The lovely old historical town of Miltenberg, Bavaria
Hi Mommy,
today is a German holiday, so Anja and her friend Maren went to Miltenberg, Bavaria, to pick up a pet rat for Maren. Of course, we TVs went along. Bavaria, wow! 
First we went to see the people who owned the rat.
They lived in a beautiful house with beautiful old furniture.
The lady and her husband painted this lovely old "Bauernschrank" (farmer's cabinet) themselves about 30 years ago
And they have a guardian angel above the door
This is the village of Grossheubach where they live
We left the pet rat with its - now former - owners for a while, because we wanted to go and see Miltenberg.
| Quote: |
Even as far back as prehistoric and early historical times, people knew about the strategic importance of the strait at the Main “knee” between the Odenwald and the Spessart, building mighty ringwalls on the Greinberg above Miltenberg and on the Bürgstadter Berg (mountains). About AD 155, the Romans laid down the almost dead straight “Forward Limes” on the Main. Near today’s Miltenberg, the Limes came up against the Main, which from here northwards formed the Roman Empire’s natural border with Germania. Remnants of two Roman castra can be found nearby, one between Miltenberg and Bürgstadt (Kastell Miltenberg-Ost) and the other between Miltenberg and Kleinheubach (Altstadtkastell).
Under the preotection of the castle of Mildenburg (built about 1200), the town of Miltenberg took hold. It had its first documentary mention in 1237. By about 1379, the two town towers, the Mainz Gate (Mainzer Tor) and the Würzburg Gate (Würzburger Tor) framed in the west and east today’s Old Town, which grew narrow and long between the river and the steep slope. Already by the Middle Ages, Miltenberg bunter was highly sought-after, with things such as grindstones and columns being hewn in the surrounding woods. Even before 1319, the Spital St. Peter (hospital) was founded by Archbishop Peter of Aspelt.
Until 1803, Miltenberg belonged to Electoral Mainz. This is yet manifested in the town’s coat of arms, which bears the Wheel of Mainz as a charge. After the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss, Miltenberg passed to the Principality of Leiningen, with which it was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1806. After having become part of the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1810, the town finally became part of Bavaria in 1816.
From Miltenberg come the so-called Heunensäulen, some special sandstone columns meant for use more than a thousand years ago when Mainz Cathedral was being built. The master builder, however, decided that they were unneeded and they never became part of the cathedral. One of them now stands in Mainz’s cathedral square, a gift to the city on the occasion of the cathedral’s thousandth anniversary in 1975. It bears an explanatory plaque.
Miltenberg has an historical Old Town featuring many timber-frame houses. In 1912 and 1955, Miltenberg acquired lands over on the Main’s right bank to expand the town. |
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And it sure was worth the visit!
This is a patron saint. The people of Bavaria are mostly catholic, and they have Mother Mary and patron saints everywhere.
Look at the date on this lovely old timber house!
This is the pedestrian district of Miltenberg
where we had big fun riding a children's swing
and looking at the lovely toys in the shop windows
This is the restaurant and hotel "Zum Riesen" - the oldest inn in Germany!
While we were window shopping for some booze
("Wildsau-Tropfen" means "wild boar liquor" 
)
it started to rain, so we went to a lovely old Bavarian restaurant
and ordered some dark Bavarian beer
and one of Germany's most beloved dishes:
Schnitzel with french fries
Ooooh, that was delicious!!!
After our meal, we admired some nice wooden statues in the restaurant
and then the rain had stopped and we continued our walk
This is the old town hall - first mentioned in records in 1379 -
also showing how high the river Main reached during the floods of 1784 and 1945
What a lovely place Miltenberg is!
We also visited a shop selling wooden statues of all kinds, such as saints and creches
and soon we reached the old market place dating from the late 13th century
One house had a picture of St. Georg and the dragon
and some of the old city wall is still standing
... to be continued...
