Hello, Roland, my old friend, nice to see you again here in the Upper Franconian town of Weismain.
It’s always nice to catch up with Roland. He’s a piece of German history — he looks pretty gosh-darn good for being over 400 years old. I guess good Franconian living will do that for you. ;-)
And living is just what they do around here, totally surrounded by history and culture. Weismain is a town of private breweries (insert your jokes about Germans and beer here!), graceful old churches and chapels, and ensconced by the Franconian Switzerland Nature Park. Does it get any better than this?
Quite possibly, yes, yes it does. Maybe that’s because of the castles. My history loving heart enjoys them immensely, so I’m excited to tell you all about the ruins of Burg Niesten. The original castle is just about a thousand years old, once had a donjon that rose 24-meters in the air, and boasted its own chapel dedicated to St. Leonhard.
Schloss Giechkröttendorf isn’t anywhere as old as Castle Niesten, but that shouldn’t stop you from loving this late 16th century castle, ya know. Besides, you’ll be too busy wandering around all of Weismain’s old churches to pay it any mind.
One of the oldest of them is St. Andrew’s, in the village of Wieden, as it was constructed more than eight centuries ago; which is right about the same time as St. Erhard’s in Geutenreuth. Maybe not as old, but certainly worth the trip, would be the Church of St. Martin (a Gothic church from the 1500s), the Church of St. Nicholas (built 1732), and the Pilgrimage Church of St. Clement in the village of Neudorf from the 1730s.
Everyone got all that straight? Good, ’cause it’s time to move on to some of Weismain’s other historical buildings, and what-nots. Like the town’s original medieval city wall (circa 14th century), the Upper Gate (the only one left, and once used as a jail), and some amazingly beautiful half-timbered houses (there are plenty of them). But, my personal favorite is the Dietzenhaus, said to be the oldest house of its kind in the entire town.
Roland, you’re a smart guy; no wonder you decided to stick around here. Who wouldn’t want to leave, especially when you’ve got traditional festivals to attend. September’s the month for the Dorffest (Village Festival), coincidentally is the same time of year for the Jura Beer Day and a Kirchweih.
If you’re not here for the festivals, then come to walk along the 6km Apollo Trail (all about the butterflies), the Nordic Walking trails, the hiking paths, or the Summer Theater.
With all this, I think I’m gonna do the same as my pal, Roland, and most certainly stick around for a while… Thank Heaven this is my last stop for the week, so I’m gonna take my time to enjoy it. ;-)
