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# Category Archives: St. Stephens’s Church

Anna Rosmus, "Out of Passau", Hofgut Hafnerleiten, St. Stephens's Church, Veste Oberhaus

# Passau, a beautiful city with a dark secret…

September 2, 2020 1954 2 Comments

During Wednesday afternoon and thru the night, the River Princess cruised the Danube towards the German border and the town of Passau. Since river boats glide along rather than speeding and it was a fair distance to our next stop, we spent the evening looking at delightful vistas on both sides, until well after sunset. We then went to bed soothed by the gentle motion of our ship. We would not arrive at Passau until early afternoon on Thursday.

As the sun set, the small towns along the shore were silhouetted against the sky, and a few light gradually appeared in some of the buildings.

The Ramblers had visited Passau twice before. On our previous Danube cruise, it was our last stop, because of low water between Passau and Regensburg. In fact, we were bussed to Passau as the Maria Theresa slowly made her way through the very shallow water and then could go no further. However, our first cruise, Christmas Markets on the Danube in 2014, ended in Passau and we then flew home from Munich. This was only a year after the 500 year flood that hit the area in 2013.

The Rhine floods on an average, every 5 years, tho most times, it is not disastrous. Passau is especially susceptible to flooding as three rivers meet within its boundaries, the black Ilz, the green Inn and of course, the blue Danube! A marker every guide points out is the flood chart painted on the wall of city hall in the historic district near the river. The 2013 flood came in just under the historic flood of 1501. As you can see, the water came up to the third story of many buildings close to the Danube,

In 2014, flood damage was still visible on some of the buildings but all had been repaired by 2019.

The reason many river cruises either begin or end at Passau is because cruising that part of the Danube is both scenic and popular. As a result, the docking pontoons are usually full. Most cruises last for a week, and it takes a week to get from Budapest to Passau or the reverse, so this makes sense. Passau was a very popular destination in early July of 2019. Of course, July is a also the vacation month for many Germans and Austrians and other Europeans. Thus there was a constant stream of busses loading and unloading tourists on the plaza facing the historic district in front of the Danube while we were there.

The intrepid bicyclists ready to leave Engelhartzell for their ride along the River Inn

Before we got to Passau, the River Princess made another technical stop at Englehartzell, to drop off the cruisers who were going to bicycle along the river. Not the Danube this time, but mostly along the River Inn which would also take them to Passau by a different and very scenic route. The River Princess like all Uniworld ships, has excellent bicycles available for those who want a more active tour. In this case, they would cycle for about 28 km/18 miles and eventually meet the Princess in Passau. Their guides were waiting when the ship arrived and the group was away by 9 AM.

The Hofgut Hafnerleiten is set in the idyllic Bavarian countryside; it is a small hotel restaurant with cooking school attached. Jean raved about the setting.

Another small group also left at Englehartzell for a much different experience, a Bavarian Country Cooking Class. This was a fairly pricey Masterpiece Collection experience at $250 Euros a person. Being familiar with German/Austrian country cooking, the Rambler had no desire to try this one, but Jean, one of our Aussie friends, took it and enjoyed it very much. Of course it wasn’t just any cooking class, it was taught by Michelin chef Erwin at the beautiful Hofgut Hafnerleiten. Chef Erwin and his wife have created a small hotel and cooking school in the beautiful Bavarian countryside. Researching it for this blog entry, it looked like a very lovely spot.

Here is a photo I found of the guests preparing a meal in the court yard. Our cruisers found it very enjoyable although the sometimes had problems understanding their hosts as none spoke German.

The rest of us continued on to Passau where we would meet our guide, Elizabeth, next to the dock. We were fortunate to have her, as not only was she an excellent guide but she led us gentle walkers at a sedate pace through some beautiful places. And, at end of our tour, we learned that she was a singer and actress, and happily serenaded us with the”Sound of Music!” It was a great treat. But before that she led us through a beautiful garden, we got a look at the amazing ceiling in the Bishop’s Palace and learned alot about St. Stephens.

St. Stephen’s cathedral is a beautiful baroque edifice, famous for its magnificent organ which has 17,974 pipes. It was once the largest in the world but is still the largest in Europe and has a marvelous sound. The Ramblers had enjoyed a concert of organ music on our last visit, but no concert was scheduled that afternoon. Yet, in some ways, this was a good thing as we got to walk around and admire the interior and learn about St. Stephens construction when it was not full of people. And believe me, the concerts draw a crowd.

One of the many beautiful gardens in the historic district
The am amazing ceiling in he Bishop’s Palace, gorgeous frescoes and plaster-work. Trying to get a good photo was a dizzying experience.
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This is a very beautiful church, and for once it wasn’t crowded with people for the organ concert. This gave us time to enjoy the church and say a prayer or two and light a candle.
Elizabeth serenading her gentle walker group at the end of the tour.

Finally we regrouped outside the cathedral where Elizabeth sang for us and then bid us adieu to much applause. We gentle walkers then had a relative short downhill stroll back to the Danube and the River Princess. It is hard to get lost in the Passau historic district; if you walk downhill, you will eventually get to the river. On the way back, the Rambler stopped at Simon’s bakery one street over from the river to buy some of their amazing gingerbread to bring home.

Veste Oberhaus, high above the town. In this photo you can see the remnants of the medieval and later additions to the fortress. It served the Holy Roman Empire as ;protection for this very strategic area.

While we were taking in historic Passau, yet another group had a much more strenuous experience; a hike to the Veste Oberhaus, a 14th century fortress that overlooks the town on the other side of the river. They would then cross back over to the historic district. Obviously not all the people on our cruise were slow movers, as quite a few opted to hike up to the fortress which must have had an amazing view. They then had a chance to explore the town as we would not set sail for Regensburg until 6 PM.

However, before ending this blog, after much thought, the Rambler felt she must add something about Passau’s dark history in the recent past. I learned about it after our second visit, and this time, there is no way I can avoid writing about it. With all the turmoil in 2020 about how to address unpleasant aspects of a country’s history, Passau has decided to simply forget about what happened there during Hitler’s Third Reich.

Passau is a lovely town and a delightful place to visit but it has ties to Hitler and his policies. As Hitler had lived in Passau as a boy, it became a pilgrimage site during the Third Reich. There were certainly quite a few Nazis living here as well as two small concentration camps nearby. When Anna Rosmus discovered and wrote about Passau under Hitler as a high school student, most of the townspeople were very angry. This was not the image of their town they wanted to display.

Rosmus went on to research and write about Passau under Hitler and published a well-received book about the period called, “Out of Passau.” For her efforts, she has been reviled and even received death threats but this has not stopped her. In 1990, her work was featured in a movie called “The Nasty Girl.” The book is readily available if you are interested. Rosmus continues to work against the Neo-Nazi movement in Germany. She is not welcomed by many in her home town.

Of course there is much more good in Passau’s past than evil, and the Bavarians’ who live there would obviously prefer it was forgotten. In truth, there is little left to see of these dark days, but should it be entirely glossed over?

This cruise will take us to at least one other city that has had to deal with its past under Hitler. Nurnberg took quite a different path. I leave it to you to decide which way is best. I expect that the only time Nazis might be mentioned in Passau today would be on a Jewish tour of the city, but not on the many tours led by guides from the various river cruise companies.

PS. Looked to see if there were any Jewish history tours of Passau; the only one I found had nothing about Passau under the Third Reich in it’s description.

Austrian dirndls, Bavaria, Flood of 2013, Lebkuchen/gingerbread, Simon's Cafe, St. Stephens's Church

# Passau; Bavarian gem

August 6, 2015 1954 Leave a comment

After a sumptuous Captains’ Farewell Dinner, we woke to yet another day of rain and drizzle, high 36, low 32. There would be no sunny days for us on this trip. The Beatrice docked in Passau, Bavaria around 8:30 AM. This was final stop on our cruise. Tomorrow the passengers would disperse, most to the airport but others to other cities in Europe.

Today’s tour started at 9 AM. The senior Rambler decided he didn’t want to go, but undeterred, I joined the Gentle Walker’s group solo. I was very glad I did, because our guide Sonia, was hands down the best we had on the trip. It was not just her familiarity with Passau’s history but her warm and welcoming self. She greeted us with the traditional greeting of conservative Bavaria Grüß Gott, (translation , “God be with you) which set the scene for an interesting tour, as she shared many traditions of the area, including where to tie the bow of your sash if you are wearing a dirndl. (surprisingly important)

And if my female readers ever decide to wear the dirndl, think Maria in the Sound of Music, where you tie the bow is crucial, even today. If you tie it on the left, you signal that you are available, on the right, taken (engaged or married), in the back, a widow and in the front, a virgin. Evidently at least in Austria, people still check out the placement of the bow.. Dirndls are quite popular today in Austria and Bavaria today, and can be quite expensive.They are worn for special occasions, for a comfortable, traditional look, and even as Halloween costumes. Young women often wear a short skirt and accentuate the low cut bodice, while older women stick to the more traditional long skirt. You can see a variety of dirndls here. Recent article on Austrian dirndls from Vienna Unwrapped.

Sonia led us through the narrow medieval streets of Alstadt Passau pointing out the high water marks of the disastrous flood that occurred in June, 2013, the worst in 500 years. Water from the Danube reached a height of 42.2 feet and much of the Alstadt was underwater. By December 2014, many of the buildings had been repaired although some along the river still needed restoration. Angela Merkel came to view the devastation personally and arraigned aid for for the townspeople who had no flood insurance

The 13th century date of this building was revealed after renovation

Passau, the town which takes pride because three rivers meet there, was done in by its unique location in 2013. Sonia later took us up to a high point in the Alstadt where we could see the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers.

We also hiked up the cobblestone streets to St. Stephen’s Church which has the largest cathedral organ in the world and the largest outside the United States. This beautiful church was rebuilt in baroque style during the 17th century, although a Catholic church has stood on the site for hundreds of years. Passau was once governed by a Prince-Bishop and his impressive palace stands near the church.At St. Stephen’s, I got to see yet another creche under construction, as well as the beautiful interior. Although we didn’t get to hear the gigantic organ

Baroque at its finest, St. Stephen’s organ

, it was an impressive sight, all chrome and baroque gilt. After our visit to the church, we headed back to the shops of the Alstadt where we were scheduled to have a gingerbread baking demonstration.

The Rambler prides herself on her knowledge and skill in the kitchen so she wasn’t too excited about the demonstration. After all, every time she made gingerbread cookies they were the last ones to be eaten.

Gingerbread has never been one of our family favorites. However, I was very glad I decided to go because I learned quite a bit about the history of gingerbread baking.

Creche under construction

Our instructors were the third and fourth generation, father and son of the Simon (family)Cafe, Bakery and Confectionery, established in 1903. They told us that gingerbread has evolved since medieval times when it was simply a mixture of flour, honey and water flavored with whatever spices were available.

Simon Sr. holding up a gingerbread mold; note jars of spices on counter.

This variety got hard as a rock and kept forever, important in the days before refrigeration when nothing was thrown away. It was often pressed into a wooden mold before baking to decorate it. In the 19th century bakers produced a sweeter version, because of the availability of cane sugar, at first, mainly in the form of molasses. No longer did they have to rely on honey as a sweetener. Gradually eggs and baking powder were added and the rye flour used in the earliest versions was replaced by white flour. Simon’s also makes a modern version which replaces much of the flour with. marzipan (almond paste and sugar). If you like marzipan, and I do, you will love this version, as I did..

Yummy stuff in the Simon Confectionery/Cafe, the lebkuchen are in the cans stacked on the counter.

The Simon’s call it Eisenlebkuchen. I later bought a container and savored it all myself after we got home. That’s not as bad as it sounds as the senior Rambler dislikes gingerbread AND marzipan.

In Germany, gingerbread is called lebkuchen, and it contains a variety of spices even a little pepper, but no ginger! If you stop at Passau on a Christmas Markets river cruise, you will probably have a chance to stop at Simon’s and see a gingerbread demonstration. Don’t pass it up.

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