Wertheim, Germany

Wertheim is the last town we visited on the Main before leaving for the Rhine. It is a picture-perfect medieval town of  25,000, famous for its glassblowers and glass work. It is full of narrow streets filled with very old timber and plaster houses. The Pointed Tower looks out over the town. It was built in the 13^th century to serve as a lookout. Constant flooding over 800 years washed away its base so that it now sits on sand. As a result, it started leaning, earning it the nickname of Germany’s Leaning Tower. As a result, the town government must continually work on supporting it. Throughout the town you can see the high water marks on the houses designating where the floodwaters rose throughout the centuries.

There is also a beautiful imposing castle that looks over the town. As we walked through this medieval townscape, we saw many beautifully restored timbered house sin the Franconian style. It is illegal in Germany to destroy an old building to clear a lot and build a new building in its place. As a result, towns like Wertheim retain their medieval character, even though buildings are restored and renovated and fitted with windows and other modern accoutrements. The Germans take great pride in their historical buildings, especially since so many were destroyed during the great wars.

There are many examples in the cities and towns we have visited of German’s remembering the persecution of the Jews- their deportation and murder (yes, the Germans refer to the genocide as murder). Particularly touching were the “stumbling stones” scattered throughout the town, marking a home of a Jewish family that was rounded up and deported to a concentration camp, and in most cases, died.  One can only imagine the horror of these families being rounded up, having their home and belongings taken away, and being shipped off in railroad cars, if not shot before then. There are 72 of these stones marking these homes and honoring the Jewish families that lived in Wertheim. The town is still uncovering more names of families and adding more stones as they gather additional information.

After lunch, we cruised down the Main to join the Rhine River. We cruised by many vineyards on the hills of the Main River that have been producing Franconia wine for more than 1,000 years. Because of the special soil and mild climate, the wines have a high mineral content that gives them a special taste. We enjoyed the wines with dinner. After dinner we joined others in the lounge for a game of “Liars Club”. Team Keeley ties with another team to win again- three for three when it comes to competition! The victors were once again rewarded with a bottle of wine from Viking.

Walking through the City gates into Werthiem

Old medieval slate house

 View of the "Leaning Tower of Werthiem" called the Pointed Tower

 Another flood marker showing the water level of the Main River

 Drugstore sign

 Wooden sign outside an athletic show store

 Sign in front of the butcher shop

 Sign of a brewery (the 2 triangles that look like a Star of David are actually a medieval symbol for a brewery)

Bakery sign

The old medieval well with wood and iron pulleys

A timber and plaster house

 Discovering a "stumbling stone"

 Example of a stumbling stone- one of 72 stones  placed in front of homes occupied by Jews who were deported to concentration camps during WWII.

Many old preserved and renovated buildings in Werthiem. It is against the law in Germany to destroy an old building and build a new one on the site.

The skinniest building in Germany! The ground floor of this building (which is now a glass shop) is only 3.5 meters wide. The owner of this very old building was quite clever- buildings were only taxed on the area of the ground floor, so as he built the second and third floors, he widened them!

Symbol from a medieval stone mason

A very unusual timber and plaster house for the 17th century- painted in a blue from a paint that was made with crushed glass. Only a wealthy person at the time could afford a house painted like this.

All the streets in the towns we visited were cobbled. The moss between these cobblestones shows how wet and damp it is in the old part of Wertheim.

Looking back on Wertheim as we walked back to the ship.

Leaving Wertheim, which is on the Main River, to cruise for the afternoon to join the Rhine River.

Cruising past sleepy hamlets surrounded by verdant green

Vineyards for the Franconia wine that the Main River is famous for which we had with dinner- delicious wine!