30 Wurzburg
From our 2016 trip to Europe.
St. Kilian’s Cathedral, completed in 1188, is Romanesque with Gothic spires and Baroque additions. Destroyed in WW2, it was rebuilt in the 1960s combining elements of the old and the new. The cathedral is named for a 7th century Irish monk who came to Würzburg with his colleagues, Kolonat and Totnan, as missionaries, converting the local Duke and spreading the gospel throughout Franconia. However Kilian’s subsequent criticism of the Duke’s marriage to his brother’s widow so angered the Duke’s wife that she had him and his two colleagues beheaded in the Duke’s absence. The incident recalls a similar biblical episode when John the Baptist was beheaded for criticizing Herod’s marriage to his brother’s widow. The skulls of the three Irish monks are within the Cathedral's altar. Lining the nave are standing tombs of prince bishops dating back centuries. One of particular note is that of the 15th c. prince bishop Rudolph von Scherenberg, carved by Tilman Riemenschneider. Scherenberg ruled until he was 94, and Riemenschneider broke with tradition by carving him accurately in his full maturity. The next prince bishop, whose tomb is to the right of Scherenberg’s, was so unsettled by the unflattering image of his predecessor that he insisted on a more traditional idealized portrait of himself, also done by Riemenschneider. In the courtyard outside the church (Kilianplatz) is a statue of Saint Kilian, and nearby, embedded in the side of the church is the tombstone of Reimenschneider, placed here when the church cemetery was moved.
On the opposite side of Kilianplatz is the even older Neumünster Basilica. This 11th c. Romanesque basilica is on the site where the three Irish monks were martyred. We see them looking down on us from the church façade, with Kilian giving us his blessing. The church received a huge dome and sandstone Baroque façade in the 1700s, and the interior is similarly decorated in bubbly Baroque stucco. The late-Gothic Human Hair Crucifix suspended above the choir is from the period in the late 15th c. when real hair was used to enhance the sense of realism. The medieval Schmerzensmannkreuz (Man of Sorrows Cross, c. 1350) depicts Christ with his arms uncharacteristically freed from the cross. The church’s crypt (the Kiliansgruft) contains the bones of the three Irish martyrs, now housed in a 20th c. bronze shrine atop a 13th c. altar. Here also are several 8th c. sarcophagi, one of which formerly contained Kilian’s body (the Kilianssarg with the painting of Christ above it).
Built in 1133, the Alte Mainbrücke (the Old Main Bridge) is the 2nd oldest in Germany. “Main” refers to the Main River which it spans. The 12 statues lining the bridge represent various prince bishops and saints, including Saint Kilian, the figure with a golden sword. On the hill in the distance, we see the Festung Marienberg, the town’s 13th c. fortress. This was the original home of the prince bishops until they moved to the Residenz Palace in the 1700s. We had lunch at the Alte Mainmühle, a restaurant in a converted mill adjoining the bridge.
We passed a fanciful fountain en route to the Marienplatz, the town’s main market square which is home to a bustling produce and flower market. In the middle of the square is Marienkapelle. This late-Gothic church wasn’t funded by Rome -- it was the people’s church -- so to bankroll it, the chapel was ringed with little businesses called “swallow shops” because they resemble swallow’s nests huddled up against a house. At the main entrance to the church are Reimenschneider’s celebrated Adam and Eve statues, flanking a portal depicting the Coronation of Mary. Above the door at the West portal is a Last Judgment scene, where the commoners who funded this chapel made sure that even bishops, kings, and fine ladies faced judgment, some going to heaven, others in the chain gang being led off to hell via the monster’s mouth. At another entrance, we see the Annunciation as the angel Gabriel gives the good news to Mary, her virginity symbolized by the lilies, as God whispers through a speaking tube with the tiny figure of the baby Jesus sliding down toward Mary’s ear. The interior has some interesting statues and a large suspended crucifix.
The Residenz became the new home for the prince bishops in the 18th c. when they moved down from the Marienberg Fortress. In front of it is the Frankoniabrunnen, a 19th c. fountain celebrating three great citizens of Würzburg: medieval woodcarver Tilman Riemenschneider, Renaissance painter Matthias Grünewald, and the 12th c. poet Walther von der Vogelweide. A fabulous Baroque chapel adjoins the Residenz but photography was not permitted. The adjoining Hofgarten provides a peaceful retreat.
The video concludes with several still photos from our visit.