CinX's Travels 2013

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December 2013 - Aschaffenburg, Germany

Aschaffenburg (German pronunciation: [aˈʃafənbʊɐ̯k]) is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.

Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric of Mainz for more than 800 years. The city is located at the westernmost border of Lower Franconia and separated from the central and eastern part of the administrative district by the Spessart hills, whereas it opens towards the Rhine-Main plain in the west and north-west. Therefore, the inhabitants speak neither Bavarian nor East Franconian but rather a local version of Rhine Franconian.

In World War II, Aschaffenburg was heavily damaged by Allied area bombing, including Schloss Johannisburg which was completely restored several years later. The Germans chose to defend Aschaffenburg with particular steadfastness, which resulted in the Battle of Aschaffenburg fought 28 March - 3 April 1945. The US 45th Infantry Division was forced to take the fortified city against stiff German resistance in a series of frontal assaults that involved house-to-house fighting and brutal close combat. The resulting horrific urban destruction was widespread and quite severe, as cannon fire was used point-blank to blast through structures.

Aschaffenburg's chief buildings are the Schloss Johannisburg, built 1605–1614 by Archbishop Schweikard von Kronberg, which contains a library with a number of incunabula, a collection of engravings and paintings; the Pompejanum, a replica of a Roman town house discovered in Pompeii commissioned by King Ludwig I. and opened in 1850; the Stiftskirche basilica, founded in 974 by Otto of Swabia, duke of Bavaria, but dating in the main from the early 12th century on, in which are preserved various monuments by the Vischers, a sarcophagus with the relics of Saint Margaret, and a famous painting by Matthias Grünewald; the Capuchin hospital; a theatre, which was formerly a house of the Teutonic Order; several mansions of the nobility; and the beautiful, historical "Altstadt" (the oldest section of Aschaffenburg).

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Next stop, Frankfurt am Main...