Day 15: Tuesday 24th September 2013: Cruising the Main River & visit to Wertheim

Today we spent a leisurely morning, cruising the Main River, stopping just after lunch at Wertheim. But during the morning, we alternated between sitting up on deck and watched the countryside go by (where it was a little cool in the breeze, even though the sun was shining) or we sat inside in the lounge while Alison did a little bit of school work or just relaxing.

At Wertheim, there was the opportunity to do a bike tour, so Alison did that with the group that went. She gets on well with Rebecca and Catherine – two girls on the trip – and their parents, so was happy to do the ride with them. It was only a short ride of about 8km, but she wanted to do it. Keith and I did a guided walking tour of the medieval town up to the castle ruins. The walk up to the castle ruins is quite steep, but only a short walk and so worth it! The views over the town and area are spectacular. 

a view from Wertheim Castle

Wertheim Castle ruins

another view from the castle looking along the river

another view from the castle along the Main River

Wertheim Castle Ruins

Ali ready for her bike ride - she really enjoyed herself

Wertheim has lots Medieval buildings in the town centre

one of the walls of the castle

views of the city of Wertheim from the castle

more of the castle

After our visit to the castle, we headed back down to the town centre where we enjoyed some window shopping before meeting up with the cyclists and the rest of the group and making our way back to the ship by coach – about a 25minute coach ride.

Wertheim is located on the confluence of the rivers Tauber and Main. It is known for its wine, castle & medieval town centre.  Wertheim is the most northerly town in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is situated on the delta of the river Tauber flowing into the river Main. Wertheim was founded between the 7th and 8th century, however the first settlement was a town called Kreuzwertheim on the right of the river Main. From the early 12th century onwards, a branch of the noble family of the Reginbodons called themselves after the town. After the family of the earls of Wertheim had built a castle on the left bank of the river Main, a settlement developed at the foot of this dominating structure that was called Wertheim. It was mentioned for the first time in 779. In 1192, it was referred to as "Suburbium castri Wertheim" and in 1200 the town is called “oppidium” and 1244 “civitas”. Count Eberhard of Wertheim reigned from the year 1355 to 1373. 1363 Emperor Karl IV granted him by degree the right to mint coins. The last count of Wertheim was Michael III. He married the oldest daughter of the count Ludwig of Stolberg, Katharina. Michael died without producing a male heir and consequently the county passed on to Ludwig of Stolberg. 1574, after the death of Ludwig, the county was passed on to his son-in-law count Ludwig of Lowenstein. The town Wertheim developed into the centre of the county of Wertheim. The county was governed by the house of Lowenstein-Wertheim. In 1630 the house split into two lines: the older Protestant line Löwenstein-Wertheim-Virneburg and the catholic line Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort. The county existed until 1806 when it was divided as a consequence of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss ("Principal Conclusion of the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation"). The area left of the Main river was given to the Grand Duchy of Baden, while the territories right of the Main, were given to the Kingdom of Bavaria.  In 1938 Wertheim was merged with Tauberbischofsheim into the new Landkreis Tauberbischofsheim. From 1972 onwards 15 communities were incorporated with Wertheim. The 15 communities are Bettingen, Dertingen, Dietenhan, Dörlesberg, Grünenwört, Höhefeld, Kembach, Lindelbach, Mondfeld, Nassig, Reicholzheim, Sachsenhausen, Sonderriet, Urphar and Waldenhausen. As of January 1, 1973 the Landkreis Tauberbischofsheim was merged into the new Main-Tauber-Kreis. Due to the incorporation of surrounding communities, Wertheim reached the 20,000 population mark in 1975. Wertheim became a Groβe Kreisstadt (district town) on January 1, 1976.

Established in 1406, the cemetery of the former Jewish community is one of the oldest in Germany. In use up until the 20th century, it is the oldest existing Jewish cemetery in Baden-Württemberg. The Burg Wertheim (castle) is the landmark of the town. Wertheim has a medieval town center with half-timbered houses and small streets. The Protestant church (Stiftskirche) has existed in Gothic style architecture since 1383. Two clocks can be seen on the clock tower, one with an hour hand only, for the residents of the castle. The Kilianskapelle is one of the finest examples of gothic-style chapels in Germany and was under construction from 1469 onwards. The Engelsbrunnen (Angels' well) from 1574 was built of the red sandstone typical of this area and derives its name from the two little angels which hold Wertheim’s coat of arms. Noteworthy also is the Kittsteintor with the flood markings from 1595 onwards and the Blaue Haus (Blue house) with the only known paint that uses blue glass fragments for the colour.

Once back on the ship we got ready for dinner in the Erlebnis Restaurant after hearing a lecture on the EU. Alison and I only heard part of it, but it was interesting. And of course, dinner was most enjoyable again.