Kitzingen: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 50 - 83 TIPTOP Hotel Kitzinger Hof
 This friendly hotel in Kitzingen offers comfortable rooms, a traditional restaurant and good links with the A7 motorway. Lots of beautiful vineyards c… MoreEUR 69 - 89 Hotel-Restaurant Esbach Hof
 This family-run, quietly located hotel is just a 3-minute walk from Kitzingen´s old quarter. It offers free breakfast, free parking, and Francon… MoreEUR 40 - 60 Hotel Pelikan
 Less than a 10-minute walk from the centre of Kitzingen am Main, this hotel offers free Wi-Fi access, a complimentary breakfast buffet and free privat… More | ||||||||||||||||||
Kitzingen: Guide
Kitzingen is a town in the Germany|German state of Bavaria, capital of the Kitzingen (district)|district Kitzingen. It is part of Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants.
Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County is the largest wine producer in Bavaria. It is said to be Franconia's wine trade center.
History
According to legend, Kitzingen was founded when the Countess of Schwanberg lost her jeweled scarf while standing on the ramparts of her castle. The castle was located high above the fertile section of the Main River Valley where Kitzingen now lies
The Countess promised to build a cloister on the spot where the scarf was found. When it was found by a shepherd named Kitz, she kept her word and built a cloister which she called Kitzingen.
That Benedictine cloister, founded in the eighth century on the site of the present town of Kitzingen, defended the ford across the Main river.
Kitzingen's history is closely tied to Würzburg. Kitzingen became a free imperial city around the year 1000. During the next century the town changed rulers often, mostly being ruled by Würzburg bishops who sold the town twice to fill their empty treasury.
In 1629 the Bishop of Wuerzburg took up his option to repurchase Kitzingen after the Peasants' Revolt in 1525. He abolished Protestantism and forced more than 1,000 residents to leave the town. This blow to the town's strength was followed by the Sweden|Swedish three-year occupation during the Thirty Years' War.
Kitzingen's revival is credited to the wisdom of Bishop Johann Philip von Schoenborn of Würzburg, whose Edict of Toleration in 1650 encouraged the return of the expelled Protestants. This is why both Catholicism and Protestantism are present in Kitzingen today.
The resulting prosperity carried Kitzingen through the 18th century as one of the most important ports on the Main River. Kitzingen's life under the Prince Bishops ended with the coming of France|French revolutionary armies and Napoleon.
In 1814 the Congress of Vienna confirmed Kitzingen's passing, along with the rest of the region, to the Kingdom of Bavaria.
During the Cold War, Kitzingen was a staging area for the US European Command's (USAREUR) air defenses against possible Soviet air and nuclear attack. Two US Army Bases, Larson Barracks and Harvey Barracks, are located in the town. (As of 2006, Larson Barracks and Harvey Barracks are to be handed back to the German Government in Fiscal Year 2007, with the move of the 1st Infantry Division back to the United States.)
Main sights
The city's main landmark is the Crooked Tower, built during the 1200s. It is distinctive for its crooked roof. According to town legend, the tower was being built during wine fest and workers used wine instead of water to make the mortar causing the top of the tower to lean. Today the tower holds a Carnival|carnival (Fasching) museum.
A local legend is that the golden ball atop the crooked tower contains the heart of Vlad III the Impaler|Vlad Dracula of Romania. If you follow the path of the crooked tower, the golden ball leans directly toward a grave in the Kitzingen Cemetery located across the street from the tower that is called the Grave of Dracula.
Sister cities
- Montevarchi, Italy
- Prades, Pyrénées-Orientales|Prades, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
External link
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Kitzingen". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.