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Compiled From Original Scrapbook Of
David & Jeanne Thomson
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GERMANY, JUNE-JULY, 1997 - BOOK 1/PAGE 2
The widow's room was rather small by today's standard but very adequate for it time. As the city was built with one building next to another and very narrow streets, the view from the widow's window was not the best.
Hardy, you worked for the Germany National Railway, lived just a short distance from a train stations so getting to work or downtown Hamburg was very easy. The depot below seemed to always be full of people no matter the time of day. This station, the main downtown station is the place to catch a train to any other part of Germany and the neighboring countries.
We both enjoyed just driving around Hamburg as it is very neat. Hardy took time off from his job so that he could take Jeanne and I around central Germany to see the sights. Sally went with us and see the sights we did!
First on the tour route that Hardy set up for us was Würzburg, which has one of the most famous buildings or castles in Germany, the Residenz! This was the seat of power of one of the Prince-Bishops who ruled Germany in the early years, 1600-1700s.
Prior to 1720, the Prince-Bishops (The Court) all lived in the in the fortress of Marienberg on the hill above the town. During the rein of Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp Franz von Schonborn a modest little castle was build in Würzburg which he considered to be quite inadequate for his splendid tastes. This huge Residenz was stared in May, 1720 by Schonborn ( ruled 1719-1724) who had recently obtain a judgment in the amount of 600,000 florins which allowed him to give full rein to his passion for building.
To give you some idea of the size of the Residenz here is the 1st floor plan. We could not find any dimensions at the Residenz nor in the guide book but from the photo above I estimate it to be about 750 X 250 feet and this doesn't include the gardens!
To give you some idea of the size of this building, compare the staircase below to its location in the builder map above.
My photos of the outside don't do justice to the builder. But we enjoyed the tour and rested on the fountain outside before continuing our guided tour.
The gardens around the Residenz are large and very well maintained. The rooms inside are, well, words can not describe them. They are so ornate that it is difficult to comprehend how anyone could design and build such a building.
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