Alte Reichsbank

My German Home

by oldgi

"A brief history of Schweinfurt"

Schweinfurt is a city of 60,000 and is located on the Main River. The city is first mentioned as "Suinfurt" in 791. The word Furt stands for a river crossing. The area around the River Main had been settled for at least 200 years before this time.

The city of Schweinfurt is completely destroyed the first time in 1250 during a dispute between the princebishop of Wurzburg and the ruling house of Henneberg. The disputes over these territories will last for many centuries. In 1254 Schweinfurt is mentioned as a Free Imperial City, subject to the Holy Roman Emperor.

Schweinfurt joins the Protestant movement and becomes a center for the Reformation in Franconia.
During this time, in 1551 came Schweinfurt's second destruction, a consequence of the war of the Margraves.

Many Protestant refugees help to rebuild the city. It is during this reconstruction that Nikolaus Hofmann of Halle builds the splendid Renaissance townhall which is still one of the finest of that period.

Frederich Ruckert, famous poet and linguist is born in Schweinfurt in 1788.

In 1802 Schweinfurt becomes part of the Bavarian kingdom thus loosing it's status as a Free Imperial City.

Ballbearing factories became part of Schweinfurt in later years. Thus it played an important role during the second world war. Much of the city was destroyed by Allied bombers.

As of today, Schweinfurt is a fine modern city including parks, historical centers, museums, engineering university and of course, two breweries that produce excellent beer.

A true renaissance city that has stood the test of time.

"Brauhaus Schweinfurt"

This is the back of my favorite restaurant, Brauhaus am Markt. It also happens to be a great beer, too.

"Looking Westward"

I took this from our ninth floor hotel room at the Panorama looking westward to the River Main

"Toward the city"

Here is a picture of Schweinfurt from the Maxbrucke.