kunstsammlungen   the two circles of the   14th to the 16th century.
       -coburg.de          transept. The centrepiece   Near Forchheim, in
       + Schloß Ehrenburg  of the nave is the “Altar    Ebermannstadt, is a
       Schloßplatz 1. Tel (09561) 808 832.   of Mercy”, which stands    Marian church with
       Open Apr–Sep: 9am–6pm Tue–Sun;   at the spot where,   a fine Madonna. The
       Oct–Mar: 10am–4pm Tue–Sun.    according to a 1446   Madonna from   federal route B470
       8 every hour. &     legend, a shepherd had   Marienkapelle in   leads to the picturesque
                           visions of the infant   Ebermannstadt  village of Tüchersfeld,
                           Christ with the 14 Saints   which is built into the
       4 Vierzehnheiligen   of Intercession. The altar   rocks. A good base for exploring
                           features statues of the 14 saints,   this area is the village of
       Bad Staffelstein. Road map D5.
       Tel (09571) 950 80. Open Apr–Oct:   and are the work of J M and    Pottenstein. St Elizabeth of
       6:30am–8pm; Nov–Mar: 7:30am–5pm.   F X Feuchtmayr (1763). The    Thuringia is said to have
       Closed 9am–4pm Thu.    rich stucco decorations and   stayed here in 1227. To the
       ∑ vierzehnheiligen.de  frescoes were crafted by   east of the castle is a cave with
                           Giuseppe Appiani.    impressive stalactites.
       High above the River Main is
       Banz Abbey, a Benedictine
       monastery built in 1695 by
       Johann Leonhard and Leonhard
       Dientzenhofer. Opposite is the
       pilgrimage church of the
       Fourteen Saints of Intercession.
       The first two chapels, built
       in the 15th and 16th centuries,
       became too small to accom -
       modate the growing numbers
       of pilgrims so, in 1741, the   Schloß Greifenstein in Heiligenstadt, in Fränkische Schweiz




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