It is a prominent landmark on the left bank of the Main River in Würzburg. The mighty Fortress…read moreMarienberg is a symbol of Würzburg and served as a home of the local prince-bishops for nearly five centuries. It has been a fort since ancient times. Most of the current structures originally were built in Renaissance and Baroque styles between the 16th and 18th centuries. After Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden conquered the area in 1631 during the Thirty Years' War, the castle was reconstructed as a Baroque residence. After it ceased to serve as residence of the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg, the fortress saw repeated action in the wars of the late 18th and 19th centuries. Festung Marienberg was severely damaged by British bombs in March 1945 and only fully rebuilt in 1990. Today, it houses two museums. In the early 8th century, the Franks under Duke Hedan II constructed a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary and a fortification (earth ramparts and half-timbered houses) on the hill. The chapel - probably built at the site of a former pagan holy site dedicated to some mother goddess - and later churches that replaced it, was the reason why eventually hill and fortress became known as Marienberg ("Mary's Mount"). This likely was the first Christian church built of stone north of the Alps outside of the territory formerly controlled by Rome (i.e. east of the Rhine and on the far side of the Limes). The Prince-Bishops of Würzburg moved their residence to Marienberg beginning around 1200 as medieval fortifications were constructed on the hill. Besides its historical and architectural interests, it makes a nice hike if you choose to walk from the old city-center. From the foot of fortress hill at the Alte Brücke, there are two ways to hike up...one is more direct way to the front gate (25 minutes) and the other through the vineyard (40 minutes). A must visit if you are in Würzburg.

Beautiful castle fortress! I recommend coming to see this! They have a decent amount of parking. We…read morewere there for about 2 hours and it cost 2euro to park. We did not even get to the museums because we had to go to our next stop, it's so huge and there are a lot of great views and photo spots.

June 26th 2025 visited this place as part of the Viking Grand European river cruise. Short bus ride…read morefrom our boat docked in the river nearby. Wurzburg Prince bishops Palace built between 1720 and 1744. We were part of a tour group with guide describing the features of the mirror room, imperial Hall ,main staircase ,white room, ceiling frescoes in the residence building. Beautiful b baroque architecture with extravagant paintings and decor lining the walls. Had to put our small day packs with water bottles in special storages so not to hit and damage the architecture. Outside immaculately decorated gardens in full bloom with roses. Church and courtyard in this complex.So this is what Versailles must look like on a smaller scale on a smaller scale. Sort of a preview of visiting the schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. And we could take pictures of this Palace unlike the palace in Vienna

This is our 2d visit here after 4 yr absence. We toured different rooms several yrs ago but…read morefeatured rooms are included. What was new from our first visit was showing reconstruction done over the years. Be sure to find them. I took several photos to give you an idea what to look for.

The first Romanesque stone bridge at this point was built around 1120, and people used a ferry to…read morecross the river prior to that. This bridge connects the Old Town on the right bank of the Main with the Festung Marienberg on the opposite side. It is used by pedestrians and cyclists. A story is being told when the foundations were established, the statues of the pagan Freya sanctuary (now inside the fortress) that had been thrown there by the three missionaries St. Kilian , Kolonat and Totnan were found again. The bridge at that time was partially destroyed in the floods in 1342 and 1442. Therefore, after almost 350 years the structure was replaced by today's bridge (1476-1703; construction was prolonged due to lack of funding). Another noteworthy features of this bridge are the twelve statues of saints (including the father of canonized Charles and founder of the Carolingian dynasty Pippin). They were erected on the bridge from 1728/29. The figures destroyed by weathering have now been replaced by copies. With its stone figures that characterize the cityscape, the Old Main Bridge, like the Charles Bridge in Prague, continued a tradition that began in Rome with the Angel's Bridge in the 18th century.

The Alte Mainbrücke is the oldest bridge crossing the River Main, and a popular tourist sight…read more The first stone bridge was built in 1133. Repeated floods damaged the bridge, so a replacement was planned to a more robust design. Construction commenced in 1476 but two arches were built in wood to enable the bridge to be cut quickly in times of war. These were not replaced in stone until 1703. The bridge is decorated with statues to various saints along its length, commissioned by the local bishops from 1724. The bridge is now pedestrianised and affords great views of the Festung Marienberg fortress.

A gorgeous building in the city centre. It is steeped in history and also holds a lot of history…read moreabout the war. Most of this town was destroyed due to heavy bombing and has been painstakingly restored since. There are very interesting displays and a model of the town after the bombing at the old town hall. There were many tours passing through this building while we were there. I would recommend you go here and read all about it when in town. It is also a lovely building to visit.