Würzburg Things to Do

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The nicest promenade along the river Main is on the right bank downstream from the old bridge. There are some benches and flower beds and low walls to sit on. This spot is popular for relaxation, on a warm sunny spring day like this it is difficult to find an empty place to sit.

The river bank has a special attraction: the old harbour crane that once served to unload the Main ships. The crane was built in the late 18th century after a design by Franz Ignaz Neumann, the son and successor of Balthasar.
The departure point for river cruises is right behind the crane.

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Würzburg is the seat of an old university. The first foundation of an university dates dfrom 1402 but this attempt sadly failed after a mere decade when the rector was murdered and the students went astray. The second foundation was more successful. Bishop Julius Echter reopened the university in 1582. Apart from a short interruption during the 30 Year War it has been thriving to this very day.

A huge renaissance complex with four wings around a central courtyard was erected for the new university, called "Neubau" (New Building". This building still hosts the Faculty of Law. Have a look into the courtyard. Access is through the portal and gateway on the northern side.

The tall steeple on the corner, a landmark in the townscape, is a 17th century addition.

The name stuck especially with the church that occupies the southern wing of the building, it is still called "Neubaukirche" although it was new some 400 years ago. The university was of course a catholic one and needed its own church. How much this institution meant to the founder, Bishop Julius, is shown by his decision to have his heart buried inside the university church. The huge renaissance tomb is gone with all the rest of the interior due to World War II destructions, but the urn with his heart is still resting in the church, now in a modern column in a side chapel.

Unfortunately the church cannot be visited under everyday circumstances. It now serves as the university's aula and is open only for university events. I was lucky to get in for the opening of a congress I attended. If you have the chance to see it, don't miss it.

The church is an important example of late 16th century architecture from an art historian's pont of view. Built long after the end of the middle ages, it still has gothic windows in its otherwise renaissance architecture. We are in the age of the counter-reformation and this old-fashioned style was chosen intentionally to express the long tradition of the Roman catholic church.
The interior shows gothic propertions with a steep middle nave, but the details adopt the then modern renaissance style. The three-storey fronts of the galleries around the central nave resemble the facades in palace courtyards.

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Follow their footsteps. The Prince Bishops' lovely baroque gardens around Residenz are now a public park, open and free from morning until dusk. Closing time changes with the seasons, check the sign on the gates - by the way, beautifully ornated wrought-iron gates.

When the palace was built on what was then the edge of the city, space for gardens was limited because of the fortification belt. There was not enough room to plan one of those huge geometrical gardens with seemingly endless linear alleys that reach out into the open land. However, limitations often lead to the most ingenious solutions. The park was inserted into the outlines of the bulwarks. Garden parterres on ground floor level are surrounded by a promenade walk on top of the ramparts. Both are connected with a system of stairs, ramps and terraces. Most baroque gardens are flat, this one is three-dimensional.

Don't miss the promenade up on the ramparts and bulwarks, from up there you have the best views of gardens and palace. The balustrades are ornated with stone sculptures, among them many cute figures of children (or better putti) impersonating professions, seasons, virtues and whatever. My favourite was the little postman.

Photographers: Revisit in the morning when the sunlight shines onto the eastern front of the Residenz.

Another big park, named "Little Nizza" (LOL), extends around the outside of the bulwarks. Thsi outer park is less delicate and less restricted, it is just a normal park. There are several big playgrounds, good to know for families with kids.

After consecration of the Marienkirche in 706, this fortification was founded about 1200 and had been residence of prince bishops between 1253 – 1719. In 1482 the main castle was surrounded by medieval ring-wall. Julius Echter changed the fortress into a Renaissance palace about 1600. After the defeat by Gustav Adolf of Sweden in 1641, the fortress was reconstructed as a Baroque fortification.

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Like nearly everything else in Würzburg, the old City Theater was destroyed in a thirty-five minute bombing raid on March 16, 1945. After the war, performances were held in the ruins, and later in the gym of the teachers' college on Wittelsbacher Platz. The current theater building, on the site of the former railroad station, was opened in 1966.

In 2004 the they celebrated their two hundredth anniversary, since the original city theater was first opened on August 3, 1804.

This seems to have been an under-financed theater right from the start. Throughout the 19th century they kept changing directors and declaring near-bankruptcy every few years.

Neither the 20th nor the 21st century has been much different in this respect. Operations were suspended for financial reasons in 1923 and 1930, and there were reports of eminent closure in 2003.

Despite their chronic financial difficulties they still haven't been shut down, and in fact have had some very successful seasons since 2004.

In 2005 for the first time they put on a "Theater Summer" from July 27 to August 7 (which is why it says Theatersommer above the door in the photo), featuring successful operetta and musical productions from the past season.

Additional photos: Front entrance, inner courtyard, lower lobby, stage entrance with bicycles.

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....amazingly little damaged in 1945.

Once, the town was known for its courtyards. Just off the Marktplatz, on Gressengasse, you can still see a few very old buildings, with their courtyards.

'Zum Stachel' dates from 1200 in some parts, but was first mentioned in 1413. It's a Weinstube, with lots of wines, good local food and a rather beautiful courtyard. A very pleasant place to have a meal.

The plaque in the photo will give you more detailed history, if your German is good enough!

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I do love this German word for 'town hall'. :-)

The Wurzburg Rathaus isin two parts really. The Medieval Grafeneckart, with its tower, was originally built for church officials but it became the Rathaus in 1316. The Rote Bau, built in 1659 in Renaissance style, is next door and part of the former Carmelite monastery (1712) is also now used.

I particularly liked the little figure I spotted above the entrance to the Grafeneckart (see photo). It looks as if he was knocked about a bit in 1945 (the Rote Bau was very badly damaged), but he's still peeking out over Beimgrafen!

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This fifteenth-century bridge crosses the Main from the Altstadt and Rathaus towards the Marienberg fortress.

It's a good spot for views, of both side of the river.

The bridge is lined with statues (reminded me very much of the famous Charles Bridge in Prague, to be honest.........I wonder if that is where Wurzburghers got the idea?). They were added in the mid 1700s.