“Send me a few more Würzburgers”, wrote Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to his wife Christiane in 1806, “because no one else wants to taste good to me, and I am annoyed when I run out of my favorite drink.” One can assume that the Würzburg winemakers are good at pleasure-addicted privy councilor from Weimar.
Würzburg wine has remained the number one export hit to this day. Located in one of the sunniest regions in Germany with the least amount of precipitation, no other large city is so influenced by viticulture as Main Franconia’s metropolis. Now in autumn, when the leaves of the vines turn yellow, orange and red, a visit is especially nice.
Würzburg can be easily reached by train
The most famous and, at 85 hectares, the largest of the seven vineyards, all of which are located in the city, is the Würzburger Stein in the north. Directly below, the ICE route bores through the shell limestone soil, which gives the Franconian wine its typical fruity-earthy character.
Source: WORLD infographic
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The main station, an unadorned post-war building from the early 1950s, is sandwiched between steep vineyards and the parks of the Altstadtring on the important connecting axis between Hamburg and Munich. It can be easily reached from many German cities without having to change trains.
Walking distance to the sights
With just under 128,000 inhabitants, Würzburg is a rather small city, so all the sights in the center are only a few minutes’ walk away from each other. It is therefore not necessary to take a rental bike at the train station.
Apart from that, Würzburg still has some catching up to do in terms of cycling infrastructure, and a two-wheeler would be a hindrance to visiting the tourist attractions on the steep western and northern sides of the Main. For excursions there, however, you should be able to walk easily.
If you don’t want to walk much, you can take the tram across the city on five lines (routes and ticket prices under wvv.de). The best thing to do is to get on right at the station forecourt, where the wagons tinkle around the Kiliansbrunnen in a turning loop. The patron saint of the city raises his hand over rippling cascades in the direction of Kaiserstraße, as if to greet his counterpart, Franconia, Franconia’s secular patroness, on the other side of the city.
The most beautiful churches and views of the old town
The Franconia also sits enthroned on a monumental fountain, right in front of Würzburg’s most famous building, the Prince-Bishop’s Residence, the construction of which began 301 years ago and which has been on the Unesco World Heritage List since 1981. Napoleon aptly described the baroque palace as “the most beautiful rectory in Europe”.
A rectory naturally also has a church. There are 50 Catholics in the Würzburg city area alone. The cathedral, the Neumünster, Haug Abbey and the Marienkapelle are all worth seeing. But the most beautiful is the baroque pilgrimage church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary on the Nikolausberg, affectionately known by the people of Würzburg as “the Käppele”. An enchanted, terraced way of the cross with 265 steps leads up to it.
Tower to tower: Würzburg’s old town as seen from the Old Main Bridge
Quelle: Getty Images / Tomek Budujedomek
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If you are already on the other side of the Main, you shouldn’t shy away from the short, somewhat arduous footpath through the vineyards up to the Marienberg Fortress. You will be rewarded for your efforts in the Fürstengarten (also laid out in baroque style) with a breathtaking view of the old town and the river.
You can also get it – albeit from a different perspective and this time with the castle – from the Stein-Wein -pfad, a four-kilometer panoramic path on which information boards explain what makes the grape varieties, soils and vineyards so special in Würzburg’s best vineyard location.
A glass of wine on the Old Main Bridge
The most beautiful place for a glass of cool Silvaners is the Alte Mainbrücke, lined with figures of saints – St. Kilian mentioned at the beginning is also among them. Closed to car traffic for 40 years, locals and visitors meet here in front of the towering silhouette of the city at the bridge pint.
One of these towers is the Grafeneckart, part of the Würzburg town hall, just a minute’s walk from the Old Main Bridge. On the ground floor there is a documentation room with a model of the city showing the destruction of the city by the bombing of March 16, 1945.
The most beautiful place for a glass of white wine outdoors: the Alte Mainbrücke in the middle of Würzburg
Quelle: Alamy Stock Photo
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In contrast to other cities, the medieval road network was taken into account during the reconstruction of Würzburg. Almost all of the city’s historical monuments are the result of decades of careful reconstruction.
If you want to see something of the undestroyed Würzburg, you have to go deep underground. In the Staatliche Hofkellerei there are 45-minute cellar tours on Fridays and Saturdays in the labyrinthine vaulted passages under the residence (admission: eight euros, registration at hofkeller.de).
Atmospherically illuminated corridors connect the various cellars, some of which are centuries-old wine barrels – just like the three huge barrels from 1784 in the official cellar, with the contents of which court servants were once paid according to old tradition.
Recommended hotels
The four-star hotel “Rebstock” is located in the southern part of the old town near the Old University. The facade is designed in the Rococo style, inside a modern lounge atmosphere, friendly, bright rooms, Sanderstraße, known as the Würzburg pub mile and popular with students, is within walking distance, double rooms from 222 euros (rebstock.com).
In the north, high above the city, directly on the famous Stein winegrowing location, the “Schloss Hotel Steinburg”, built in the late romantic style, is enthroned. It is classically elegant, the rooms are individually designed; on the south side you have a beautiful view of the old town, double rooms from 183 euros (steinburg.com).
Local with typical Franconian food and wines
Hearty, typically Franconian cuisine at a high level with classics such as Blaue Zipfel (sausages in wine stock with onions) or Franconian sauerbraten are served in the traditional, 600 year old inn and wine house “Zum Stachel”. The name goes back to the medieval morning star that dangles outside as a wrought-iron pub hangar.
The selection of Franconian wines is huge, sorted by Großer Lage, Erste Lage, Ortswein and Gutswein. Goethe’s favorite drop from Würzburger Stein is of course included – and regional classics with sonorous names such as Escherndorfer Lump, Sommeracher Katzenkopf and Obereisenheimer Höll from the wine-growing areas in the Würzburg area. The fact that a Riesling from the Palatinate has found its way onto the menu with the Wachenheimer Goldbächel speaks for the tolerance of the Franks (weinhaus-stachel.de).
