Aunt Betty came to visit us for Easter weekend! Even though the weather wasn't going to be great, we decided to go back to Würzburg to visit the Residenz, which we had missed on our last visit.
Stolperstein's in Würzburg. There are over 56,000 of these all over Europe. We found out that Stolperstein's aren't necessarily placed because a person died, but rather because this was their last known residence before they were persecuted by the Nazi's. Some people managed to emigrate or survived the concentration camps. Unfortunately, all of these people were actually murdered by the Nazi's (which is what the word "Ermordet" means).
For some reason, we always time it so that we arrive at our destination right at lunch time! I don't know why that is. However, I do know that it was wine o'clock! We had lunch at the Alte Mainmühle, and it was actually pretty good!
Todd and Aunt Betty on the Alte Mainbrücke.
Stolperstein's in Würzburg. There are over 56,000 of these all over Europe. We found out that Stolperstein's aren't necessarily placed because a person died, but rather because this was their last known residence before they were persecuted by the Nazi's. Some people managed to emigrate or survived the concentration camps. Unfortunately, all of these people were actually murdered by the Nazi's (which is what the word "Ermordet" means).
For some reason, we always time it so that we arrive at our destination right at lunch time! I don't know why that is. However, I do know that it was wine o'clock! We had lunch at the Alte Mainmühle, and it was actually pretty good!
Views of the Marienburg Fortress from the Alte Mainmühle.
The main reason for this visit to Würzburg was the Residenz!
The Garden Hall was the first room we saw and it did not disappoint. The stucco work by Bossi (1749) was so beautiful. I only managed one picture before being told I couldn't take anymore! Why? I never understood why you weren't allowed to take pictures of some of these castles.
You guys are familiar with my obsession with superlatives. This is the LARGEST fresco in the world! The largest! Painted by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo between 1750-1753, it sits above the main staircase.
The remainder of the castle was really quite beautiful but you weren't allowed to take pictures. During World War II, most of the Residenz was destroyed by the firebombing, but the back managed to survive, including the staircase and it's incredible fresco as well as the imperial apartments, although the roof was destroyed. There were still massive amounts of damage despite their survival.
Admittedly, I didn't know much about Rococo when I moved to Europe. Of course, I had heard of it but probably couldn't have told you the difference between Baroque and Rococo. The Mirror Cabinet (originally built in the 1740s) was heavily damaged in the bombing during World War II. It remained so until the 1980s when it was painstakingly put back together using pieces of the original with some obvious fill in the blanks sections. Rococo was a subset of the Baroque movement that incorporated lots of intricate details into the art. They often used mirrors and lighter colors, as opposed to the darker, bolder Baroque. (Thanks for the picture, internet!)
We had a random spell of decent warm weather in March, and then it's pretty much gone back to winter with few exceptions since then. But the flowers were definitely in bloom in the South Gardens of the Residenz!
The Garden Hall was the first room we saw and it did not disappoint. The stucco work by Bossi (1749) was so beautiful. I only managed one picture before being told I couldn't take anymore! Why? I never understood why you weren't allowed to take pictures of some of these castles.
You guys are familiar with my obsession with superlatives. This is the LARGEST fresco in the world! The largest! Painted by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo between 1750-1753, it sits above the main staircase.
The remainder of the castle was really quite beautiful but you weren't allowed to take pictures. During World War II, most of the Residenz was destroyed by the firebombing, but the back managed to survive, including the staircase and it's incredible fresco as well as the imperial apartments, although the roof was destroyed. There were still massive amounts of damage despite their survival.
Admittedly, I didn't know much about Rococo when I moved to Europe. Of course, I had heard of it but probably couldn't have told you the difference between Baroque and Rococo. The Mirror Cabinet (originally built in the 1740s) was heavily damaged in the bombing during World War II. It remained so until the 1980s when it was painstakingly put back together using pieces of the original with some obvious fill in the blanks sections. Rococo was a subset of the Baroque movement that incorporated lots of intricate details into the art. They often used mirrors and lighter colors, as opposed to the darker, bolder Baroque. (Thanks for the picture, internet!)
We had a random spell of decent warm weather in March, and then it's pretty much gone back to winter with few exceptions since then. But the flowers were definitely in bloom in the South Gardens of the Residenz!
It was snowing tiny, pretty, pink leaves!
An explosion of color! A rainbow of flowers!
The back gardens of the Würzburg Residenz.
Yep. I wanted to stay here all day but it was actually kind of cold!
The fountains are on at the Würzburg Residenz.
Are you annoyed with me yet? I feel like winter is never ending here, so you know I love any signs of spring and it's beautiful colors.
The Würzburg Residenz from the gardens.
I love the fun triangle trees!
After we visited the back gardens, we went to the East Garden. It wasn't quite as "in bloom" as the South Garden.
But still very lovely, none the less!
I love the archways in the hedges.
Pretty pink cherry blossom flowers in bloom.
Oh look! They even have a statue of my kids!
Well, I guess SOMETIMES they like each other.
We didn't want to leave without enjoying a nice glass of wine on the Alte Mainbrücke. It's kind of a thing to do there, and we like cool things to do... especially when they involve wine.
Aunt Betty and Todd enjoying wine and conversation (with the place where we ate lunch in the background) on the Alte Mainbrücke.
Prost! Until next time, Würzburg! You are one of my favorite little cities in all of Germany!
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