Old city gates with characteristic names
by Trekki
Like many of the other old towns with city walls, Miltenberg also has its city gates and towers. The two most prominent ones are east and west of town, notifying the direction where the streets were leading to: Würzburger Tor leads to the east, to Würzburg, and Mainzer Tor leads to the west, to Mainz. Of course there are other cities in between Miltenberg and Mainz, but Miltenberg was part of Mainz’ bishopric, so that is why it is named after Mainz.
© Ingrid D., March 2010
A star signifies licence to brew beer
by Trekki
This was a nice example for life long learning. When we passed Riesen Gasthaus, our guide pointed to the star and mentioned that this would signify the licence to brew beer. I looked it up later and found some interesting facts about this star. It is the sign of beer brewers and shows that a house has the licence to brew own beer. Its origin is most probably in alchemy, where the hexagram (or overlapping triangles) stands for the elements. Another explanation is that the star protects against fire and demons, which were especially dangerous in the old days of half-timbered houses.
From what I have read it is only a historical coincidence that the “beer” star looks the same as the Star of David.
This beer star is quite common in the typical beer regions of Germany, like Bavaria and southern Baden-Württemberg.
© Ingrid D., March 2010
More house details, years and others
by Trekki
In addition to Madonna statues and defending faces, many of Miltenberg’s houses also have carvings of the year of built somewhere at the facade. Mostly they are on the vertical beam of the entrance doors. I also liked the huge keyhole and the sundial in the parish garden of St. Johannes church (the one with the stained glass windows). Although these need a bit of care, the dial looks quite rusty. Another thing you will find in Miltenberg’s streets quite often is old street signs, with the old German lettering like in my last photo. Christine.j gave a good description of these old letters and how to read them on her Germany page.
© Ingrid D., March 2010
St. John, beautiful stained glass windows
by Trekki
From the outside, this church does not look very interesting, but it has beautiful stained glass windows inside. They are modern ones but still very nice to look at. The church is a protestant one and was built end of 19th century, in the typical Miltenberg sandstone.
What is maybe even more interesting is that parts of the city wall are here and it is rewarding to start walking the backstreets from here. The Jewish cemetery is around the corner and from here there are also quite nice views over Miltenberg and the other side of Main River. The church is located at the hill slope.
Directions:
Rather easy to find: from the tourist office, walk south (= uphill) and it comes directly into view. It is open during the daytime. The door is at the southern end, so walk up the stairs and then half way around the church.
© Ingrid D., March 2010
Sign in with Facebook
Staffelbrunnen, accessible only upon request