Miltenberg - Where timber houses and a landmark hotel predate Columbus' Voyage of Discovery

TRAVEL BLOG No. 7

Viking Bestla approaches Miltenberg, and the savvy

swans  soon begged bread beneath our cabin balconies.

Nothing prepares a Canadian for the architectural delights of Miltenberg.  Even the ramparts at Quebec City are 'new' in comparison to much of what you are encouraged to touch and admire in this ancient German town.  Roman walls, a Renaissance church and squared-timber houses which predate the voyage of Christopher Columbus!  This was a river bank fortified by the Romans, then abandoned, and centuries later rebuilt, only to be scorched by the raiding Huns. This was a town where the Protestant Reformation initially faltered, and early followers of Martin Luther were beheaded.

VIKING BESTLA tied up at 2PM and we were soon parcelled into groups at dockside. We had already adjusted to the tour routine -  the leisurely stroll with well-informed local guide, followed by an hour or two of "exploring" - ie. scurrying about for those precious and very individual moments of discovery and meaning.  Between my wife and I, we came away with over 100 photos, and since returning to Canada I have done sufficient research that I can attest to the historical age and authenticity of what we were shown.  

For most tourists, the establishing shot at Miltenberg is the century-old tower and bridge that spans the river.  Both are constructed of gleaming red sandstone blocks, as are many of the public buildings in the town. I choose instead an old postcard (c1920) that is filled with many details that are no longer obvious, simply because the inhabitants enjoy letting the trees and bush grow thicker. If I had known that cemetery was there, I might have found a gate and had myself a quick look. 

We did however, have a careful look at a short section of the old Roman wall.  You will note that the Romans began the tradition of quarrying local stone to build their town, and stone cutting has employed  local men for centuries. Our tour guide insisted, and though confirmation escaped me I should not doubt her,  that much of the red sandstone used in building the wall around the Kremlin in Moscow, was quarried at Miltenberg.  [Kremlin walls and towers.]

If you visit, you will find it rather tricky to get shots of what remains of the original Roman defensive wall.  Nothing beats a human body for adding scale to a shot, so I stand here with my friend Lina.  Moments later I walked around the grey stucco building and photographed the opening though the wall.  That was the best I could do.  Imagine my delight when, a few months later, I found on German EBAY a postcard image of the same spot - printed roughly 110 years ago !  I have labeled my two photos and the antique postcard so readers can see for themselves how this crowded corner of Miltenberg has evolved since Roman times.

"Ein romantisches Eck an der Stadtmauer."  My German-English dictionary tells me this translates to  "a corner of the Roman City Wall".  If you look over my shoulder you will see that the two small structures built into the Roman wall are newly clad but their pitch and dimensions shows that the property owners have held on to those small lots, which must have been registered centuries ago.

Our guide spent less than fifteen minutes in the alleyways, before steering us back to the main tourist corridor.  We broke away briefly to get a series of photos in more cramped spaces, where winter frost and building settling has broken walls, exposing the interior details of ancient walls.   Its a truly fascinating catalog of innovation and repair by men long dead, but much too detailed for a Blog article. At one point we turned a corner into a narrow alley and bumped into a dozen men congregated outside an open door. They were, I believe, Turks and assorted Middle Eastern males. I assumed the flat or office was a strand in the continent-wide web of migrant trans-shipment that is always in the news, and I didn't attempt conversation.

The Hauptstrasse, or Main Street of the old town.

When we caught up to the tour group, I found our "gang" - all Taiwanese and Taiwanese Canadians, giving the guide their full attention. She really was very well informed, and I felt a tad guilty for having gone off on my own.  Still, several thousand tourists travel this corridor each day,  and I only had the one afternoon to form a lasting impression of a remarkable community.

In this photo my wife is standing in front of Miltenberg's most famous landmark -  a 600 year old hotel known as the Gasthaus zum Riesen, or "The Giant".  It is actually one of the oldest surviving hotels in Germany, dated to 1411, with archaeological evidence of an earlier structure beneath it.  If you can believe it, the Wiki-page boasts that Elvis Presley once took a room there. Had Columbus chosen to  beg expedition funding from a Bavarian princeling instead of a Spanish Queen, he might well have slept in that hotel.

 

Our tour guide stopped in front of the old Town Hall, to explain the details of its history and design, as well as to indicate how high the flood waters climbed a few years back.  It was trash collecting day in Miltenberg, so there were bins and bags on every street.

It was just a few more steps to enter the Marketplatz, where we assembled by the stone fountain to receive our last round of historical facts, anecdotes and suggestions to sample the local cuisine.  We did step into a bakery that displayed the most extraordinary formed and braided bread-work I've yet encountered, but we invested our time in further exploration of the town.  Again, I have found a century-old postcard image (below) which attests to the age and authenticity of the streetscapes. Miltenberg was a fortunate town that was passed over by Allied bombers during WW2, and it is mind-numbing to contemplate that only 70 years ago there were entire German cities, such as Nuremberg, filled with architecture compatible to this. 

The Miltenberg Marketplatz is remarkably preserved.

Our last foray was to seek a vantage point above the town, from where we could look down upon the river.  To the left, and uphill from the square, is the the town museum and an alley between two walls that leads to the the "Schnatterlochs-Turm" or "chatting gate tower".  Once through, the slopes are dark and cool under a canopy of trees, but pathways lead to lovely terraced properties where the photographer enjoys an open panorama above most of the rooftops.

Of course the Viking River Tour concentrates entirely on old town Miltenberg, as it should. A bustling modern city has expanded upriver and on the opposite side of the bridge, but the old town is the jewel all Germans treasure.  It is truly a walk back through time.

While we friends were enjoying our afternoon, the crew of Viking Bestla had continued the journey upriver to Wurtheim, where they docked and the kitchen staff prepared to serve us a sumptuous feast.  In motor coaches we covered in perhaps 20 minutes, the same distance it had taken the longship to sail in a few hours.  There was time for a hot shower and a stretch on deck,  and yes always a few beers in the lounge, before being seated to an exquisite dinner.   Pure bliss.