Fulda Things to Do

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We stopped at the parish church of St. Blaise on our way to see the Altes Rathaus, which is just behind the church. The Church of St. Blaise is the mother parish of all the Catholic parishes in Fulda. It was built in the late 1700s in the Baroque style and uses the former Gothic tower (current northeast tower) of the previous church building. The former church had been demolished during the Counter Reformation and the new church was begun. Prior to the Gothic style church, the church also had a Romanesque style church on the same site, designed to provide religious services for the local merchants that supported the town and the monastery. Above the main door in the front of the church are the coat of arms of Fulda. The exterior is distinctive with its red and white colors.

The interior is a three aisled nave with a high altar designed similar to the Fulda Cathedral’s high altar which has statues of St. Boniface and St. Blaise on either side of it. On the ceiling are frescoes depicting Christ throwing the moneychangers out of the temple, the Sermon on the Mount, and King David playing his harp. Smaller medallion frescoes of some of the apostles line the sides of the nave.

There are several statues within the church, including wooden Pieta and a St. Christopher, as well as an old Gothic baptismal font dating from 1483.

Church is open Monday through Saturday 1000-1700, Sundays/Holidays 1200-1700.

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Across the street from the Fulda Cathedral and on one side of the Schlossgarten is the Orangerie, a Baroque hall used by the former Prince-Bishops for parties and gatherings. Today it is still used for festivals and houses a café where you can eat inside or outside on the terrace.

On the steps in front of the Orangerie and overlooking the formal Schlossgarten is the Floravase – a beautiful and very Baroque garden sculpture depicting a woman on a vase with three cherubs around her feet holding a very thick rose garland. While we were visiting, this part of the garden was being used for formal group photos. Fortunately, after our walk through the gardens, the group had dispersed and we were able to get a good look at the sculpture.

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Many towns in Germany seem to have a “Witches Tower” and Fulda is no different. The tower in Fulda was part of the town’s original fortifications built by Abbot Marquard I in the 10th century; however, in the Middle Ages when hysteria reigned and women were accused of witchcraft to explain bad things happening in the town, the Fulda tower was turned into a prison for these accused women.

A sign on the tower reads: “For the approximately 270 victims of the witch hunts in the Bishopric of Fulda in November 2008, a memorial complex on the Old Dompfarrlichen cemetery was consecrated.”

The tower is a block away from the Fulda Cathedral on Kanalstrasse.

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Fulda’s only Gothic church can be seen at the Severikirche, which is located only two blocks from the Altes Rathaus. As we approached the church, it looked like a miniature of one of the larger Gothic churches (without buttresses) in other cities with its stone exterior and rounded apse. The church was built in the 1400s as the chapel for the wool weavers’ guild, later to be part of both the Franciscan and the Benedictine orders.

The church is very small; I would call it more of a chapel compared to the other churches in town. A simple single nave with a small apse houses the altar and the windows are clear, making the interior with its white walls very clean and bright. A simple wood relief series of Christ’s Passion are on the left side wall.

We could only see the church from the foyer – there was a locked metal gate blocking our path, but the church was small enough that we were still able to get a good look at the interior.

The Paulustor is a former gate that was formerly between the city castle and the main guard but was moved in 1771 to its current location on Pauluspromenade, the main road between the front of the Fulda Cathedral and the Schlossgarten. It is named Paulustor due to the statue of St. Paul on the top of the gate, which is flanked by statues of the city’s patron saints: Saint Faustino and Saint Simplicius. The road narrows to just one lane going through the gate; cars are guided by traffic signals, taking turns through the slender gate.

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St. Michael’s Church is a fascinating Romanesque church that has a unique feature – the central portion of the church is held up by a single column below in the crypt. Above this column is the transept that has a circular ring of eight columns supporting the floors above.

St. Michael’s is a small Carolingian chapel that was built back in 822, although the side nave and circular area were added in the 11th century. It is said that this is one of the oldest church buildings in Germany and is the former burial chapel for the monastery. Its interior contained painted wood statues of saints while the side chapel appeared to have more modern (17th century and beyond) artwork.

To visit the crypt, which is mostly bare except for the single column in the center, use the steps to the right of the nave, turning at the circular column gallery. The narrow stairs lead to the damp musty crypt area that is well lit and holds a small altar.

St. Michael’s Church is located next to the Fulda Cathedral – it can be found to the right of the cathedral as you are looking at the cathedral. There are steps leading up to St. Michael’s Church.

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One of my favorite buildings in Fulda is the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall), perhaps because I really enjoy the half-timbered buildings of Europe. The Altes Rathaus is a large building set on a corner of a pedestrian zone and currently houses clothing shops. A carving above one of the windows showed the date of 1611, but the tourist information sign says it was built in 1531 (confirmed by my tourbook). The Altes Rathaus is impressive with its half-timbered walls, red roof and towers.

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Across the street from the Fulda Cathedral and next to the Schlossgarten is the Stadtschloss, which was once the royal apartments and Episcopal palace). Today the Stadtschloss is where the city council meets as well as having parts of the building open to the public.

Inside the Stadtschloss are several rooms popular with visitors, including a hall of mirrors and the former royal apartments. The building is also where a large collection of Fulda porcelain is on display. Another display is about the inventor of the CRT (cathode ray tube) used in televisions, computer monitors, and other electronics display machines – its inventor, Karl Ferdinand Braune, was from Fulda and earned the Nobel Prize for his work.

Admission to the Stadtschloss is €4 and a guided tour is available for an additional fee, although the museum does have a combination ticket for €6 that includes both admission and tour.