Thursday, December 28, 2023

27th of December 2023 - Würzberg and visit to the Franconian village of Aschfeld

Würzberg is overlooked by the Marienberg Fortress which probably was built early in the 8th century by Franconian-Thuringian dukes.

Our visit to Würzberg started at the very lavish Würzberg Residence palace.

This magnificent 300 room Baroque palace was built under the patronage of prince-bishops in the 18th century by an international team of architects, painters, sculptors and stucco-workers led by the then unknown architect Balthasar Neumann.  In 1981 the Residence became a UNESCO world heritage site in recognition of its outstanding Baroque art, design, and architecture.

After leaving the Residence I visited the Court Chapel, also known as the Hofkirche, which has a separate entrance from the main palace.  The Hofkirche is small in size but richly decorated.

We then went on a walking tour of Würzburg which is the third largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria.  Würzburg spans the banks of the Main river.

The rainwater from the recent storms was still rushing into the river by the Alte Mainbrücke which is the oldest bridge over the Main river.  We had a traditional sausage lunch in an old timbered restaurant by the Alte Mainbrücke overlooking the Main river.

After lunch we drove to the Franconian village of Aschfeld.  The 1200-year anniversary of Aschfeld was taken as an opportunity to turn the fortified church, which was used there as a storage cellar and storage, into a museum of local history.  In recent years, much of Aschfeld have been lovingly restored.

We also visited Aschfeld's fortified church with nativity scene as befits Christmas time.

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