Miltenberg | Georgia Rambler

Today, the Ramblers experienced a brief stop in Freudenberg, a bus ride to Miltenberg, a delightful walk around the town and finally, a visit to one of the many nearby vinyards. All this before 12:30! Then our group returned to the Princess, now docked briefly in Miltenberg. That afternoon, we enjoyed a leisurely cruise along the beautiful Main. This was a totally different experience for the Ramblers than we had experienced the previous day in Wurzberg.

Unlike many of the towns we had visited on this cruise, Miltenberg was little damaged during WWII, except…on the day before the Germans surrendered,. The German troops destroyed its historic bridge across the Main to slow the advance of Allied troops! Of course, the Miltenbergers rebuilt the bridge in all its historic glory as soon as they were able.

The rebuilt bridge f rom the river with a view of the medieval entrance gatel

As usual, the Princess arrived at our first stop in Freudenberg around breakfast time. Although most of the cruisers left the ship at 8:30 for the short bus ride to Miltenberg, the Princess would stay in Freudenberg until 11:30. Those who remained onboard, including the senior Rambler, had an opportunity to walk around yet another small village with beautiful half-timbered houses, on their own. He enjoyed his time in Freudenberg as well as the short sail to Miltenberg while the Rambler embarked on the day’s tour.

Miltenberg from the top of the hill…you can see the red sandstone towers in the foreground, as well as another view of the bridge. an in town dock is hidden behind the trees.

Why could we not just go directly to Miltenberg? It was simply the availablity of dock space. Of all the companies whose ships cruise European rivers, Viking is the best known in the United states. Viking advertises heavily, has dozens of ships sailing in Europe and has cleverly bought up dock space at many popular stops. Amazingly they own three docks even in the small town of Miltenberg, thus their ships always have priority at their docks. This isn’t an issue most of the year, but can be a problem in the most popular cruising season, the month of July in particular. The Ramblers preferred to cruise mid August but the previous year, water levels had been so low by then that we chose to cruise in July. Thus we experienced the busiest time both on the river and on land as well, and decided we much preferred the less crowded times. Incidentally, most of the small towns along the Main have flooded many times in the last 300 years. Fortunately construction of canals, locks and dams has controlled the flooding to some extent.

Today, the Princess offered four tours in the Miltenberg area. After a short stroll around the delightful historic area, our large group would separate into four smaller groups. One to visit a brewery. Another to a farm. The third on a hike to a local vinyard (there was a bus for the gentle walkers) while the artistic members of our group went to a paint and wine experience. But first our guides took us for a tour along the single main street, the Hauptstrasse, which is lined with half timbered houses dating from the 15th throughthe 17th century. The street level of many buildings contain intriguing shops, pubs and restaurants.

One of the main stops for those who enjoy drinking beer in a place steeped with history is Zum Reisen, which calls itself the oldest pub in Germany. Although the date on the building is 1411, this is somewhat misleading as Zum Reisen was rebuilt in 1590, but it is still quite an ancient place.

Historic Mildenberg castle is small as castles go, but it is truly a magical place, just up the hill from St. Jacobus Church. It escaped destruction through the centuries but was expanded over time. There is a small entry fee and sadly the tour is is German but almost self-explanatory.

Miltenburg still has its city walls and even a small castle at the top of the hill at the back of the town. It also has a church, St. Jacobus, which dates to the 1300’s although it was rebuilt many times.

Unlike most of the churches we visited on this trip, the interior of St. Jacobus was very plain. It did however have a striking and colorful modern altarpiece that was installed in 2004. During our visit, we got to watch a group of kindergarten children practising for a saint’s day procession with their teachers. It was a charming scene.

The children ended their march above the striking modern altarpiece. A proud parent is takina a video of the event. The Rambler loved the simple interior.

The shops were open as it was a week-day and some of our group were tempted by the sale signs in shop windows. The street is pedestrian only for part of the day to accomodate the many tourists who come here.

Our meetingplace was in the square where wee found the famous fountain which dates to 1583..

Along the way, we passed the Rathaus or Town Hall built of the red sandstone which is used in many buildings in Franconia as it is quarried in the area. A look to the left provides a view of the Mildenburg castle, small by castle standards, but picturesque and in good shape. Built in the 1400’s, it had many owners until it was bought by the town of Miltenberg.. Today it houses two museums and is an easy stroll up at the top of the hill. However, we did not visit the castle as we had to locate Miltenberg’s famous fountain built in 1583, of what else but red sandstone. There we joined our groups and prepared for part two of today’s adventure.

The Rambler had chosen the vinyard option which sounded like fun, and joined the rest of the gentle walkers on the bus. It was a chance to see the Bavarian countryside away from the river. We got to wave at the rest of our group as they trudged uphill to the vinyard. It really wasn’t a very long way and they seemed to enjoy their stroll through vinyards and farmland.

Our hostess explains the characteristics of the wine she is pouring. Note the bulbous shape of the wine bottle in her hand. it indicates that the wine within comes from this area.

It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the mid-seventies. The owners of the winery had set up picknic snacks of sausage, bread and cheese on a covered patio to accompany our wine tasting. The vinyard was in a beautiful spot, surrounded by fields of vines, and othe crops, a charming spot in rural Bavaria. We enjoyed the food, the wine, the company and the enthusiastic presentation of our hosts. it was a very pleasant way to spend the morning sipping and munching until it was time to head back to our ship – just in time for lunch. LOL

After lunch the Princess set sail for our next stop, Rudesheim, unusually early, at 3:00 PM. This gave us an opportunity to enjoy the scenery along the Main river from the sundeck. The Main is considered the most rural of the major German rivers even tho it has been tamed by canals and locks. It certainly lived up to its name that afternoon.

Perhaps the most unusal boat we passed on the cruise was this obviously home-made houseboat which seemed to be steered by four or five attractive young women. They might actually have been poling it along, as we didn’t see a motor. The river isn’t very deep so this is possible.

But the day wasn’t over yet, as it was the senior Rambler’s birthday. Our waitstaff and the restaurant manager coordinated their efforts to serve a lovely meal and provide a birthday cake as we sat at our favorite table for two. They even sang Happy Birthday! All in all, it had been a totally satisfying day.

Our favorite waiters singing Happy Birthday to the senior Rambler! All the staff on a Uniworld ship are great but they were exceptional.

Taking a river cruise on the Rhine, Main and Danube Rivers is not all stopping to tour historic sites, eating fantastic meals, enjoying a glass of beer or wine or talking with new-found friends. Some days your ship will just cruise along between stops at a leisurely pace, maybe 7 miles per hour, and you will have plenty of time to enjoy or photograph the varied scenery along the river.

The Rhine, Main and Danube have provided transportation since Roman times and thus villages and towns line their banks on both sides.

In the United States,the Mississippi River banks are lined with 30 ft high flood control levees on both sides for most of Louisiana. It is only possible to see over them if you are on the top deck. When the levees end, the mighty Mississippi winds its way through hundreds of miles of agricultural land. Rivers are used for transportation of bulk cargoes in the US, and consequently rather than quaint villages, a passenger might see factories or silos of one kind or another, as towns are often built away from the banks because of flooding. Of course, European rivers also flow past industrial areas, but in general there is much more to see.

After sailing through the Rhine gorge and our stop in Rudesheim, the Rhine turned towards Basel, Switzerland and the Maria Theresa continued along the Main River towards the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal.Thus, on the fourth day of our cruise, the Maria Theresa, after sailing at night, arrived in Miltenberg at breakfast time. We would have the morning and early afternoon to enjoy the quaint historic old town of Miltenberg.

Our guide talking about the architecture — Our guide in front of one of the many timber-framed houses.

All the groups, including the Gentle Walkers, were bussed to the entrance of the Alstadt, where we met our guide, a tall Dutchman who had married a local girl. He was both funny and knowledgeable and told us much about the town history as well as its quaint buildings. The foundations of Miltenberg date to the 2nd century A.D. when the Romans established an outpost there. During the middle ages the town took shape as a small but prosperous business center where craftsmen shaped columns and grindstones. Miltenberg was initially protected by a castle built ca. 1200, and had a hospital by the beginning of the 14th century.

Leaning hotel — The oldest guesthouse in Germany, with Bavarian flag in front. Maria Theresa, among others, stayed there.

Miltenberg still boasts the oldest inn or guesthouse in Europe, the Hotel zum Reisen and a number of timber-framed houses that looked like they could provide background for Grimm’s fairy tales. Most date from the 16th century at least. Miltenberg’s old town has plenty of cobblestone streets that lead upwards to the hills that surround the town. Because of flooding problems near the river, Miltenberg had limited growth potential and it is a long and narrow presence along the left bank of the Main River. However, recent flood control programs have stopped the flooding although land is still scarce. Miltenberg has started to expand on the right side of the river after buying land from a neighboring town.

House date 1581 — If you look carefully you can see that the date on the house says 1581.

After the tour, everyone had a chance to chose another more specialized tour but the Ramblers decided to just walk slowly back to the ship. Although we were bussed to town, we had to find our own way back. There was almost no chance to get lost as we merely had to amble down the cobblestone paths enjoying our walk through the village until we reached the banks of the Main and turn towards the Maria Theresa.

As it turned out, this was quite a hike for us Ramblers, especially since some improvements were in progress on the street next to the river. This meant there was no access to the benches along the bank and the traffic was particularly heavy.

We later learned that the traffic was due to a well-known local event. The last week of August is the time of St. Michael’s Fair (Michaelesmesse) in Miltenberg, although it doesn’t coincide with St. Micheal’s feast day which is in September. Because it is the largest end of summer fair in this part of Bavaria, it draws a considerable crowd from the region.

Although it was still early in the afternoon, many families had already arrived, probably because they wanted to get a good parking place.

Old towns like Miltenberg sprang up long before the auto traffic, and there usually aren’t too many places to park in the historic area,.This was the case here and the road work made it worse.

The Maria Theresa sailed at 2 PM and all were able to enjoy a wonderful view of the town from the river as we headed towards our next stop, Wurzburg.

Georgia Rambler

Tag Archives: Miltenberg

Medieval Miltenberg

Miltenberg, a mixture of the old and the new

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