iCliGo: Würzburg

Würzburg Germany

Würzburg is a city in Franconia in the north of Bavaria, Germany. Founded in the 10th century, it was home to powerful prince-bishops for many centuries. The city is famed for the Würzburg Residence, considered one of Europe’s finest palaces and a masterpiece of Baroque art, and recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Würzburg also has one of Germany’s oldest churches, built in the 8th century on the site of a former pagan shrine. One of its best-known landmarks, the Festung Marienberg, is a fortress that now surrounds this church. Historically, Würzburg was the centre of the kingdom of Franconia. In the 19th century, Napoleon merged Franconia with Bavaria, under whose rule the city still remains. Key sights in Würzburg include: • Fortress Marienberg – long the seat of the prince-bishops, built primarily to protect the citizens rather than the city itself. • Mainfranken Museum – with collections spanning from prehistory to the present day. • The Old Bridge – constructed between 1473 and 1543 to replace an earlier Romanesque bridge destroyed by floods. • Cathedral of St Kilian – a very austere Romanesque cathedral built between 1040 and 1225. The Schönborn Chapel, a side chapel added by bishops of the same name, is decorated with skulls and bones both inside and out. • Lusamgärtchen – a small walled courtyard on the north side of the Neumünster church, which contains the tomb of the minstrel Walther von der Vogelweide. The city also offers numerous old and beautiful churches to visit, as well as cafés, shops and restaurants, and the option of taking a guided tour to discover Würzburg’s history and culture in more depth.

Recommended airport

Nurnberg (NUE)

Nearby destinations

Würzburg, Germany

Würzburg Germany