May 23, 2024
Following breakfast this morning, the ship made a brief stop in Kelheim to allow guests to depart for the Regensburg excursions (and for some guests, a full-day optional excursion to Munich).
Having escaped major damage during World War II, the picturesque town of Regensburg is one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval cities, the oldest city along the Danube and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Old Stone Bridge, constructed in the 12th century, is a masterpiece of medieval engineering with its 16 arches. St. Peter’s Cathedral is widely considered Bavaria’s best Gothic architectural work. The old town’s Neupfarrplatz square is a cross section of history—it was once a thriving Jewish quarter, a bustling marketplace and the site of Nazi book burnings.
The four of us had chosen the included Historic Regensburg and Jewish Heritage Tour.
Historic Regensburg and Jewish Heritage Tour
Description: Discover Regensburg during a walking tour and learn more about the city’s Jewish heritage. This tour contains all the same elements as the regular Regensburg Walking Tour but adds stops at several Jewish-related sights. Meet your guide at the pier and set off on foot, admiring Roman-era ruins and the many landmarks that date back to the Middle Ages. Continue your journey, delving into the city’s Jewish heritage, with stops at important monuments. Learn more about its history at Neupfarrplatz, in what was once the Jewish Quarter. Here, where the Synagogue once stood, is the site of a striking memorial. You will also see the former residence of Oskar Schindler, who saved more than 1,200 Jews, and the tombstones at the Old Town Hall and the Stumbling Stones memorial. These small brass plaques on the pavement commemorate the Jewish residents who died in the Holocaust.
Our first stop on the tour was across from the Colosseum Inn – a rather unimposing structure until you understand what happened there.
From March 19, 1945, to April 23, 1945, a temporary satellite camp was set up in the Colosseum Inn where around 400 male concentration camp prisoners were forced to repair bomb damage to the railroads caused by frequent Allied bombing runs. The work assignments were mainly at the Regensburg Hauptbahnhof (main railway station) and adjacent railway facilities. Among the prisoners were 128 Jews, 84 non-Jewish Poles, 63 Russians, 62 Belgians, 25 French, 22 Germans, and the remainder consisted of ten other nationalities. The prisoners were transferred from the Flossenbürg main camp, but by the time they were taken to the Regensburg satellite camp, most of them had already suffered long torturous journeys through various camps, including Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Gross-Rosen, and their various subcamps.
At night the prisoners were housed in the dance hall on the second floor of the inn, where they slept on the wood shavings and sawdust-covered wood floor, packed in like sardines, and where the hygienic conditions were miserable and deplorable. The windows were nailed shut and barb-wired. There was only one toilet and one water tap available. There was no possibility of care for the sick or those unable to work. The food was inadequate and consisted only of bread and soup.
By day the completely emaciated prisoners had to repair the damage after bombing raids on the railway station premises. To this end, the prisoners were forced to march over the Stone Bridge and through the old town center of Regensburg every morning and return every evening (with the sounds of wooden clogs on cobblestones clearly audible along the way). The work was life-threatening, not only from working through the air raids without shelter, but also due to the unexploded ordnance. The SS guards regularly harassed and beat the prisoners to get them to work harder and faster. The prisoners were warned at morning roll call that any attempt at escape would result in the shooting of ten fellow inmates. At the end of the march procession back to the Colosseum, the somewhat stronger dragged the completely exhausted and injured, followed by the handcart with the dead and dying.
On the night of April 22–23, 1945, the camp prisoners were evacuated, except for 28 seriously ill and one dead. The prisoners were forced to endure a nine-day death march heading south in the direction of Landshut and Mühldorf. The march was conducted primarily at night, to avoid detection by Allied aircraft, and by day the prisoners slept in roadside barns. Many of the prisoners were shot along the roadside or in nearby forests because they were too exhausted to keep up the pace, or when caught trying to escape, sometimes by hiding in the haylofts of barns where they stopped to rest. It is estimated that only 50 of the prisoners survived this march. The march ended when the survivors were abandoned by their SS guards, and liberated by the U.S. Army, on May 1, 1945, in Laufen near Salzburg.
Wikipedia
Leaving the Colosseum Inn we walked down to the riverbank near the Stone Bridge to the historic Sausage Kitchen. Too bad it wasn’t time for lunch.
In 1135 AD a building was erected as the construction office for the Regensburg stone bridge. When the bridge was finished in 1146 AD, the building became a restaurant named “Garkueche auf dem Kranchen” (‘cookshop near the crane’) as it was situated near the then river port. Dockers, sailors and the staff of the nearby St. Peter cathedral workshop were the regulars for the centuries to come. The present building at this location dates from the 17th century, but archaeological evidence has confirmed the existence of a previous building from the 12th century with about the same dimensions.
Until ca. AD 1800, the specialty was ‘gesottenes Fleisch’ (boiled meat), but when the family who currently own the restaurant took over in 1806, charcoal grilled sausages were introduced as the main dish offered.
The kitchen still operates today (daily 8AM–7PM, except holidays) and serves 6,000 sausages to guests daily. Sausages are the main dish on the menu and come in portions of six, eight or ten, along with sauerkraut and mustard.
Sausage Kitchen
Our next stop was at the Porta Praetoria.
The Porta Praetoria is German’s most ancient stone building, a gateway that was once 20 meters high. It was built around 179 A.D. under Emperor Marcus Aurelius for the new Roman fort Castra Regina. The remains of the gate had been preserved as non-visible installations in the walls of a brewery building east of the Bischofshof, which were built after 1650. It was not until 1885, when the brewery buildings were demolished, that the considerable remains of the Roman camp gate were rediscovered and uncovered.
Wikipedia
Just beyond the Porta Praetoria we stopped to admire the Bischofshof am Dom – a formers bishop’s palace that is now a hotel with 87 modern rooms, its own brewery, a rustic restaurant, and a large garden.
As we made our way further into the old city, we passed Emilie and Oskar Schindler’s House.
If you’ve ever watched the moving Schindler’s List, then you know the story of Oskar Schindler who is credited with saving the lives of over 1200 Jews during the Holocaust. The Schindler’s briefly occupied this house in Regensburg following the war.
Next, we passed the Goliath House
Dating back to 1260, the Goliath House has a long and fascinating history. During that time, the area housed a significant Roman camp, providing shelter for hundreds of Roman soldiers. The patrician house itself was constructed in the southern part of the camp and has stood as a prominent structure for centuries.
The mural depicting David and Goliath is not a recent addition but was created by Melchior Bocksberger in 1573. Bocksberger, an artist from Salzburg, was responsible for this captivating artwork that has become an integral part of the building’s identity. The Goliath House was once home to the Goliards’ clergy, a group known for their satirical poetry during that era.
Goliath House
It seems no matter where you are, wealthy citizen love to show off their wealth. One way to do that was to build a tall tower called a Patrician Tower. The higher the tower, the richer the owner. Generally only the first two floors were occupied. Below is one example of the 60 or so Patrician Towers in Regensburg.
Our walk continued to the Altes Rathaus Regensburg (Old Town Hall).
The Old Town Hall was built when Regensburg was elevated to the status of a Free Imperial City in 1245. The oldest part is the 55 meter high tower. Around 1320/1330, the Reichssaal building was erected with the Reich Hall, which was originally intended as a dance hall. The building had its heyday from 1663, when the Perpetual Diet met exclusively in Regensburg in the Old City Hall for almost 150 years. For centuries, not only did the heart of the Free Imperial City of Regensburg beat here, the Reichstag Hall is considered the forerunner of the German parliaments, the European Union and even the UN. Probably the Old Town Hall in Regensburg was the most important building in Europe at that time. Here you can literally feel the past until today. Legendary are the festivals that were celebrated here. A love affair between an emperor and a burgher’s daughter even went down in European history. The offspring who came to fame can be admired as a statue (Don Juan de Austria) just around the corner (Zieroldsplatz).
Old Town Hall
From the Old Town Hall, we walked to the Haidplatz.
Haidplatz is one of the oldest and most beautiful squares in Regensburg. It has its origin in an elongated triangular meadow (“Heide”) west of the former Roman fort. Over the centuries, magnificent buildings were erected here. Large jousting tournaments with up to 300 participants took place on this square and spectators, jugglers and merchants came from all over.
At the eastern end of the square is the building which housed the famous colloquy of 1541 which Charles V hoped would reunite the church. A painting on the inside courtyard wall commemorates its most famous participants, Dr Joannes Eck and Philip Melanchthon, a close colleague of Martin Luther.
Haidplatz
From the Haidplatz, we entered the old Jewish quarter of Regensburg.
A Jewish quarter existed in this area since the 11th century. In the 12th century they gained more freedom, especially in working life. In 1210 the construction of a synagogue was started and land for a Jewish cemetery was purchased. The synagogue was inaugurated a few years later and could accommodate about 300 worshippers. The town soon became an important centre of Jewish life. This development, and the freedom that accompanied and motivated it, declined from the 14th century onwards. The Jews were subjected to particularly heavy taxes and their field of activity was limited. Due to financial and religious pressure, the 600 or so Jews were finally expelled in 1519. The synagogue was razed to the ground and the gravestones of the Jewish cemetery were used for building works.
Jewish Quarter
Our last stop on the tour was Regensburg’s St. Peter’s Cathedral.
Regensburg St. Peter’s Cathedral is the bishop’s church and the principal church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg. It is also the home of Regensburger Domspatzen (world’s oldest boys choir), which serves as the cathedral choir, and is rich in tradition. The structure is considered the most significant Gothic work in southern Germany.
The Virgin and the Angel Annunciate are two notable, monumental sandstone statues located on two pillars of the west crossing piers. These sandstone sculptures were created by a man under the title of Erminoldmeister, and during the 13th century he was a significant contributor to monumental sculptures in Germany. The two mentioned statues completed in 1280 that still exist within the cathedral today, one representing Mary, mother of Jesus, and the other representing the angel Gabriel (note the smile), juxtapose one another on their pillars. Mary’s right hand is slightly raised toward the angel in greeting. In her left hand she holds a book, into which she is pointing with her index finger.
Wikipedia
The great organ of St. Peter’s cathedral is also noteworthy for its integrated elevator – invisible from the outside – that transports the organist to his position without difficulty.
Our walking tour ended in the Market Square where we were given the option of returning to the ship or remaining in town to explore further on our own. Bill and I chose to stay in town.
We found a delightful beer garden, Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus, where we relaxed and enjoyed a leisurely lunch.
After lunch we checked out some of the nearby shops and purchased some cheese and sausage from the vendors in the Market Square. Oh, and Bill had a cup of fresh strawberries with chocolate sauce on top while I had a cup of gelato. Then we made our way back to the bus parking area where we found Carl, our Viking Program Director, and some fellow passengers waiting. We boarded the bus and set off to meet the ship. Along the way, Carl called the ship to check in and discovered that the ship had been delayed by river traffic and would not be at the normal docking location. He relayed the directions to the bus driver and commented that this delay would impact our schedule for the following day. (That didn’t sound good.) After a brief ride, the bus turned off on a small lane beside the river, drove past the Munich tour bus which had arrived before we did, and backed the bus down the lane as far as he could. Carl jumped off the bus and hiked through a small forest of trees to see if he could find the ship. We watched as his bright red shirt disappeared into the trees. (We wondered what we were supposed to do it he didn’t come back.) After a bit he did reappear with news that the ship was indeed on the other side of the trees. So, through the woods, blazing our own trail, to the river we went.
That evening, in our nightly port talk Carl told us that the ship was seriously behind schedule and that the excursion times for the next day might change. It’s all part of river cruising.
