With a Collective Municipality of the same name, it might be kind of confusing when talking (or, in this case, writing) about the town of Freinsheim — located right on the edge of the Palatinate Forest, in the Upper Rhine Valley.
As much as I’d love to delve deeper into the natural beauty of the place, it seems as if there’s too much historical stuff to distract me. Freinsheim is a characteristic Old World town, with remnants of its medieval days — but also has things to see from later periods.
Being a lover of the Middle Ages, I was excited to see pieces of its Old Town Wall. The Eisentor, one of the town’s gates, was built somewhere in the 14th or 15th century. The Herzogturm, or Duke’s Tower, was constructed during the same time — and is believed to have been a dungeon at one time.
Old defense walls aren’t the only thing typical to the medieval period. Because what are the Middle Ages without a castle, I ask you? As the medieval period was drawing to an end, Freinsheim’s castle (with a moat no less) was built, way back in 1471.
And I ask you, what would the Middle Ages be without a church? There is one here, by the way, the Evangelical Church, whose Romanesque tower is all that’s left from its medieval beginnings — but I’m still technically counting it as a medieval building.
We can debate it later, ’cause right now I’m thinking about all the fun festivals and cultural events taking place throughout the year. Like clockwork, you can count on the Altstadtfest (Old Town Festival) taking place on the first weekend of June, the Rotweinwanderweg on the 4th weekend of June, and the Stadtmauerfest on the third weekend of July. That’s in addition to the Christmas Market taking place over the four weekends of Advent.
And to go back to the pretty natural beauty of Freinsheim, you’ll find little fruit farms and a Baroque garden to wander around. Sounds idyllic, doesn’t it?
You bet it does — so make sure you come see for yourself. ;-)
