A side trip to Wertheim castle

Burg Wertheim

Wertheim Castle

A couple years back I painted the Wertheim castle, in German called “Burg Wertheim”. Unfortunately I never saw it up close, even though I have driven by.

I heard many good things about Wertheim, and was intrigued about this medieval town, so we stopped there on the way from Würzburg to Frankfurt to explore.

We arrived in Wertheim and parked our car at the Schlossgasse Parking garage. We could walked straight up the hill to the castle, not knowing we were so close. Instead the strolled into town, passed by a Glass museum, which was unfortunately closed.

From the grocery store to the specialist shop, and the small boutique to the furniture store – there is shopping to be done in the town of Wertheim

Wertheim main street cafes
Wertheim

A lively downtown and attractive shopping, and places to sit and relax

Click on PDF City Map here

Wertheim is one of the most popular destinations, between Spessart and Odenwald. This medieval old town with the historic marketplace and its narrow streets offers an attractive atmosphere that invites you to stroll and shop.

I was asking one of the shopkeepers what the best way is to get up to the castle. She recommended taking a little trolley train ride. We sat outside at a Restaurant by the Main River waiting for a ride, eating my favorite spaghetti ice cream

Taking a Trolley train up to Burg Wertheim, one of the largest intact castle ruin in Germany.

Wertheim Trolley Train to the Wertheim castle
Wertheim Trolley Train

Burg Wertheim was first mentioned in 1183, it extended from the upper castle until its destruction in the Thirty Years’ War. It was built in several building periods to a spacious castle complex.

Walking up to the Wertheim Castle
Wertheim Castle

The upper castle was started around 1200, and the Palas in the 13th century. The Palas was followed by another residential building , now a Restaurant, which is very well preserved.

Wertheim Castle, Burg Wertheim
Wertheim Castle, Burg Wertheim

Wertheim was a planned town at the foot of the castle. The construction of the city fortification had begun around 1200 a. D. It enclosed the castle and city with a defense wall.

Impressive is the magnificent view over the old town with the river landscapes of Main and Tauber from the Castle Restaurant

  • Burg Wertheim Restaurant, Wertheim Castle Restaurant
  • Burg Wertheim Restaurant menu
  • Burg Wertheim Restaurant menu
  • Burg Wertheim
  • Wertheim view from castle restaurant
  • View from Wertheim caste

The original settlement was on the other side of the Main river, as you see on the picture above. Until the high Middle Ages the town “Kreuzwertheim” led the name Wertheim, which means” elevated land by the water “.

The site of today’s city Wertheim, at the confluence of the Tauber and Main, was certainly exposed to constant flooding until the Middle Ages.

Schlossgasse Wertheim
Walking back to our Parking garage on the Schlossgasse

It was late in the afternoon and we were getting tired, so we descended the steep hill down to the parking garage. From there we drove back to our next destination.

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One thought on “A side trip to Wertheim castle

  1. Thanks Angie, I was born in Kreuzwertheim and know Wertheim well… it’s a shame the Glass Museum was closed as it is very interesting with a glass blowing demonstration also… I can’t wait to go back to Germany and Wertheim, hopefully in a year or 2… I miss it so much.

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