Würzburg is a city of 135,000 residents and 35,000 of them are students. Tuition is free in Germany, even for international students. A potential student must be able to pass a German language test .

There are a number of university buildings around the city. This one is surrounded by one of the many vineyards in the area. Würzburg is built on shale and the minerals help make the grapes and wines healthy,

Stachel has Germany’s oldest and largest vineyards. This is the oldest wine bar in town – originating in 1413.  

Our primary point of interest in Würzburg was the Bishop’s Residence.

It is one of Germany’s largest and most ornate palaces.  The Bishop’s Residence has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1981. The exterior was built between 1720 and 1744.

This totally stunning Stucco Room was created in nine months.  Even the parts which appear to be draped fabric are made of stucco.

There was a lot lead In the white paint so the artisans became ill.

The  room was created in anticipation of Marie Antoinette’s visit to the city.   The artists were very anxiously awaiting her comment on the room – but she said nothing!  That was devastating to the artists! However, she was very complimentary about the stucco room when she wrote about it after returning to France.

Upon arriving at the residence, Marie Antoinette took 45 minutes going up these stairs because she was required to greet and talk to so many people along the way.

Another highlight was the 6400 square-foot Four Continents fresco painted by Giovanni Tiepolo.  He was not originally going to take this commission but was bribed by the grandeur of the project and ten times his normal fee.

The four sides represent four continents – Australia was not yet known.

The architect of the ceiling above the fresco had only built two regular houses before!

Completion on the interior work on the 400 room castle took until 1780.

The Ruler who lived in this residence was a Prince Bishop. Würzburg was one of a hundred states in the Holy Roman Empire.

These pictures are from the Hall of Mirrors. The picture below is of a ceiling mirror.

With the demise of the Holy Roman Empire, the bishop moved out of the residence palace in 1803.

This was his next residence – a bit of a downgrade…

In his new neighborhood was the Mother Mary Chapel from the 1300s. 

Another cathedral entrance had an explanation of the annunciation.  

Mary understood through her ears from Father God and the Holy Spirit that she would bear the messiah. This was the church’s way of making the annunciation “understandable.” Mary could get pregnant through her ear and still be a virgin.

Generations later Würzburg was 90 percent destroyed during WWII. Most of the damage was through incendiary bombs and fire. Some of the city’s artistic treasures had been hidden away and protected so much survived.

At the end of the war, the American Monument Men, and specifically Second Lieutenant John Davis Skilton, helped to safeguard many of the artistic treasures in the remains of the Bishop’s Residence Palace including the largest fresco of the four seasons.

Skilton was able to find the wood to have the roof partially rebuilt to protect what remained.

The entire Bishop’s Residence complex was meticulously restored after the extensive damage. The Marshall Plan paid for much of the early reconstruction.

Prior to the war, 80 percent of the residence’ valuables had been stored away. Years later, 80-90 percent of the artwork in the residence is original. 

The Mirror Room, destroyed during the war, could not be rebuilt with quicksilver because of the lead content. The Mirror Room was rebuilt in the 1970s with technology developed for eyeglasses,

Würzburg is the City of Mary. There are many Mary statues around town. 

Many were destroyed during the war but 400 were hidden and placed throughout the city later.

We were leaving Würzburg when we saw our first castle along the river!

(September 3, 2023.)

Next up: Heidelberg