Limburg an der Lahn Things to Do

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The cathedral is enthroned on a rock high above the town and the river Lahn and thus can be seen for miles around. It’s an impressive late Romanesque structure with 7 steeples. With a height of 66 metres the crossing’s steeple overtops the remaining 6. But the cathedral’s paintings (both inside and at the façade) constitute the structure’s particularity. Today there are only few churches of this size to be found in Europe that show similar late Romanesque art of painting. Almost 80% of the cathedral’s beautiful mural paintings have been preserved and therefore the church has been rated a “building of historic importance”. This official title involves government funds for renovation and helps preserving this amazing cathedral.
The 1st church was built on this spot in 10th century by order of Count Konrad Kurzbold. But not even 200 years later a new, bigger church was built on the foundations of the original one. The laying of the foundation stone is assumed to have been taking place between the years 1175 and 1200; the cathedral was consecrated in 1235 by Archbishop Theoderich von Wied.
In 1827 Limburg was converted into an independent bishopric and the former collegiate church St. Georg officially became a cathedral.

Church service: daily at 10:15 am

Guided tours can be attended:
Tuesdays – Fridays at 11:00 am and 03:00 pm
Saturdays at 11:00 am
Sundays at 11:45

Groups have to sign up in advance:
Phone: +49 (0)6431 929 983
Fax +49 (0)6431 929 985
E-mail: domfuehrungen-limburg@bistum-limburg.de

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Limburg does have one of the most fascinating accumulation of half-timbered houses I’ve ever seen. The complete old town today is under preservation order. I’ve very much enjoyed just aimlessly walking through the cobblestone streets and alleys and inspecting the facades of these beautiful medieval houses. Some of these are decorated with colourful carved figures and inscriptions or do have lovely oriels and balconies. Some carvings show bible scenes or emblems, some draw conclusion on the building’s constructors. And even though we might not be able to perceive the meaning of each ornamentation it’s still a pleasure to reflect upon these works of art.
In 1298 Limburg was heavily damaged by a huge fire and many houses had to be reconstructed afterwards. A few of these late 13th century houses have remained and can be admired today. There’s a beautiful half-timbered house at Bergstrasse, for example, which dates back to 1298. Another one of these extraordinarily old houses can be found at the street called Römer.
But at the old town of Limburg you can find buildings descending from various centuries. At the street called Fischmarkt alone there are houses from 15th, 16th and 17th century. There also are many beautiful medieval houses in vicinity of the cathedral.

Already at the early Middle Ages Limburg used to be an important junction of goods traffic. Ancient merchant roads like the Via Publica (leading from Brussels to Prague) and military roads like the Via Regia (leading from Köln to Frankfurt) both crossed the river Lahn at Limburg. People and goods had to be ferried across the river until in 12th century a wooden bridge was built. High waters did frequently damage or even destroy this bridge, though. A stone bridge replaced the original structure in 14th century. In 1357 a toll was levied on crossing the bridge in order to finance the construction works. This fee had to be paid until 1905- today crossing the bridge is free of charge.
In the middle of the bridge you can see a statue of St. Nepomuk (the patron saint of bridges) and a medieval stone cross donated by survivors of the Plague epidemic of 1349. In late 15th century a chapel was added to one of the bridge’s towers to commemorate the victims of another Plague epidemic. Unfortunately this chapel had to be pulled down in 1827 as it was unsound. The Lahn bridge has repeatedly been damaged and partly been destroyed throughout the centuries due to its strategic importance but always has been reconstructed and renovated.

It still remember the discussions and complains about this Hattstein fountain on the Plötze place. Before, there was the Holy George with the dragon (which is now found on the Neumarkt), and in 1985 he was replaced by a modern fountain showing a soaker with a beer barrel. What a difference!

The fountain is showing Friedrich von Hattstein, who supposedly was a dangerous robber-knight in the 14th century and was appointed as captain of the city guard (although this may sound weird). It's said that the drank 156 litre wine from a barrel that he was holding, which should be a sign for his strength – not for drunkenness, like most would think!

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I guess you know a pedalo/ paddleboat. But have you ever heard of the "BBQ Donut"? It's a round boat for up to 10 persons with a built-in grill and was invented by someone from Limburg. Currently you'll only see them in Limburg, but they plan to offer them at other locations, too. I haven't yet seen them when driving and couldn't do a good photo, but you'll find some on their webpage.

The prices vary from 29 Euro to 59 Euro per hour depending on what you plan - to drive only, to have some drinks or to have a barbecue. You need to book the drinks and food from them and are not allowed to bring your own drinks/food - that makes it even more expensive. But it's a funny idea!

You also can rent pedalos there for maximum 4 persons: 10 Minutes costs 2 Euro, 1 hour costs 10 Euro and a whole day costs 45 Euro.

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There's a boat called "Wappen von Limburg" (something like "emblem of Limburg") which goes both upstream (to Dehrn) and downstream (to Balduinstein). I'd more recommend the trip downstream, as then you'll pass the lock in Limburg which may be interesting!
They offer different tours at different days, you'll find the information on their webpage. They don't run on Mondays and only in July/August they will drive on Thursdays.
On board, you can get drinks and also some food - it's not allowed to eat/drink that you've brought yourself.

There needs to be a minimum of 25 persons, otherwise the boat won't run.
The price varies depending where you want to go. For the roundtrip to Dehrn it will cost 7,50 Euro (adults)/ 5 Euro (children). To Balduinstein it's 11,50/ 8,00 Euro (single trip) or 15,50/ 10,50 Euro (round trip).

The Staurothek is also called "Cathedral Treasure and Diocesan Museum".
Staurothek, that's one of the "treasures" of the musuem, a Byzantine cross reliquary. It's found downstairs, where is the Cathedral Treasure. Beside, you'll see there several old and pompous church utensils and also the crosses and rings of the bishops of Limburg. In both rooms, you can get yourself a flyer with detailed information about the objects (German only).

Upstairs then are some more church utensils like chalices and monstrances, crosses, statues, robes, etc., several dating from the 12th century. Also very interesting was the reconstructions of how the inside of the cathedral had looked in different times.
Unfortunately some artefacts in the museum were missing, and you only could see a photo. But there still was lots to see and it's worth a visit!

On the ground floor, there's a changing exhibition - information about the current one can be found on the webpage.
Unfortunately the webpage is in German, but in the "Info" section, you can download a flyer in English or French.

Opening times: only from March 15 to November 15
- Tuesday to Saturday: 10:00 - 13:00 and 14:00 -17:00
- Sunday, holidays: 11:00 - 17:00
Admission: 2 Euro (reduced for pupils and handicapped: 1 Euro)

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In the Lahn Valley this is a very quaint and charming town; small cobbled streets & timbered houses. Some lovely restaurants & cafes. Limburg is beautiful with a laid back atmosphere.

It makes for a good day trip or a lovely place to stop on a road trip for food and or sleep. A good place to wander carelessly but I am not sure what one would do here for a prolonged period of time.