OK, so maybe the town of Bayreuth has the annual Wagner Festival thing going on every summer. But, right next door is the town of Weidenberg, a place interesting enough to lure you away from its bigger neighbor for a while.
Don’t you wanna see where the Warme Steinach River empties into the Red Main? No? How about museums?
I was surprised that this small town of around 6500 people had a number of museums. The Glasknopf-Museum (Glass Button Museum), open April-October on Sundays, is a good place to start as any; and then you’ll find a museum totally dedicated to the Upper Franconian military history.
Oh, you’ve also got a Miniature Museum (Zinnfigurenmuseum) and a musical instrument collection to see too.
Yikes, almost missed out on telling you about the Obere Schloss. Yup, a Schloss is a castle — sweet.
For true castle lovers, you’ll find another one in the nearby town of Emtmannsberg. Maybe it’s a good thing there isn’t a castle in every one of Weidenberg’s 53 villages — otherwise you’d never get to see them all. ;-)
Old castles and churches go hand in hand, so off to the village of Neunkirchen am Main to see the onion dome atop a 50 meter high tower at the Church of St. Laurentius that was built in 1467.
I was truly impressed by the altar statues found at Weidenberg’s Friedhofskirche, or Cemetery Church. And it wouldn’t be right to leave out a stop over at the St. Michael Church either. Another church is found in the village of Ützdorf, a hamlet of just 50 people, of whom all get to gaze at the church of Sts. Peter & Paul.
Whether its a hamlet this small, or one of the larger villages like Kirchenpingarten or Seybothenreuth, all are welcome to Weidenberg’s festivals. Come Carnival when everyone wants to eat the locally made pretzels — yummy.
Then in May there is the annual Walburgismarkt, followed by the Childrens Festival. It’s all about the grown-ups at the annual Zwickl-Bier-Fest that’s also in May.
The festivities don’t end there in May. Nope, there’s a Pond Festival, a School Festival, and the Lindenfest. Oh yes, there’s also guided historical tours offered by Weidenberg for anyone who’s interested.
I’m interested, but I’m also interested in eating another pretzel and drinking another beer. Don’t judge… you heard the saying, when in Bavaria drink like a Bavarian, right? ;-)
