Marienberg Fortress, Würzburg, Germany

The original castle on the Marienberg, a hill which was first settled in the late Bronze Age, was probably a small fort built early in the 8th century by the Franconian-Thuringian dukes, together with a church which in 741 became the first church of the Würzburg bishops. From 1200 an unusually large castle was built, which was extended during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Following the storming of the castle in 1631 by the Swedes, Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp von Schönborn built a circle of massive bastions to protect the Marienberg. In 1945 the fortress was almost completely burned out, and its reconstruction was only completed in 1990.

On the first floor of the Princes' Building Museum (administered by the Bavarian Palace Department), is the Bibra Apartment with valuable furniture, tapestries and paintings, the Princes' Hall with early Gothic arcatures and the large Echtersche family tapestry, as well as a treasury and vestment chamber from the era of the prince-bishops. On the second floor is the Main-Franconian Museum documenting the history of the fortress and town.

The 1,300 m2 Princes' Garden is accessible from the castle courtyard: it was reconstructed in 1937-38 on the basis of plans dating from the early 18th century.

References:

Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung

User Reviews

Dagmar Law (2 years ago)
It's a beautiful place to walk about. Mußt be really lovely in summer. Beautiful view over Würzburg.

Ioana Siman (2 years ago)
Great views over the city! And very well maintained, was quite impressed.

chad meirose (2 years ago)
Great view. Museum was fairly interesting and really reasonably priced. They had a super cool kids section specially for the younger ones. It's quite a hike up but the payoff is worth it. Just a short 20min walk from alte Mainbrücke.

Jor D (3 years ago)
Very interesting great view of the old town from the top. Good a bit of a climb from the bottom if you struggle walking or need wheel chair access drive and park at the castle.

Sergey Komarov (3 years ago)
If you like castles you may find this place interesting. Top hill position with small museum inside and green surrounding. Nice place to walk around during a sunny day.

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