Germany Guide
Northern Bavaria: Franconia
Würzburg
Steep, vine-covered hills form the backdrop to WÜRZBURG, visible from the centre of the city as a clear reminder that you're no longer in beer country. The centre of the Franconian wine industry was for centuries dominated by the bishopric founded on the banks of the River Main by the English missionary St Boniface in 742 AD and, as in Bamberg, its prince-bishops wielded both spiritual and temporal power. In the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries the city nurtured the talent – whilst ultimately spurning the revolutionary politics – of the master woodcarver Tilman Riemenschneider. In the eighteenth century two prince-bishops of the luxury-loving Schörnborn dynasty were responsible for commissioning the city's greatest monument – and Bavaria's most magnificent palace – the Residenz, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Horrendous damage was visited on Würzburg by Britain's Royal Air Force on March 16, 1945, when the city was subjected to an ordeal by firestorm that laid waste the Altstadt and killed five thousand people; the destruction was so severe the city was afterwards dubbed "The Grave on the Main". Justification for the raid derived supposedly from the city's rail junction, though in truth it had long been on a list of cities with a population of over 100,000 that were earmarked for attack for no specific reason other than their size. After the war, Würzburg recovered with remarkable success, and its war-damaged monuments were slowly and painstakingly restored or rebuilt.
Most of Würzburg's sights are concentrated in the compact area between the Residenz and the River Main, but you'll need to walk across the Alte Mainbrücke to get the classic view of the Alstadt's pinnacled skyline. Also not to be missed is the Marienberg fortress, high above the west side of the river. Würzburg also marks the start of the Romantic Road, the best-known of Germany's tourist routes, which leads south to the Alps, linking many of Bavaria's most beautiful sights on the way. With its picturesque setting, artistic and architectural treasures and fine wines, the city makes a fitting – and enjoyable – start to Germany's most famous road trip.