Many of you might never have heard about Höchberg, a town just shy of good 9,000 residents in Lower Franconia, until now. It’s not really hard to find, it’s the town right next door to the large(r) city of Würzburg; and along the Romantic Road.
So, never head of it? What’s the big deal anyway?
Well, the big deal is plenty if you like little historic Franconian towns. It seems that just about everything to see & do in Höchberg is destined to get you outside. Might be why they built an artificial river, huh?
The “fake” river isn’t the only outdoorsy attraction. How about the fact that there are six small lakes, mountain biking trails, a “wine trail,” and other hiking paths?
One hiking trail leads to Kloster Oberzell, built in 1128. Sadly, when the monastery was dissolved in 1803 quite a few of its treasures were lost — but don’t let that stop you from seeing it. ;-)
After the monastery, there’s the Festung Marienberg (or, Marienberg Fortress in English) to see. The oldest part of the fortress is the Church of Our Lady which dates to around 704 A.D. However, the site of the Festung Marienberg was used as a site of Celtic Pagan worship about 1000 B.C.
Today, the Marienberg Fortress houses the Mainfränkische Museum Würzburg, which was housed here after the fortress was rebuilt after an aerial bomb attack in March 1945.
Speaking of World War II, Höchberg has a commemorative plaque and memorial stone to the town’s Jewish community at the Jewish Cemetery and the Protestant Church (which used to be Höchberg’s synagogue). And over at Sonnemannstraße 15 is the Präparandenschule, a museum of sorts — with more than 350 years of the Jewish community’s history.
For all your sightseeing efforts, you’ve earned yourself some relaxing fun. How? Over at the Mainlandbad (both an indoor and outdoor pool with a sauna) and a couple rounds of miniature golf, of course. If you’re the competitive type, there’s no way better to end your stay than bragging you won! ;-)
