Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Cologne, Germany.

It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne.

It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

Begun in 1248, the construction of this Gothic masterpiece took place in several stages and was not completed until 1880.

Over seven centuries, successive builders were inspired by the same faith and a spirit of absolute fidelity to the original plans.

The panorama of the city has been dominated by the Cathedral’s gigantic pair of towers since their completion in 1880.

The North Tower at 157.38 meters (516.33 feet) is 7 centimeters (2.75 inches) higher than the South Tower.

The Cathedral is still the second highest building in Cologne after the telecommunications tower. Its footprint is no less impressive, with the full length of the Cathedral measuring 145 meters (475 feet) and the cross nave 86 meters (282 feet) .

While the enormous Western facade is the largest in the world, the Cologne Cathedral has the world’s third largest church interior.

The cathedral covers almost 8,000 square meters (86,111 square feet) of floor space and can hold more than 20,000 people.

The design of Cologne Cathedral closely resembles that of Amiens Cathedral in terms of groundplan, style and the width to height proportion of the central nave.

The plan is in the shape of a Latin Cross, as is usual with Gothic cathedrals.

The stone mass seems to rise, almost weightlessly, up to the 43 meters ( 141 feet) high baldachin-style arches.

The nave is enhanced by many nineteenth century stained-glass windows including a set of five on the south side called the “Bayernfenster” which were a gift from Ludwig I of Bavaria, a set highly representative of the painterly German style of that era.

With no less than 104 seats, the medieval choir stalls in the inner choir of Cologne Cathedral are some of the largest of their kind still in existence.The choir is surrounded by 13th and 14th century art: carved oak stalls, frescoed walls, painted statues and stained glass.

The Lady Chapel contains the Altar of the City Patrons, painted in 1442 by Stefan Lochner. The painting is notable for its photographic realism (note the varieties of herbs in the foreground) and believable depth.It is the most significant example of the Late Gothic Cologne school of painting.

In the Sacrament Chapel is the Madonna of Milan, an elegant wooden sculpture depicting Mary and the child Jesus. Made in the Cologne Cathedral workshop around 1290, this High Gothic statue is associated with miracles and has attracted pilgrims for centuries.

The Shrine of the Magi or the Shrine of the Three Kings is a reliquary said to contain the bones of the Biblical Magi, also known as the Three Kings or the Three Wise Men.It is the largest, most artistically significant, and, in terms of its content, most ambitious reliquary of the Middle Ages. The relics were brought to Cologne from Milan in 1164. From about 1190 to 1220 a number of artisans worked on the shrine in the workshop of the goldsmith Nicholas of Verdun and in workshops in Cologne and along the river Meuse that continued his work.

The Gero Cross or Gero Crucifix, of around 965–970, is the oldest large sculpture of the crucified Christ north of the Alps, and has always been displayed in Cologne Cathedral.

The cathedral has eleven church bells, four of which are medieval.

Cologne Cathedral has two pipe organs by Klais Orgelbau, the Transept Organ built in 1948 and the Nave Organ built in 1998.

The Cologne Cathedral was the tallest building in the world between 1880 and 1884.

Cologne Cathedral was hit by 14 bombs during World War II, but the building did not fall.

In the present day, the Cathedral s a major pilgrimage place and millions of people visit the cathedral from all over the world.

Visitors can climb 509 stone steps of the spiral staircase to a viewing platform about 98 meters (322 feet) above the ground. The platform gives a scenic view over the Rhine.

Swabian counts and princes, the kings of Prussia and even the German emperors have their roots here at Hohenzollern Castle in the heart of Baden-Württemberg between Lake Constance, the Black Forest and Stuttgart. The proud fortress offers majestic panoramic views stretching over more than 100 km which already prompted Emperor William II to proclaim: “The views from Hohenzollern Castle are truly worth the journey”.

Hohenzollern Castle is the ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern. A popular tourist destination, Hohenzollern castle has over 300,000 visitors per year, making it one of the most visited castles in Germany. The castle sits atop a 855 m high Berg Hohenzollern, on the western side of the Swabian Alps.

The first fortress on the mountain was constructed in the early 11th century. Over the years the House of Hohenzollern split several times, but the castle remained in the Swabian branch, the dynastic seniors of the Franconian-Brandenburgian cadet branch that later acquired its own imperial throne. This castle was completely destroyed in 1423 after a ten-month siege by the free imperial cities of Swabia. A larger and sturdier structure was constructed from 1454 to 1461, which served as a refuge for the Catholic Swabian Hohenzollerns, including during the Thirty Years’ War. By the end of the 18th century it was thought to have lost its strategic importance and gradually fell into disrepair, leading to the demolition of several dilapidated buildings. Today, only the medieval chapel remains.

The final castle was built between 1846 and 1867 as a family memorial by Hohenzollern scion King Frederick William IV of Prussia. Architect Friedrich August Stüler based his design on English Gothic Revival architecture and the Châteaux of the Loire Valley. No member of the Hohenzollern family was in permanent or regular residence when it was completed, and none the three German Kaisers of the late 19th and early 20th century German Empire ever occupied the castle. In 1945 it briefly became the home of the former Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany, son of the last Hohenzollern monarch, Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Since 1952, the castle has been filled with art and historical artifacts from the collections of the Hohenzollern family and the former Hohenzollern Museum in Schloss Monbijou. Among the historical artifacts of Prussian history contained in the castle are the Crown of Wilhelm II, some of the personal effects of King Frederick the Great, and a letter from US President George Washington thanking Hohenzollern descendant Baron von Steuben for his service in the American Revolutionary War. From 1952 until 1991 the caskets of Frederick Wilhelm I and Frederick the Great were in the chapel, but were moved back to Potsdam following German reunification in 1991.

Glamorous as well as dark events shape the 1,000 year history of this impressive building: In the 15th century, the first Hohenzollern Castle was destroyed by war, but was rebuilt soon afterwards. In the 18th century, the fortress was deserted and fell into ruin. King Frederick William IV of Prussia had his family’s ancestral home reconstructed in its present form in the 19th century, even larger and more magnificent than before. Today, the castle is still privately owned by the Prussian line and the Swabian Royal House of the Hohenzollern. And whenever the current owner, Prince George Frederick of Prussia, and his family are staying in the castle, the family standard flies high on the flag tower.

The castle is still privately owned, with two-thirds belonging to the Brandenburg-Prussian family line.

The castle of Bürresheim is located at northwest of Mayen on a rock spur in the Nettetal. It belongs to the local church Sankt Johann. Together with Burg Eltz and the castle Lissingen, it is one of the few castles in the Eifel that were never conquered or devastated and were able to survive unscathed the wars of the 17th and 18th centuries as well as the social upheavals of the French Revolution.

The castle consists of buildings constructed between the twelfth and the seventeenth century. Almost all of it is original, including the twelfth century keep, which is the oldest part. The castle was never taken or raised or slighted (unlike almost all other Rhine castles). It featured in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in which it was called Brunwald Castle.

Built in the 12th century, Bürresheim was first mentioned in 1157 with its former owners, the noble Eberhard and Mettfried “de Burgenesem”.

Shortly before 1189, Eberhard’s son Philipp sold his share to the archbishop of Cologne, Philip I von Heinsberg, in Cologne, only to receive it back from him as a fief. The archdiocese of Trier recognized the importance of the arrangement and acquired the other half of the former castle under Archbishop Henry II of Finstingen. The governors of Leutesdorf took over the fief of Cologne in 1359 from their last representative of Bürresheim, while the Trier part came to the Lords of Schöneck. Bürresheim became the Ganerbenburg in the 14th century. The von Schönecks did not remain long owners, because as early as 1473 Kuno von Schöneck and his son sold their part of the castle and rule Bürresheim to Gerlach von Breidbach, whose son Johann 1477 could also acquire part of the Leutesdorf fief. The rest of the castle part of the governors arrived at the beginning of the 16th century to Emmerich von Lahnstein.

In 1796 the family tree died with the death of the last male heir, Franz Ludwig Anselm Freiherr von Breitbach-Bürresheim, the chief officer of Koblenz and Ehrenbreitstein, who died escaping from the French troops. Castle Bürresheim was inherited by a grandson of the sister of the last Breidbach on Bürresheim, the Count Klemens Wenzeslaus of Renesse, whose descendants continued to live in Castle Bürresheim. After the last resident had died in 1921 in a car accident at the age of 32 and only 11 days after her wedding, the castle was inherited by the family of Count Westerholt. Due to unfortunate circumstances, 17 years later he was forced to sell castle Bürresheim complete with the equipment to the Provincial Association of the Prussian Rhine Province. The castle remained in its possession until it came into the care of the “State Palace Administration of Rhineland-Palatinate ” in 1948, which it handed over in 1998 to her successor organization ” castles, palaces, antiquities Rhineland-Palatinate”.

Stein Castle, or Burg Stein is a Saxon castle located southeast of Zwickau in the village of Stein in the municipality of Hartenstein on the banks of the Zwickauer Mulde.

The settlement of the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge) began in the 12th/13th centuries, especially along the rivers. River crossings and religious orders (Niederlassungen) were protected by fortified sites. Along the Zwickauer Mulde river, numerous castles were built.

Construction of the castle was probably started around 1200 on a rock made of hornblende right on the southern banks of the Mulde. This oldest part of the site form the upper ward (Oberburg) today, consisting of a round bergfried (a tall tower typically found in castles ), a palas, with its great hall, and defensive walls. Its architecture still has Romanesque influences. The fortifications probably also served as an outer ward of Hartenstein Castle which had not at that time been converted into a stately residence or Schloss.

The remaining elements of the building are younger. The pointed round tower in the southwest may have been erected in the 14th century; the other parts of the lower ward (Niederburg) at the end of the 15th century. The bergfried of the upper ward were enhanced in the 16th century by an additional storey (Aufbau).

There used to be a ford by the castle and, later, a ferry as well as various wooden and stone bridges, some of which, in old drawings, are portrayed as covered. A bridge toll was still charged until 1924. A more modern steel arch bridge was blown up in 1945 by the SS; since 1950 there has been a concrete bridge on the site. The predecessor of the old Stein Castle is located on the steep northern banks of the Zwickauer Mulde above the station.

The castle was owned by the aristocratic family of the Princes of Schönburg until their estate was confiscated in 1945 as part of the socialist land reform in East Germany. Since 1954 it has housed a castle and local history museum. In the newer part of the lower ward a convalescent home was established.

In 1996, following German reunification the castle and surrounding Poppen Forest were reprivatized and the castle was renovated after prince Alfred of Schönburg-Hartenstein (b. 1953) bought it back. It is, however, still partly accessible to the public and still houses a museum.

Satzvey Castle is one of the best-kept moated castles in Rhineland, whose origins go back to the 13th century. Satzvey Castle is well-known today for its diverse events, showing history and tradition in an interesting and fun way.

Burg Satzvey is a medieval water castle, originally from the 12th century, and is located on the north-eastern edge of the Eifel in Mechernich in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The castle’s lineage has spread over many ancient royal families. It began with the Benedictines, until the Archbishop of Cologne gave the lordship to Otto von Vey in 1368. Although the castle has retained the name Vey (partially), the family’s ownership of Burg Satzvey was far less enduring.

By 1391, the last of the line had died out and it passed on to Heinrich von Krauthausen. Von Krauthausen was the son-in-law of Otto von Vey, and was chiefly responsible for the construction of the Satzvey Castle we know today.

But even von Krauthausen didn’t maintain power for very long time either. After a series of famous noble families held control, by the 16th century, a man named Wilhelm Spieß von Büllesheim usurped Satzvey with the blessing of the Cologne Archbishop.

In the 1700s, Satzvey was once again under new management, and this time would be a bit more lasting. The castle was sold to Karl Otto von Gymnich.

Satzvey Castle remains in the Gymnich family today, and the Gymnichs have been particularly active in preserving the castle’s history with festivals and other events.

 

In Germany, castles come in many shapes and sizes. Built in 1388 partly as a residence and partly as a fortress, this was the home of Rothenburg’s legendary mayor, Heinrich Toppler. Fully intact, the building is furnished with items from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Located in the Tauber Valley and accessed via the Double Bridge or Barbarossa Bridge, just about 30 minutes’ walk from the Castle Gardens.

The Toppler Castle is probably the oldest surviving weekend house. It resembles a medieval tower, and is located below Rothenburg in moist meadow land at the Fox Mill.

The building is surrounded by a garden, which could be flooded to protect the residents when needed. Since 1861, the Toppler Castle has been owned by the Boaz family that at times let it as a holiday home.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a German ski resort in Bavaria, formed when 2 towns united in 1935. It’s a prominent destination for skiing and ice skating as well as hiking. The town lies near the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest peak, with a 2,962m summit accessed by cogwheel train and cable car. Garmisch is considered the more fashionable section, while Partenkirchen’s cobblestone streets retain a traditional Bavarian feel.

Garmisch is less than an hour by car from Munich, and the ride is a beautiful stretch of Autobahn, unfortunately not the whole way. Expect to drive up to three hours on weekends and public holidays.

Also, trains leave to and from Munich every hour, and the (beautiful) ride lasts roughly 80-90 minutes on the local and 60 minutes on the express.

It is also a great end to a Romantic Road day trip beginning in Rothenburg, driving down the Romantic Road stopping at the various recommended heritage towns and ending in Garmisch for an overnight stay; or better still, a few days as it is a great base to drive out and back to Füssen and Innsbruck along some of the most spectacular mountain drives you will ever see.

The river Partnach flows through this gorge. Though it is very touristy and often crowded it is well worth a visit. After 700m the path chiselled in the rock end and you can continue your walk to one of the surrounding huts. If you arrive by car follow the signs to the Skistation or Olympic Stadium. (fee for parking depending on how long you stay). The entrance fee to the Klamm is 3 € per person, however the gorge should be opened all times, before or after opening hours it is free (at your own risk). Torch is useful. It takes about 30 minutes walking to get from the parking to the gorge entry, and some 15 minutes to get through (each way). Go early to avoid crowds.

Just walking around the town is a real treat. Take the time to walk down any street and you will be amazed at the paintings on the outside of the homes. The Bavarians have a long history of decorating the exteriors of their houses and businesses with both religious and historic paintings. The structure of the homes are also amazing. Go at the right time of the year and you can enjoy the beautiful flowers trellising down off the picturesque balconies. Partenkirchen is much smaller and more quaint.

Photos by sergey.

Stuttgart, capital of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, is known as a manufacturing hub. Mercedes-Benz and Porsche have headquarters and museums here. The city is filled with greenspaces, which wrap around its center. Popular parks include the Schlossgarten, Rosensteinpark and Killesbergpark. Wilhelma, one of the largest zoos and botanical gardens in Europe, is just northeast of Rosenstein Castle.

Some of the top sights to see in Stuttgart are:

Wilhelma

Wilhelma is a zoological-botanical garden in Stuttgart in the Bad Cannstatt district in the north of the city on the grounds of a historic castle. The Zoo and Botanical Garden have been staffed since 1846. The Moorish Revival style echoing the Alhambra have been maintained and supplemented since 1960. Today, the zoo has an area of about 30 hectares (0.30 sq. km), houses around 11,500 animals from around the world composed of roughly 1,200 species and roughly 6000 plants from all climates. Of Germany’s zoos, Wilhelma’s collection ranks second to the Berlin Zoological Garden. In addition to the public garden, Wilhelma also has a branch office located in Fellbach, where the zoo keeps its stallions.

Mercedes-Benz Museum

The Mercedes-Benz Museum is an automobile museum in Stuttgart, Germany. It covers the history of the Mercedes-Benz brand and the brands associated with it. Stuttgart is home to the Mercedes-Benz brand and the international headquarters of Daimler AG. The current building, which stands directly outside the main gate of the Daimler factory in Stuttgart, was designed by UN Studio. It is based on a unique cloverleaf concept using three overlapping circles with the center removed to form a triangular atrium recalling the shape of a Wankel engine. The building was completed and opened in 2006. The building’s height and “double helix” interior were designed to maximize space. The double helix also corresponds to the exhibition concept, which divides the museum into the “myth rooms” and the “collections”, offering two alternative tours that can be merged at any given point of the museum.

Porsche Museum

The Porsche Museum is an automobile museum in the Zuffenhausen district of Stuttgart. The original Porsche museum opened in 1976 in a side-road near the Porsche factory. After the new Mercedes-Benz Museum opened in the east of Stuttgart in 2006, Porsche went ahead with plans to upgrade and extend its museum in the northern district of Zuffenhausen next to the company headquarters. The new Porsche museum stands on a conspicuous junction just outside Porsche Headquarters. The display area covers 5600 sq m featuring around 80 exhibits, many rare cars and a variety of historical models.

Ludwigsburg Palace

Ludwigsburg Palace, built in 1733, known natively as Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg and as the “Versailles of Swabia,” is a 452-room Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, and Empire palace on a 32 hectares estate containing an unattached lustschloss located in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The Residential Palace is one of the largest in Germany, and the only one from the Baroque period to not endure any damage during the Second World War. Within its preserved rooms is one of the largest collections of Baroque art and furnishing on the continent. In 2016, the palace attracted some 330,000 visitors, and brought as many as 311,000 by October 2017. Surrounding the castle on three sides is the Blooming Baroque (Blühendes Barock) garden that was arranged in 1954 as it would have appeared in 1800 for the palace’s 250th anniversary.

Castle Solitude

Castle Solitude is a Rococo Schloss (thus not a true castle) and hunting retreat commissioned by Duke Charles Eugene as a place of quiet reflection and solitude (he had recently made the questionable decision to take Württemberg into the Seven Years’ War on the losing side against Prussia), designed by Johann Friedrich Weyhing and Philippe de La Guêpière, and constructed from 1764-69. Since 1956 the area is part of the urban district of Stuttgart-West despite the castle being located just southeast of the town of Gerlingen. Solitude is located on an elongated ridge between the towns of Leonberg, Gerlingen and Stuttgart. A high school was founded inside the palace in 1770 and the Karlsschule established a school and orphanage for studying military practice and the arts in Castle Solitude. The most notable alumnus to attend the Karlsschule at Solitude was Friedrich Schiller. It was here that a young Schiller turned his life around and discovered poetry.

Schweinemuseum

Suttgart is home to the largest Pig Museum in the world! More than 50.000 exhibits from everywhere on this planet, welcome you to a swinish experience. Separated on 25 thematic rooms, pigs of any kind present their story and history. Pigs to smile, to love, to cuddle and to touch – there is a pig for every sense in here. From zoology over the pig in arts and culture to the fantastic pigs from several myths and legends – in this unique museum changing exhibitions offer you a fascinating overall view on the world and the figure of the pig.

Not only friends and lovers of swinish art, kitsch and culture will get their money’s worth in the old administration building of Stuttgart’s former slaughterhouse. Lovers of delicious German food and genuine beer specialties will immediately feel at home in the inviting ambience of its Jugendstil architecture. A wonderful big beer garden with seating for some 600 guests, cozy restaurants for around 195 diners, the idyllic vine arbors and a terrace with a magnificent view over the sculpture garden invite you to enjoy a tasty meal – whether you prefer grilled sucking pig, a crisp knuckle of pork or a variety of traditional Swabian delicacies.

Rosenstein Castle

Rosenstein Castle (Schloss Rosenstein) is a palace in Stuttgart, Germany. It was designed in the classical style by the architect and court builder Giovanni Salucci as the summer palace for King Wilhelm I of Württemberg and was built between 1822 and 1830.

Today, the building houses that part of the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart dealing with extant lifeforms. Before the construction of the palace, the hill Rosenstein Castle stands on was called Kahlenstein (Bald Rock) as it was bare of trees. Afterwards, it became known as Rosenstein (Rose Rock) because of the rose garden southeast of the palace. Directly under Rosenstein Castle is Württemberg’s first railroad tunnel. Constructed between July 1844 and July 1846, the tunnel is 326 m long and was used until a new tunnel, located further east and not passing under the castle, was completed in 1915.

Mainz is a German city on the Rhine River. It’s known for its beautiful old town, with half-timbered houses and medieval market squares. In the center, the Marktbrunnen is a Renaissance fountain with red columns. Nearby, a distinctive octagonal tower tops the Romanesque Mainz Cathedral, built of deep red sandstone. The Gutenberg Museum honors the inventor of the printing press with exhibits, including 2 of his original Bibles.

Some of the top sights to see in Mainz are:

Mainz Cathedral

Mainz Cathedral or St. Martin’s Cathedral is located near the historical center and pedestrianized market square of the city of Mainz, Germany. This 1000-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral is the site of the episcopal see of the Bishop of Mainz.

Mainz Cathedral is predominantly Romanesque in style, but later exterior additions over many centuries have resulted in the appearance of various architectural influences seen today. It comprises three naves and stands under the patronage of Saint Martin of Tours. The eastern quire is dedicated to Saint Stephen.

The interior of the cathedral houses tombs and funerary monuments of former powerful Electoral-prince-archbishops, or Kurfürst-Erzbischöfe, of the diocese and contains religious works of art spanning a millennium. The cathedral also has a central courtyard and statues of Saint Boniface and The Madonna on its grounds.

Gutenberg Museum

The Gutenberg Museum is one of the oldest museums of printing in the world, located opposite the cathedral in the old part of Mainz, Germany. It is named after Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of printing from movable metal type in Western Europe.

A group of people founded the museum in 1900, 500 years after Johannes Gutenberg’s birth, to honor the inventor and present his technical and artistic achievements to the public at large. They also aimed to exhibit the writing and printing of as many different cultures as possible.

Publishers, manufacturers of printing machines and printing houses donated books, apparatus and machines, which formed the basis of the collection. In its first few years the museum was part of the city library, meaning that the most beautiful and characteristic volumes from the library’s extensive collection could be requisitioned for the museum. Visitors were thus presented with a survey of almost 500 years of the printed book. In time the museum expanded to include sections on printing techniques, book art, job printing and ex-libris, graphics and posters, paper, the history of writing of all cultures of the world and modern artists’ books.

St. Stephen’s Church

The Collegiate Church of St. Stephan, known in German as St. Stephan zu Mainz, is a Gothic hall collegiate church located in the German city of Mainz.

St. Stephan zu Mainz was originally built in 990 at the order of Archbishop Willigis, who also initiated the building of Mainz Cathedral. The church was founded on top of the highest hill in the town, most likely on behalf of Theophanu, the widow of Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor. Willigis intended the church to be a site of prayer for the Empire.

The provost of the Collegiate Church administered one of the archdiaconates (a medieval organizational form similar to today’s diaconates) of the Archbishopric of Mainz.

The current church building dates from the late medieval era; construction of the main area of the church began in about 1267 and was completed in 1340. The successional building kept the guidelines of the floor plan of the original Willigis building and with it the design as a double choir church. St. Stephan is the oldest Gothic hall church in the Upper Rhine district, and is (besides Mainz Cathedral) the most important church in the city of Mainz.

Biebrich Palace

Biebrich Palace (German: Schloss Biebrich) is a Baroque residence (Schloss) in the borough of Biebrich in the city of Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany. Built in 1702 by Prince Georg August Samuel of Nassau-Idstein, it served as the ducal residence for the independent Duchy of Nassau from 1816 until 1866.

Count Georg August Samuel of Nassau-Idstein, appointed Prince in 1688, wanted a more impressive seat of authority than his palace in Idstein in the Taunus. He moved first to Wiesbaden, and later to Biebrich (at that time a separate community from Wiesbaden). In the immediate vicinity of the Rhine, opposite the Biebricher Wörth, he began construction of a chateau. The structure was designed by the Baroque architect Julius Ludwig Rothweil and was completed in 1702. It survives today as the West Pavilion of the palace. Only four years later, a duplicate structure was built only 86 meters to the east. While the West Pavilion was reserved for the prince and his entourage, the East Pavilion served his wife.

Kirschgarten

One of the prettiest scenes in Mainz is this small rectangular square enclosed by tall half-timbered houses. The square itself dates back to before 1329, while its houses are from the 16th to the 18th centuries. One, Zum Aschaffenberg is the oldest preserved half-timbered house in Mainz, built around 1500. In front of another fine old house, Zum Beimburg you can find the remains of a stump: this isn’t actually a cherry tree as it is often claimed to be (Kirschgarten means cherry orchard), but an almost petrified oak.

At the center, bordered by a restaurant terrace, is the Kirchgartenbrunnen, a fountain that has only been here since 1932 and is made with red sandstone repurposed from broken ornamental structures on the Theodor Heuss Bridge.

Schillerplatz 

A grand tree-lined square, Schillerplatz was already a public plaza in Mainz’s Roman era and was used as a marketplace in the Middle Ages. The square is fringed by regal palaces in the Baroque and Rococo styles housing state government offices.

There’s a bronze statue of the poet and playwright Friedrich Schiller, put up on his 100th birthday in 1859. But the square’s most striking monument is the nine-metre-high Mainzer Fastnachtsbrunnen, which commemorates the famous carnival celebrations that take over the square on Shrove Monday.

This fountain is a postcard favorite and is decorated with more than 200 bronze figures from Mainz history and local folklore.

Holzturm – Wood Tower

The Wood Tower is a medieval tower in Mainz, Germany, with the Iron Tower and the Alexander Tower one of three remaining towers from the city walls. Its current Gothic appearance dates to the early 15th century.

It is so named because wood used to be piled next to it on the bank of the Rhine.[

Like the Iron Tower, the Wood Tower was used as a watchtower and gate-tower and later as a gaol. It was badly damaged in World War II and accurately reconstructed in 1961 for the two-thousandth anniversary of the city. It currently houses various organizations and clubs.

 

 

 

Eisenturm – Iron Tower

The Iron Tower (German: Eisenturm) is a medieval tower dating to the early 13th century, and modified in the 15th century, which with the Wood Tower and the Alexander Tower is one of three remaining towers from the city walls of Mainz, Germany. Its name derives from the Iron Market (Eisenmarkt), which was held in the immediate vicinity until the 19th century.

The Iron Tower served as a watchtower and gate to the city, and later as a gaol. It was badly damaged in World War II and reconstructed in the 1960s. Today it houses various organizations and arts projects and is used for art exhibitions.

 

 

 

Rheinsteig

The Rheinsteig is a hiking trail following a mainly elevated path along the east bank of the Rhine River in Germany. Its 320 kilometres (200 mi) route stretches from Bonn to Wiesbaden, running parallel to the Rheinhöhenweg Trail and Rheinburgenweg Trail.

The Rheinsteig passes through woodlands and vineyards, and has challenging ascents and descents. It is signposted by signs with an ‘R’ on a blue background. The Rheinsteig allows either longer-distance hiking or a number of short tours.

Augustinerkirche

The church of St. Augustin known in German as Augustinerkirche, was the minster of the Augustine friars in the city centre of Mainz. Today it is the seminary church of the Catholic theological seminary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz.

The church was built from 1768 to 1771 on the site of a Gothic church building on the Augustinian Street, dating to 1260. The builders were Augustinian hermits, who had already built the predecessor building and whose fraternity endured from 1260 to the Imperial Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803. The name of the master mason is unknown.

After the secularization of the monastery in 1803, the building ensemble became a seminary comprising a church of the diocese of the newly created bishopric in 1805. The church was not destroyed in World War II.

Imperial Palace, Ingelheim

The Imperial Palace Ingelheim (Ingelheimer Kaiserpfalz) is an important Imperial Palace erected in the second half of the 8th century in Germany. It served Emperors and Kings as a residence and place for governance until the 11th century. The palatinate complex is located in the cadastral area of Nieder-Ingelheim, 15 km west of Mainz, in der cadastral section „Im Saal“ at a slope with look-out to the Rhine plains. From the buildings of the Imperial Palace impressive relics above ground are preserved today. The greater part of the complex remains as foundation under ground level and allows it to be the basis for archaeological excavations to reconstruct the entire system of buildings.

Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom, officially Hohe Domkirche Sankt Petrus) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Cologne, Northrhine-Westfalia, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. It is Germany’s most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day, and is currently the tallest twin-spired church at 157 m (515 ft) tall.

The site of Cologne Cathedral has been occupied by Christian churches since about the 4th century. An older cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1248, and immediately thereafter work began on the present cathedral, which was designed in the Gothic style in emulation of French church architecture. The choir was consecrated in 1322, but construction continued until 1560 (or only until 1520, according to some authorities).

The project then stalled for centuries, with a large wooden crane left standing some 184 feet (56 m) above the ground, at the top of the south tower. During the 1790s, troops of the French Revolution occupied Cologne and used the cathedral as a stable and a hay barn. Restoration work began in the 1820s, spurred on by Sulpiz Boisserée, a German proponent of the Gothic Revival movement. In 1842 a new cornerstone was laid by King Frederick William IV of Prussia, and work to complete the cathedral resumed in earnest. The architects Ernst Friedrich Zwirner and Richard Voigtel carried out the enterprise, guided by architectural drawings made in about 1300. Construction finally ended in 1880.

The art treasures of Cologne Cathedral are many and varied. Near the high altar is the massive gold Shrine of the Three Kings, containing what are said to be relics of the Magi who attended the infant Jesus. The shrine, a masterpiece of medieval goldwork, was begun by the noted goldsmith Nicholas of Verdun in 1182, completed in about 1220, and originally installed in the predecessor cathedral. The altarpiece in the Lady Chapel (on the south wall of the choir) is a triptych entitled The Adoration of the Magi (c. 1445), which was made by Stefan Lochner, one of the outstanding painters of the Cologne school. The cathedral’s oldest stained-glass windows were crafted in the 13th century.

More modern in style is an immense stained-glass window by the Cologne-based artist Gerhard Richter, completed in 2007 as a permanent replacement for 19th-century glass that was destroyed in World War II. Richter’s window consists of more than 11,000 square panes in 72 solid colors, arrayed seemingly at random within the many-mullioned window.

Some facts about the Cologne Cathedral:

1. The construction of the Cologne Cathedral commenced in 1248 and was finished in 1880, 632 years later.
2. Originally the cathedral was built to house the Three Wise Men’s shrine.
3. The height of the northern tower of the Cologne Cathedral is 157,38 meters, while the height of the southern tower is 6 cm below that.
4. The external length of the cathedral is 144,58 meters and the width is 86.25 meters.
5. The Cologne Cathedral was the tallest building in the world between 1880 and 1884. It was preceded by the Rouen Cathedral and succeeded by the Washington Monument and the Eiffel Tower.
6. Cologne Cathedral was indeed hit by 14 bombs during World War II, but the building did not fall. It is believed that the Cathedral was not completely destroyed by bombs because it served as an easily recognizable landmark for pilots.

The majestic cathedral looks especially good at night.