Fluffy cities of Germany: Michelstadt, on the Rim Fringe travel.com / michelstadt / 9/23/2017
As Germany does not get tired of having cute cities, here I am presenting another one: Michelstadt! This graceful city lies in the southern state of Hesse and around 70 kilometers from Frankfurt. Another round-trip to Mainhattan (the Frankfurt is known), a great ride!
Michelstadt is one of those cities that you walk the streets and do not know in which direction to look, of so many beautiful and flowery buildings. Its old center is full of charming little streets flanked by half-timbered houses that house small shops or coffee shops.
And for those who visit the city and have already been in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, they may even have a sense of "dejavĂş", since the city's biggest attraction, its old half-timbered city hall, has a replica in the city, the prefecture, the Moellmann House, built in the 1970s.
A delicious tour that can take 3 hours, for those who have a bit of a hurry. Or it can last all day if you want to enjoy it calmly and enjoy its restaurants and cafes.
The historic old town of Michelstadt should be covered on foot, as it is not very big and has restricted traffic. What makes the ride a delight and a very pleasant one. The city has many interesting half-timbered houses and the walk is basically contemplative, with lots of stops to hit photos!
What to see in Michelstadt
All roads lead to Marktplatz , the Market Square, where is the great attraction of the city, the Old Town Hall .
Marktplatz
The Marktplatz is a beautiful place for a break. The restaurants have tables in the square and on beautiful days it is a delight to be enjoying the beautiful buildings of the square while relaxing and having lunch.
On the Marktplatz is the fountain built in 1585, the Marktbrunnen , whose column features the archangel Michael.
The pink baroque building in front is the so-called Lรถwenhofreite , a former post office of the Thurn family and Taxis. Today it works in the information center of Michelstadt , the Stadtarchiv (file of the city), as well as the library of Nikolaus Matz .
Old Town Hall (Historisches Rathaus)
This beautiful historic building is so famous that it was once depicted in a stamp of the German Federal Post Office (500 years of Michelstadt prefecture) in 1984. With its late Gothic style, it was built in 1484. On the ground floor, which is open, like a market room. The prefecture was erected in the form of a rake, the back (east wall) was originally part of the graveyard wall, on which the top of the ground floor was laid. The builder is unknown, it is assumed that the suggestion for the construction of Schenk Adolar von Erbach and the bishop Johann von Dalberg (his adviser) could have been. The modern replica of the city hall is Casa Moellmann , the prefecture of Blumenau, Brazil.
Book your hotel in Germany on Booking.com , the hotel price comparator que guarantees you the lowest price and most hotels and apartments have the option of free cancellation . In a side street, the Häfnergasse , coming from the Marktplatz, arrives in the Kellerei , the old castle of the city and that now houses the museum Stadtmuseum , telling the story of Michelstadt.
Burg Michelstadt (Kellerei)
Michelstadt Castle, known as Kellerei, is a medieval structure, which was built in the 16th century, and is part of the wall surrounding Michelstadt. The western tower, called the Diebsturm (tower of thieves), served as a prison.
The museum that runs the building features exhibits from the earliest days of civilization in the city to the early 20th century, featuring instruments, crafts, toys and objects that tell the history of its people and their development. On the top floor of the museum was built a world model railway, and the Odenwaldbahn was rebuilt in the original way. The museum of the city only opens from Friday to Sunday, between 12-17h. Free entrance.
On the other side of the Kellerei is a delightful area for relaxation, the Stadtgarten park , which offers a beautiful view of it and the old city wall and fortress.
Returning to the Marktplatz, on the other side of the old city hall is the city church, the Stadtkirche .
Stadtkirche
The city church, completed in 1490, was built in late Gothic style as a substitute for a stone church built in the Carolingian period. In the 1970s, its bell tower housed one of the most important libraries in Germany, which has more than one thousand volumes from Speyer's canon, Nicolaus Matz, which inherited the volumes of his hometown and his citizens at the turn of the century XIV. The library is now housed in a specially converted building to receive it in the old post office of the family Thurn and Taxis, Lรถwenhofreite .
The street BraunstraĂ&#x;e leads to the square Lindenplatz .
Braunstrasse in Michelstadt.
Lindenplatz Here a court of law functioned and several judgments were fulfilled in ancient times. The important Odenwälder General Assembly took place here in 1848. Returning towards the market square, take the street right next to the church, it leads to Mauerstrasse , where the Michelstadt Synagogue is . Both this one and its parallel street, the Obere Pfarrgasse , are very pleasant places to walk, with interesting cafes and shops.
Obere Pfarrgasse in Michelstadt The Obere Pfarrgasse has beautiful half-timbered houses, a treat. There is Alte Färberei and Elefantenhäuschen , the elephant house. In the house alte Färberei the "4" carved in the arcade should be interpreted as a sign of the guild of the dyers.
Synagogue
The Michelstadt synagogue is one of the few remaining in the region after the Nazi persecution between 1933 and 1945. It was built in 1791 on Rue Mauerstrasse 19 in late Gothic style. Today in the place works the museum Dr. IE Lichtigfeld-Museum, but also still happen Jewish cults.
Synagogue in Michelstadt Going ahead Obere Pfarrgasse street ends in front of the fountain "das sogras".
SchwiegermĂźtter-Brunnen
This fountain which has the name "Fountain of the Sogras" was donated to town in 1541 by Count Georg I of Erbach. Originally, it was in the market square, Marktplatz. This is the oldest source of Michelstadt and shows the coat of arms of Erbach, the coat of arms of Pfälzer and the coats of Baden and Wertheim. And it has this name because Elisabeth von der Pfalz was the wife of the donor, Maria von Wertheim, was his mother-in-law. And another mother-in-law of the donor count was Beatrix von Baden. The fountain is on Grosse Gasse, directly in front of Obere Pfarrgasse.
On Bahnhofstrasse 25 is the Alte Hof-Apotheke , the pharmacy now called Rats-Apotheke. It is one of the oldest pharmacies in the state of Hessen and was supposedly founded in 1551. But it is certain that in 1678 there was a pharmacy in this place.
Nearby Michelstadt
For those who want to know more, the outskirts of the city still offer interesting attractions. In the district of Steinbach one can see the basilica that began to be built in 824, the Einhardsbasilika . And also the Castle of the Counts of Erbach-Fürstenau, known as Schloss Fürstenau , which can be visited.
And for lovers of the Roman empire, the visit of the remains of a Roman fort built around 100 AD is a must. In the immediate vicinity of Würzberg , in the middle of a forest, this fort was used for about 60 years before the border line moved further east. A small Roman bath, which is situated next to the castle, has been partially restored. The floors and walls were rebuilt to a height of about one meter. Despite the small size of the bath, the construction of a Roman bath can be easily recognized.
In the district of Vielbrunn you can see an authentic replica of a watch tower on the Limes line.
Directions to Michelstadt
Michelstadt is close to Frankfurt, Darmstadt and Heidelberg, three large cities with many connections. From any of them you can easily reach the city.
Car
Getting to Michelstadt is easier by car, even if the city does not get very close to any Autobahn. You need to take secondary roads, like the B45, to get there.
The city has plenty of parking spaces and all close to the old center. Below a map of the city with the closest parking lots the old center available. The vacancies are all free, but only in the larger parking lot (on the Wiesenweg street) one can stay indefinitely parked. In the other two parking lots, the maximum time on weekdays is 2 hours.
Source: site of the city of Michelstadt Rent your car to travel around Germany here!
Train
You can reach Michelstadt quietly with the Odenwaldbahn train , which connects the region of Odenwald regularly, through Frankfurt , Hanau , Darmstadt or Eberbach . The fastest connection between Darmstadt and Michelstadt takes almost 50 minutes. From Frankfurt it takes just over an hour. From the train station in Michelstadt you can easily catch the bus that leaves in the old center of the city. Or you can walk about 10 minutes down the street BahnhofstraĂ&#x;e , which is soon in the center of the city. Want a script customized by Germany or Frankfurt? The Senzatia Roteiros does it exclusively for you!
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