in the following you will find a collection of information to Schweinfurt. We highlighted several category groups to give you a picture of Schweinfurt. For further informations please contact the Tourist Information.
Adress
Tourist-Information
Brückenstraße 20
97421 Schweinfurt
Phon +49 (0) 9721-51 498
Fax -49 (0) 9721- 51 588
Opening Hours
Nov.-March: Mo - Fr 10:00-16:00 Uhr
Closed on Saturday
April-Oct.: Mo - Fr 10:00-18:00 Uhr
Sa 10:00-14:00 Uhr
In the "Bürgerservice” [citizen service] you can also obtain information. You can also purchase tickets for various events here.
Rathaus, Markt 1, Phone: +49 (0) 721- 5 10
PDF-Download: Schweinfurt City Map with Map of City Centre, Sights, Museums and Churches, History and Schweinfurt from A-Z.
Directory
By clicking on the issue of interest you will be conducted directly to subject area.
City History - City Naming - Industrial History - Worth seeing Sights - Museum and Galeries
Cultural Life - Calendar of Events - Leasure Time and Sports -Eat out and have a Pint
Favourite excursions - Important Schweinfurt scholars and researchers - Informations A-Z
The “Free Imperial City” Schweinfurt
The inhabitants of Schweinfurt repeatedly had to defend independence and often pay dearly for it.
As the city became a bone of contention between the prince-bishop in Würzburg and earls of Henneberg in the middle of the 13th century, heavy devastation resulted, which is known as the “First City Ruination”.
After the reconstruction, King Rudolf von Habsburg confirmed Schweinfurt’s status of “imperial freedom” in 1282. In the decades to come, all of the attempts from Würzburg and the Hennebergers to annexe the city into their own sphere of control also faltered.
As the only Free Imperial City in Lower Franconia, Schweinfurt repeatedly retained new rights and preserved its sovereignty. The city converted to Protestantism in the middle of the 16th century. This was a daring step ¯ indeed, the inhabitants were surrounded by the Catholic territories of the Würzburg prince-bishop. In 1554, a terrible war waged by Margrave Albrecht Alcibiades von Brandenburg-Kulmbach against the supreme religious foundations in Bamberg and Würzburg as well as the imperial city Nuremberg led to the complete devastation of the uninvolved City of Schweinfurt (“Second City Ruination”).
Only the Napoleonic reorganisation of Europe in 1814 led to the loss of Schweinfurt’s independence.
The city has belonged to Bavaria since that time. The fact that Schweinfurt did not suffer the fate of many other former free imperial cities is particularly due to the Schweinfurt inventors in the 19th century and the self-assured citizenry. They paved the way for Schweinfurt to rapidly become an important industrial city. A new chapter in the history of the city was opened.
The Schweinfurt Seal from 1364
Schweinfurt’s historical dates
791 First documentary mention of the name “Schweinfurt”
1234 First mention as imperial city
1240/50 Devastation of the city during disputes between the earls of Henneberg and the Würzburg prince-bishop (First City Ruination)
1554 Devastation of the city in the Margrave War (Second City Ruination)
1625/50 Repeated occupation in the 30 Years War through Swedish and imperial troops
1802 Loss of imperial freedom
The city becomes a part of Bavaria
1883 Birth of the ball bearing industry
1943/45 The industrial city Schweinfurt is heavily devastated in the Second World War
1966 Inauguration of the Schweinfurt City Theatre
1992 Serious structural crisis in the large-scale industry
1993 Beginning of extensive measures for overcoming the structural crisis
2000 Opening of the Georg Schäfer Museum
2001 Construction of the Main River Island Conference Centre
2006 Start of construction on the art gallery in the Ernst-Sachs-Bad
Schweinfurt — how the city got its name
“Schweinfurt ¯ Industry and Art”: With this motorway sign visitors have been welcomed for quite a few years to a city which was known for many decades in Germany and far beyond as the “Ball Bearing City”.
Schweinfurt is still an industrially characterised city. Yet since the beginning of the 1990s the former “Free Imperial City” has eminently changed, and has long since rediscovered points of its history which were somewhat forgotten over a longer period.
Today Schweinfurt is no longer merely an industrial city, but rather a city in which art, culture, remarkable architecture, science and tradition can be experienced.
The relationship of Schweinfurt’s inhabitants to their city’s name has always been a bit divided. Even the poet Friedrich Rückert, one of Schweinfurt’s greatest sons, composed a rhyme in the early 19th century:
You had Mainfurt, you had Weinfurt,
Since you stored wine,
But it’s called Schweinfurt,
And Schweinfurt shalt be thine!
Can one build a city,
to make it privy
to the name of a city,
which one can only sing with pity?
And so to this very day local historians have endeavoured to prove that the name Schweinfurt has nothing whatsoever to do with the not very socially acceptable swine. But whether that is so continues to remain controversial.
According to the latest research efforts, the name Schweinfurt has evolved over the course of centuries from the designations “Suinuurde”, “Suinfurt”, “Swinvordi”, “Sweinvort” and ultimately “Sweinfurt”. It is only certain that at no point in time were swine driven across a “ford” in the Main River. This surely would have reassured Friedrich Rückert. But it will always remain an open question as to whether the name “Schweinfurt” actually has anything to do with swine.
But unlike Rückert, the contemporary Schweinfurt inhabitants deal with the name of their city with considerable imperturbability and humour. And one regularly takes sweet porky revenge with great relish ¯ especially if invited to a traditional Schweinfurt “Schlachtschüssel” [pork platter featuring sausages, sauerkraut and potatoes].
Major art campaign: “Schweinfurt hat Schwein” [“Schweinfurt is lucky”] (2006)
From the chemical coloured paint production to the “Ball Bearing City”
A whole series of important inventors and personalities has transformed Schweinfurt into a world-class industrial city ¯ until this very day!
The industrial history of Schweinfurt begins in the beginning of the 19th century. Wilhelm Sattler (1784 –1859) established a paint factory, and Sattler’s “Schweinfurt Green” soon became well-known and popular throughout Europe. It only became public knowledge in 1839 that the “Schweinfurt Green” was extremely toxic.
Around 1860 the Schweinfurt resident Philipp Moritz Fischer produced an initially hardly heeded invention ¯ a pedal crank which he built into his “running wheel”, and thus transformed his running wheel into a genuine “bicycle”. Starting in 1883 with the help of his invention of the ball mill, Fischer’s son Friedrich (1848 –1899) produced hardened steel balls for the first time in mass production. He became the decisive pioneer of the subsequent ball bearing industry.
In 1909, the skilled mechanic Georg Schäfer (1861–1925) acquired Fischer’s “First Automatic Cast Steel Ball Factory” ¯ it was more or less the birth of the firm “Kugelfischer” (FAG), which was to become the epitome of the worldwide roller bearing industry in the coming decades.
Two of Friedrich Fischer’s former employees, Wilhelm Höpflinger and Engelbert Fries, almost simultaneously established (in 1890) their own ball bearing workshop, which later merged into the “Vereinigte Kugellagerfabriken AG” [“United Ball Bearing Factory Limited Liability Company”]. In 1953, this in turn became the German part of the Swedish worldwide corporate group SKF.
Likewise at the end of the 19th century (1894), the native Swabian Ernst Sachs (1867 – 1932) established a company in Schweinfurt, which was to subsequently garner worldwide fame as “Fichtel & Sachs”. Sachs also initially manufactured ball bearings.
In 1903, he developed the famous torpedo freewheeling hub and later also the Sachs motor. The company has produced automobile shock absorbers and clutches since the 1930s.
The rapid development of the Schweinfurt-based large concerns FAG Kugelfischer, Fichtel & Sachs and SKF was also not held up by the heavy devastation in the Second Wold War and the years of dismantling.
In the 1960s and 1970s Schweinfurt flourished economically, particularly due to its industry. During these times about 55,000 people worked in Schweinfurt ¯ which was roughly equivalent to its number of inhabitants. Yet the monopolistic structure also made Schweinfurt largely dependent on the economic prosperity of large concerns.
This became drastically clear in 1992. Industry-specific, structural and internal corporate problems led to the fact that within a few months about 10,000 jobs had to be cut. The unemployment rate rose and the future of the city seemed to be dismal.
Schweinfurt had to realign itself and strengthen other trades and service sectors. An extensive structural change was introduced quickly and unsparingly. The way out of the crisis was successful.
Worth Seeing Sights and Churches
Free imperial city testimonials and more. In Schweinfurt there are far more sights to marvel at than some may think.
The Old Town
Altes Gymnasium (1)
Directly on Martin Luther Platz in front of the imposing St. Johannis Church. It is one of the most important buildings of the German Renaissance from 1582/83; home to a museum (and galleries) since 1934.
Ebracher Hof (2)
Directly adjacent to the Georg Schäfer Museum and only a few steps away from Marktplatz; one of the city’s most important Renaissance buildings.
Acquired in 1431 from the Cistercian monastery Ebrach (Steigerwald region) as an estate, the Ebracher Hof burned down to the external walls during the Margrave War in 1554 (Second City Ruination). It was only reconstructed in 1578. In the course of the following centuries the estate was utilised in very different manners. For instance, it accommodated an orphanage in the 19th century and an upmarket furniture warehouse after the Second World War. The Schweinfurt City Library will move into the Ebracher Hof in 2006 after extensive alteration and refurbishing measures.
Green connection from the Obertor to the Main River (3)
This stretches from the Obertor [Upper Gate] to the Main River bank – with remnants of medieval fortifications. The City Walls with the Samtturm [tower] and the Powder Towers at the Lower Wall, the tower fragments of the White Tower pulled down in 1805 and the Wiesenhüter Tower as well as the moats are amongst the impressive testimonials to the Schweinfurt city history.
Gutermann Promenade (4)
A brief stroll on the Gutermann Promenade affords an opportunity to see the Main River in Schweinfurt as close as possible. It is named after the Schweinfurt teacher and historian Hubert Gutermann (1892–1974). Here one also finds numerous industrial and technical historical monuments.
Marktplatz (5)
As in the Middle Ages, the Marktplatz [marketplace] is still a central and lively site of civic trade today. On market days, vegetable and fruit farmers from the Schweinfurt district still flock to the Schweinfurt Market to offer their products. Market days: Tuesday and Friday 11.00 – 18.30; Wednesday and Saturday 7.00 – 14.00.
Rathaus (6)
The historic Rathaus [City Hall], the city’s most significant and beautiful building, is located on the south side of the Markplatz. It was built in the years 1570-1572 by Nikolaus Hofmann (Halle/Saale), and is regarded as one of the most important profane Renaissance buildings in southern Germany. Indeed, elements of the Late Gothic period are also evident in the architecture. As if through a miracle, the Schweinfurt City Hall survived all disasters and wars over the centuries – from the Thirty Years War to the nocturnal bombing raids of the 1940’s. The city’s most-photographed building – which documents Schweinfurt’s heyday as an imperial city like no other structure – is still a central location of urban life.
Rückert Monument (5)
The monument to one of the most famous sons of the city of Schweinfurt – Friedrich Rückert – is situated at Marktplatz. The poet and orientalist, whose birth house stands at the southeast corner of the City Hall, has overlooked the activity at the lively central square of Schweinfurt’s civic events since 1890. The monument was created by architect Friedrich Ritter von Thiersch and sculptor Wilhelm von Rühmann. Allegorical figures from his works (“Geharnischte Sonette” [“Withering Sonnets”] and “Weisheit des Brahmanen” [“Wisdom of the Brahmans”]) are situated at the feet of the bronze Rückert.
Schrotturm (7)
The Schrotturm [tower] has characterised the face of the southern Old Town for nearly four hundred years. Erected by Balthasar Rüffer III as the stairwell tower of a Renaissance house (1611–1614). At that time, demarcation to the surrounding countryside characterised by Catholic influence, the triple cupola dome referred to the political and religious independence of the Free Imperial City. In the 19th century the tower served the production of buckshot, and thereby not only received its name, but also five additional floors. It was completely restored during the course of the Old Town redevelopment in the years 1988-1990. Since then, the Schrotturm is once again a worthwhile visual attraction and is at the same time a picturesque gem with its environs in the middle of the town centre.
Zürch and Krumme Gasse (8)
The areas of the Schweinfurt Old Town situated east of the Marktplatz have been amongst the most beautiful refurbished testimonials to the medieval and imperial city past since the redevelopment measures in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The quiet small lanes, the re-laid cobblestone and the renovated historic residential buildings in the “Zürch” district convey an impressive Biedermeier idyll to visitors.
Craftsmen houses define the image in the area around Rückertstraße, Linsengasse and Burggasse. The name “Zürch” (Old High German: “Viehweide” [“livestock pasture”]) indicates that large areas for livestock breeding must have been located here hundreds of years ago. The adjacent northern area around the “Krumme Gasse” [“Winding Lane”] fascinates viewers with its winding system of lanes. This area is bordered on its east side by the remnants of the historic city wall.
Churches
St. Johannis Church (9)
The oldest architectural monument above the north side of Marktplatz. First written mention in the year 1237. The gothic choir was built in the beginning of the 15th century. In the following centuries the church was repeatedly worked on, and so a stylistic mix of different eras is visible. It has been the most important reformed church since 1542, and it serves as the parish church of the protestant congregation.
The interior furnishings can certainly be called opulent for a protestant church. Particularly worth seeing: The baptismal font with its original painting (1367) and the baroque pulpit (1694). It is one of the most important ecclesiastical architectural monuments between Bamberg and Würzburg.
St. Salvador Church (10)
Picturesque in the “Zürch” district, east of the Rathaus. The then “Liebfrauenkirche” [“Church of Our Dear Lady”] was consecrated here in 1412, of which the choir is still preserved to this day. The inhabitants of Schweinfurt heard the first reformist sermon on the steps of the former church in 1532. The church in its present-day form was erected from 1717–1719. It burned down to the ground in the Second World War and was completely reconstructed by 1953. Worth seeing: The “Trumpet Angel” on the elegant cupola dome formerly served the inhabitants of Schweinfurt as a weather vane. This is why Friedrich Rückert also wrote: “At last look I saw that he is not in such a good mood, since he trumpets from the city and his backside turns inward.”
Holy Ghost Church (11)
A hospital church associated with the Holy Ghost Hospital was built in the middle of the 15th century, and almost completely destroyed in 1554 (Second City Ruination).A new church was erected in gothic architectural style by the end of the 16th century. After the demolition of the old Holy Ghost Church, today’s building preserved in New Romanesque style was constructed from 1897 to 1902. Worth seeing: The main portal with the figure of King David and the depiction of the first Pentecost feast, the two side portals (the prophet Zachary and the baptism of Christ as well as the promulgation scenes) and the tower with a statue of Mary that is several metres high. Four altars are located in the interior of the church.
St. Kilian Church (12)
This Catholic parish church in the so-called “Franconian Style” (New Baroque) was consecrated in 1927 and – with the exception of parts of the enclosing wall and the tower – completely destroyed in the Second World War. A modern new building – significant in terms of art history – was erected in 1953 according to plans from Würzburg’s master cathedral builder Hans Schädel. Particularly worth seeing: The 250 m2 stained glass window from the Cologne artist Prof. Georg Meistermann ¯ one of Germany’s largest church windows.
Great collectors and the love of art
Schweinfurt has long since evolved into an important destination for art lovers.
Georg Schäfer Museum (18)
If you cross the Main River at the Max Bridge into town, you will see an impressive modern building which nevertheless seems to fit perfectly in the historic environs of the Old Town. Since 2000 the Georg Schäfer Museum has presented the world’s most significant private collection of 19th century art from the German-speaking region. The collection was compiled by the Schweinfurt industrialist Georg Schäfer (1896-1975) and contributed to a foundation by the heirs. With paintings and works on paper emanating from the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century, the museum offers a panorama of the most varying art movements of this era – from Late Rococo via Classicism and Romanesque to Impressionism.
The quality of the collection is based on high-calibre individual works and significant paintings from less well-known masters.
Thus the Georg Schäfer Museum is on a par with the collection of English art in the Tate Gallery (London) or the collections of German art in the National Gallery (Berlin) and the New Pinakothek in Munich.
Carl Spitzweg is represented here with the worldwide largest collection of his works: 160 paintings and 110 illustrations. The collection features over 100 paintings, gouaches and illustrations from Adolph Menzel. Moreover, numerous works from Caspar David Friedrich, Georg Ferdinand Waldmüller, Hans Thoma, Wilhelm Leibl and his circle as well as from Max Liebermann and Max Slevogt are to be marvelled at.
Opening hours:
Tuesday – Sunday 10.00 to 17.00; Thursday until 21.00
Brückenstraße 20
Information about alternating exhibits and supporting programme:
Telephone: 5 19 20 and 5 19 25; www.museumgeorgschaefer.de
Otto Schäfer Museum (19)
The Otto Schäfer Museum is dedicated to book art, graphic arts and applied arts. The industrialist Otto Schäfer (1912 – 2000) began collecting printed graphic arts in his youth. In 1951, he acquired his first book illustrated with woodcuts: The famous “Schedel’s Chronicle of the World”, printed in Nuremberg in 1493. Today the museum enshrines about a thousand illustrated prints, of which most stem from the 15th and 16th centuries. Amongst the collection’s artists are Michael Wolgemut, Albrecht Dürer, Hans Baldung Grien, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Hans Holbein the Younger, Matthäus Merian the Elder, Caspar David Friedrich, Adolph Menzel, Max Slevogt, Lovis Corinth, Aristide Maillol and H. A. P. Grieshaber.
Otto Schäfer dedicated another collection to German literature. It features around 5,000 volumes, for the most part first editions from the Goethe era. But the collector’s interest was also devoted to precious bindings, and in addition to innumerable, expensive gold-embossed leather-bound volumes attests to the binding art of bygone centuries.
The collection combines about one thousand works on paper with contemporary graphic arts (amongst others, Olaf Gulbransson, Alfred Hrdlicka or Ernst Fuchs). The museum’s newest section is dedicated to antique glass.
Opening hours:
Tuesday – Saturday, 14.00 – 17.00; Sunday and holidays, 10.00 – 17.00
Reading room:
Tuesday – Wednesday, 14.00 – 17.00; by arrangement
Summer break:
15 July up to and including 14 September
Winter break:
1 December up to and including 25 December
Judithstraße 16
Telephone: 3 87 09 70
www.MuseumOttoSchaefer.de
The “Museums and Galleries of the City of Schweinfurt” provide an overview of the history and art, past and present. Since 1980 they have been divided into four individual museums, an exhibition hall and the “Künstlerhof Oberndorf” as well as “MuSe”, the Schweinfurt Museum Service (Telephonic info: 5 12 15).
Altes Gymnasium Museum (1)
The Museum in the Altes Gymnasium – a Renaissance building from 1582 – is the headquarters of the “Museums and Galleries of the City of Schweinfurt”, which was established in 1890. The main emphases of the local heritage collection are the early history since the 9th century, the imperial city era, the civic culture, the guild life and the beginning of industrialisation. A tour through the museum provides an insight into the medieval and imperial city past, and exhibits highlights from the product range of early industrialist Wilhelm Sattler (1784 –1859), the first pedal crank bicycle from Schweinfurt inventor Philipp Moritz Fischer and a ball mill from 1890 featuring the pioneering era of ball bearing manufacture. A separate section is dedicated to the work of the poet and orientalist Friedrich Rückert (1788 –1866).
Opening hours:
Tuesday – Friday, 14.00 – 17.00; Saturday and Sunday, 10.00 – 13.00 and 14.00 – 17.00
Admission free
Martin-Luther-Platz 12
Alte Reichsvogtei Gallery (20)
The gallery, which was opened in 1984, exhibits supra-regional items of German art after 1945, and at the same time offers a forum for artists who are closely associated with the region through their activities or their origin. The German “informal statements” – especially represented through the group “ZEN 49” and neoexpressionist artistic statements such as “SPUR” (track) and “GEFLECHT” (braiding) – constitute the main emphases.
Opening hours:
Tuesday – Friday, 14.00 – 17.00; Saturday and Sunday, 10.00 – 13.00 and 14.00 – 17.00
Admission free
Obere Straße 1113
Gunnar Wester Haus Museum (21)
The cultural-historical collection pertaining to the development of fire creation and illumination is a donation from Friedrich Graf Luxburg (1871 –1956). Beginning with a qualitative selection of antique oil lamps, the museum contains a great number of valuable cultural-historical objects of fire creation as well as lamps, lights and lanterns from the Middle Ages up into the 19th century. Early fire devices from the Baroque and Biedermeier periods are highlights.
The Fritz Glöckle Icon Collection offers an insight into the sacral Russian art of the 16th to 19 centuries with 106 icons in three rooms on the ground floor.
Opening hours:
Tuesday – Friday, 14.00 – 17.00; Saturday and Sunday, 10.00 – 13.00 and 14.00 – 17.00
Admission free
Martin-Luther-Platz 5
Natural History Museum (22)
A historical bird collection is on view since 1988 in the “Harmony Building”, a classicist building erected in 1833 as the “clubhouse” of the Harmony Society. It was compiled by the Schuler brothers, who donated it to their hometown in 1892.
Opening hours:
Tuesday – Friday, 14.00 – 17.00; Saturday and Sunday, 10.00 – 13.00 and 14.00 – 17.00
Admission free
Brückenstraße 39
Altes Rathaus Hall (6)
The exhibition hall is inserted into the historical architectural fabric of the Renaissance City Hall from 1572.
Opening hours:
Tuesday – Sunday, 10.00 – 13.00 and 14.00 17.00
Admission free
Markt 1
Künstlerhof Oberndorf (23)
The former dwelling and studio of artist Gustl G. Kirchner (1920 –1984) serves today as a dwelling and studio for the sculptor Norbert Kleinlein and his wife Heike, who works as a ceramics artisan. The Kirchner Exhibition accommodated on the ground floor and the Kirchner Archives can be viewed according to telephonic advance notice.
Telephone: 5 14 79
Hauptstraße 13
Mozart or Heavy Metal? The Schweinfurt cultural scene is colourful and interesting.
Theatre (24)
The City of Schweinfurt Theatre was completed in 1966 and opened on 1 December with “The Wedding of Figaro” in a performance by the Bavarian State Opera Munich. The planner and builder of the establishment was Professor Dr. Erich Schelling, who particularly set architectural highlights in Karlsruhe and Strasburg in addition to Schweinfurt. After over 30 years, a sweeping modernisation and refurbishment was carried out, and was able to be concluded in February 2002. The 40-year anniversary of the establishment will be celebrated on 1 December 2006 with the musical “Les Misérables”. The theatre is operated as a pure exemplary theatre of the highest level without a permanent ensemble, and is a cultural attraction for the city as well as the Lower Franconia region. The Schweinfurt “theatre model” thrives due to the support of the city and the popular public response.
Here one can see concerts just as well as operas, operettas, musicals, plays, ballet and dance performances ¯ and last but not least, children’s and youth theatre. Large-scale stage productions as well as well-known actors were and are hosted in Schweinfurt. About 150 performances – including those on loan – are rendered per theatre season.
City of Schweinfurt Theatre, Roßbrunnstraße 2
Info about programme and ticket sales available under telephone: 5 14 75
www.theaterschweinfurt.de
Stattbahnhof Cultural House (25)
The disused former city railway station in Schweinfurt has been a centre for alternative culture since 1997. Monthly cinema and party events, a self-directed pub, weekly disco evenings and especially the wide range of concerts (above all punk rock and hardcore) make the Stattbahnhof an attractive destination for culturally-interested people (mostly younger) throughout the region. Concerts in the rock & blues realm have also been offered more and more frequently in recent years. Evan a world star like Marla Glen has already performed in the Stattbahnhof.
Alte Bahnhofstraße 8-12
Info under telephone: 18 62 43
www.stattbahnhof-sw.de
“Disharmonie Culture Studio” (26)
Since 1988 the “Disharmonie” has presented minor arts, cabaret, concerts, films, literature readings and more. Up to 100 visitors can be accommodated in a building directly alongside the Main River promenade, which formerly served as a coal warehouse and later as a power plant. The Disharmonie is supported by a non-profit club and sees itself, amongst other things, as a sponsor of cultural programmes which are insufficiently represented in the commercial cultural landscape. But prominent cabaret performers and musicians also frequently perform here.
Gutermannpromenade 7
Info about programme and ticket sales is available under telephone: 7 30 98 98
www.disharmonie.de
People in Schweinfurt love to celebrate throughout the year and so the events range from Fasching (Carnival) to numerous city district festivals and to the atmospheric Christmas market.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY
Fasching
With the “Schwarzen Elf“, the “ESKAGE” and the “Antöner Narrenelf” there are three carnival societies in Schweinfurt which present an extensive and high-calibre range of Fasching events and session evenings.
On Fasching Tuesday [Shrove Tuesday or “Mardi Gras”] the “ESKAGE” traditionally stage the large Schweinfurt Fasching parade through the entire downtown area. About 25,000 visitors from the entire region do not miss out on the annual bustling activity.
MARCH/APRIL
Fish Market
A particularly bustling activity fills the Schweinfurt Marktplatz. Original Hamburg and “Schweinfurt Market Barkers” vociferously offer their wares ¯ and this is by no means merely limited to fish!
MAY/JUNE
City May festivals
Various festivities are held in front of City Hall on the weekends in May; among other things, an auction sponsored by the local art club and a potter’s market.
Folk festival
Every year the Schweinfurt Folk Festival delights visitors in Lower Franconia for eleven days, starting the Friday after Corpus Christi. Franconian specialities, Schweinfurt beer and attractive ride attractions from throughout Germany make this “fair” one of the largest in all of Franconia.
www.volksfest-schweinfurt.de
JULY/AUGUST
Honky Tonk
The entire region looks forward to an extraordinary pub festival, usually in the beginning of July. Performers from the most varying musical style disciplines appear at the same time in numerous pubs and also on open-air stages throughout the downtown area. You can enjoy the happenings all over the place with the purchase of an admission bracelet. The Honky Tonk, which meanwhile is successfully hosted in numerous cities throughout Germany, is an original Schweinfurt cultural export.
www.honky-tonk.de
Bauerngasse Street Festival
Atmospheric open-air event in the downtown area. Live music and various culinary offers ¯ from Franconian to international.
City parish fairs
Traditional parish fairs are held almost every week during the summer months in the Schweinfurt city districts. Franconian congeniality, culinary specialities as well as Franconian wine and beer delight not only the locals.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
Pflasterklang
Singing and clinking resounds at every corner of the downtown area during the large street music festival. Travelling performers gather during the day in the pedestrian zone and in the evening along the banks of the Main River. A cultural insider’s tip.
www.kulturpackt.de
Nachsommer
Every year since 2000 this mid-September merrymaking stands for international happenings in music and art. Film, theatre, dance, literary events, vocals and instruments ¯ the borders between the genres become unimportant: Poetry combines with music, music with film and dance, classical music with jazz. An exhibition on a special Schweinfurt theme supplements the programme. The Nachsommer [Indian summer] festival can be pleased with constantly increasing attendance figures and attracts an audience of every age due to the variety of the programme ¯ often held at extraordinary locations.
www.nachsommer.de
Street festival
In the third week of September all of Schweinfurt always looks forward to a huge “open-air festival”. Thousands of visitors dance, laugh and celebrate with Franconian “Federweiße” [new wine] in the downtown area.
All-day Sunday shopping
On the last Sunday in October the civic retail trade invites the public to a “Mantle Sunday”. More than 300 shops attract visitors from throughout Lower Franconia.
UFRA
The large Lower Franconia Exhibition (UFRA) is held every two years in the beginning of October at the Schweinfurt Folk Festival Square. UFRA features a mixture of consumer, information & entertainment exhibition which attracts people from throughout Lower Franconia to Schweinfurt for nine days.
www.ufra-online.de
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
Christmas market
In Advent period the Schweinfurt Marktplatz is transformed into an evocative Christmas market. The illuminated historic City Hall and a huge Christmas tree ensure a typical and contemplative atmosphere.
SWIMMING FUN
Quarry pond (27)
Public bathing lake with beach-like shoreline, lawn, playground, sanitary facilities as well as food and refreshments.
Silvana (28)
The sports & leisure time pool was opened in 2005, lies directly adjacent to the Schweinfurt City Forest and also offers a splendid panorama view. An indoor as well as an outdoor pool are available. Equipment: 10-metre diving tower, indoor sports pool with eight 25-metre lanes, splashing pool, outdoor swimming pool, and adventure pool with various massage and water-jet facilities as well as a tunnel slide. The wellness area with a large sauna landscape and a solarium facility complete the wide range of offers.
An den Unteren Eichen 1; opening hours: 9.00 – 22.00
Telephone: 93 13 99, www.silvana.de
GREEN SPACES
Philosophengang (29)
A scenic path leads from Motherwell Park through the Philosophengang [“Philosopher’s Walkway”]. Here you can stroll along the idyllic former city fortification to the Old Town in the direction of the Main River.
Weirs (30)
Lie southeast of the Main River banks and serve the inhabitants of Schweinfurt as a kind of city park. Numerous indigenous and exotic plants thrive there. A large fountain right in the entrance area fascinates visitors. The clubhouse of the Rowing Club Franken 1882 – which regularly holds Bavarian championships and large regattas – lies directly along the banks of the Main River. The weirs along the way invite visitors to take a walk or also to go jogging.
Wildpark an den Eichen (31)
In the north of Schweinfurt, directly located along the overpass to the Schweinfurt City Forest, a special type of zoo & leisure park entices visitors.
A mixture of various children’s playgrounds (one of the largest playing & climbing elks in the world), a children’s splashing pool with lawn, a mini-golf course and a large number of natural, spacious animal enclosures await visitors on a surface area of 15 hectares. Indigenous animal species such as fallow deer and red deer, goats (petting zoo) or birds and international “imports” such as elks, lynx, potbelly pigs and highland cattle delight visitors. Admission is free.
Telephone: 5 15 02, www.wildpark-schweinfurt.de
SPORTS
Ice skating and ice hockey
Icedome
The ERV Schweinfurt regularly attracts far over 1,000 fans to its “Icedome”.
Ice skating is also possible during the autumn & winter months at the Icedome.
Telephone: 79 67 20, www.mightydogs.de, or www.ervsw.de
Natural ice-skating rink
Under the Ludwigsbrücke [bridge], directly in the vicinity of downtown, a meadow transforms into a popular natural ice-skating rink in the winter.
Football
The FC 05 Schweinfurt was always a “sports advertisement” for the city (formerly top-class and later in the second league). Although the club has slipped into the amateur camp, the visit to a home match at the Willy Sachs Stadium is still worthwhile.
Telephone: 4 75 41 00, www.fcschweinfurt05.de
Golfing
The Golf club Schweinfurt’s 18-hole golf course is located in Löffelsterz (Schweinfurt rural district), ca. 12 km northeast of the city limits.
Telephone: 0 97 27/58 89, www.golfclub-schweinfurt.de
Mini-golf
Mini-golf at Maxbrücke
Telephone: 01 71/5 24 11 56; opening hours: Monday – Saturday, starting at 13.00; Sunday and holidays starting at 11.00
Bicycling
Schweinfurt and its surrounding countryside have an extensive bicycle path network which features thematic round-trip routes and local connections (total length is over 900 km). Schweinfurt is an ideal starting point for several-day tours, since four long-distance routes cross here: Main Bicycle Path (613 km), Wern Bicycle Path (778 km), Main-Werra Bicycle Path (140 km) and Main-Saale Bicycle Path (30 km).
www.mainradweg.com
Horseback riding
Reitverein Schweinfurt [riding club]
Riding courses and disabled horseback riding
Am Hainig 2, Telephone: 8 44 94
Ponyhof Hepp
Leisure time courses, holiday offers, horseback riding weeks
Am Hainig 9, Telephone: 80 40 30
Shipping
Schweinfurter Personenschifffahrt [passenger shipping]
Various daily round-trip excursions on the Main River. Special group offers.
Departure point: Gutermann Promenade
Telephone: 4 33 02, www.sw-personenschifffahrt.de
Tennis
Numerous tennis courts; the largest tennis facility is the TC Weiß-Blau Schweinfurt “100-acre Sports Park” with 17 outdoor courts and a three-court indoor facility.
Albin-Kitzinger-Straße 1, Telephone: 3 31 49
Schweinfurt “Schlachtschüssel” and other delicacies
People in Schweinfurt gladly like to eat and drink. While doing so, things can occasionally be quite lively and heady.
It is not wrongly said that eating and drinking are particularly important to the inhabitants of Schweinfurt. Ascetic despisers of food are rather hard to find around here. Although the trend towards new, light cuisine is also leaving its traces behind in Schweinfurt, the true culinary specialities in the city are emphatically hearty. The original Schweinfurt “Schlachtschüssel” (see Page 43) is worldwide unique in this connection. Moreover, the classical Franconian wedding menu is a good example of traditional Schweinfurt cuisine.
It consists of liver dumpling soup with “Schwämmerli” [mushrooms], boiled beef with horseradish sauce, noodles and cranberries. Veal and roast pork with potato dumplings and vegetables are served after that. A dry Silvaner – the classic amongst Franconian wines – is best suited for this feast. When spring arrives, the inhabitants of Schweinfurt look forward to fresh Main-Franconian asparagus; then in the autumn they look forward to the traditional “Federweiße” (new must), which is much drier in Franconia than in other regions of Germany. This tastes best with hot potatoes (which are only peeled at the table), brawn (red & white-marinated) or a “Gerupfter” (Camembert cheese dressed with butter, onions and paprika).
Yet despite all culinary roots to one’s native soil, friends of international cuisine and gourmets also find numerous set meal selections in Schweinfurt.
The original Schweinfurt “Schlachtschüssel”
A very special kind of culinary experience for locals and particularly also for guests is the original Schweinfurt “Schlachtschüssel”. The custom has been celebrated in the city since 1840: Cutting freshly cooked pork into individual pieces and eating directly from bare-scoured wooden boards which are laid across the table. Fresh brown bread, horseradish and sauerkraut are served with this. Salt and pepper are mixed and provide the proper spices. The inhabitants of Schweinfurt drink must or dry Franconian wine with Schlachtschüssel ¯ beer is regarded as unsuitable, however. Everybody can eat as much as they want and can hold. The pork is served course for course: Up to and including innards and jowls ¯ especially appreciated by connoisseurs. Typical Schlachtschüssel songs and a good plum schnapps round off the at-least two-hour feast! Groups of 15 or more people can experience (per advance booking) the culinary pleasure of an original Schweinfurt Schlachtschüssel between September and April in numerous Schweinfurt restaurants.
Forests, wine and hikes
From the barren Rhön highlands to the sunny Weinland region ¯ the Schweinfurt hinterland is varied and invites visitors to enjoy the most varying kinds of excursions.
Mainleite
Located nearly two kilometres east of the Old Town, this area is impressive with the vines of Schweinfurt wine, a dreamlike view of the Main River and two historic architectural monuments which were quite influential for the Schweinfurt city history.
Peterstirn (16)
Since the 10th century a fortress was situated at the site of the fortress-like structure, the ancestral seat of the Schweinfurt margraves. The name Peterstirn refers to the designation of the monastery “stella petri”, which is affixed on the seal of the German religious order from the 14th century and was reinterpreted in common parlance as “Peterstirn” [“Peter’s Star”]. Today the Peterstirn is privately owned by the Schweinfurt Dahms winery and is regularly used in the summer for a wine festival in a picturesque setting.
Mainberg Castle (17)
Not too far east of the Peterstirn, Mainberg Castle (Schweinfurt district) thrones high above the Main River. Mentioned in a document for the first time in 1245, the facility was dominated from 1303 to 1542 by the Earls of Henneberg. After that the estate came into the possession of the Bishop of Würzburg and changed owners several times after the Secularisation. In 1821 the Schweinfurt factory owner Wilhelm Sattler acquired the castle and completely renovated it. The industrialist Ernst Sachs acquired the estate in 1915. The world-famous Gunter Sachs was born there in 1932. After the Second World War the owners of the castle once again changed hands frequently before a private citizen extensively refurbished the premises starting in 1982. Since that time Mainberg Castle has served as a popular event site.
Bad Kissingen
One of the most well-known and traditional health resorts in Germany (ca. 25,000 inhabitants) is located only 24 km northwest of Schweinfurt. Particularly in the 19th century, Bad Kissingen was a popular travel destination for crowned heads and the high society throughout Europe. For instance, Prince Otto von Bismarck visited Bad Kissingen 15 times. An attempt on his life was even made there in 1874. Today the Bismarck Museum (Tuesday – Sunday, 14.00 – 17.00; Obere Saline 20) serves a reminder of the Kissinger days of the “Iron Chancellor”. The well-kept spa facilities with the partially stately buildings invite visitors to saunter about. In the evening one can try their luck in the Bavarian Gambling Casino at Luitpoldpark. The annual “Kissinger Summer” with its wide range of classical concerts is a cultural highlight. www.badkissingen.de
Freizeitland Geiselwind
The adventure park with a wide variety of attractions (roller coaster, Ferris wheel, shows and animals) lies directly along the A3 motorway between Würzburg and Nuremberg.
www.freizeitlandgeiselwind.de
Gerolzhofen
Town in the Schweinfurt district on the edge of the Steiger Forest. The first school museum in Bavaria is located in the Old Town Hall. A first-class village school from the period 1900 – 1920 is reproduced true-to-detail here.
www.gerolzhofen.de
Bavarian Rhön Nature Park
The Rhön highlands lie in the federal states of Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia. The nature park encompasses 1,240 km2 altogether, and was declared a biosphere reservation by UNESCO in 1991. The centre of the Bavarian (Franconian) Rhön is the Kreuzberg, which is regarded as the “Holy Mountain of the Francs”, since St. Kilian is said to have preached here and erected a wooden cross in the year 686. Today the Kreuzberg Monastery attracts visitors with its well-known self-brewed beer, which is poured out in the monastery tavern (1731).
An extraordinary nature reserve in the Rhön region is the “Black Moor” along the “High Rhön Road”, which is over 10,000 years old and is one of the last virtually untouched high moors in Central Europe. In general, it is worthwhile to hike and explore the Rhön region along the many marked trails. Ski lifts and cross-country ski trails are available in the winter. Worth seeing: The Franconian Freiland Museum in Fladungen (www.freilandmuseum-fladungen.de). General info about the Bavarian Rhön region: www.biosphaerenreservat-rhoen.de
Haßberge Nature Park
The Haßberge district lies to the northeast of Schweinfurt between the Main River and Thuringia. Here you will find 15 fortresses and 26 castles, and thus about a third of all historic aristocratic seats in Lower Franconia. Unique: The first fortress learning trail in Germany. The 40 km long hiking trail leads to a total of eight fortresses and fortress ruins. One has a splendid view of the Haßberge Nature Park from the observation tower on the Sweden Entrenchment (487 metres high), a wall system from the Celtic era above the town of Eichelsdorf.
www.naturparkhassberge.de
Steigerwald Nature Park
The Steiger Forest region, one of the most popular excursion destinations of the Schweinfurt inhabitants, is located southeast of Schweinfurt. The 1,280 square kilometre nature park, with up to 500 metre high ascents and a nearly 50 percent forest portion, is among other things an important wine cultivation area. But in the northeast portion of the Steiger Forest one also finds an array of traditional small family-owned breweries. Good eating (carp!) and moderate prices ¯ the Steiger Forest is also a genuine culinary tip!
www.steigerwald.org
Franconian Weinland
The core area of the Franconian wine country along the Main River loop starts a few kilometres south of Schweinfurt. Small localities such as Escherndorf, Sommerach or Astheim, in which almost everything revolves around Franconian wine, are worth a visit. The most well-known wine town in this region is picturesque Volkach with its historic Old Town and a beautiful town hall from 1544. No far from Volkach lies Vogelsburg, from which one has a splendid view of the Main River, grape vines and the surrounding localities. Especially worth seeing: The famous pilgrimage church “Maria im Weingarten”, to which an old pilgrimage route leads right through the middle of the vineyards. In this Late Gothic church one finds one of the most important works from Tilman Riemenschneider, the “Madonna im Rosenkranz” (1524).
www.fraenkischesweinland.de
Werneck (Werneck Castle)
Markt Werneck is the largest municipality in the Schweinfurt rural district. Especially worth seeing: Werneck Castle, which was built by Balthasar Neumann between 1733 and 1745. It served the prince-bishops of Würzburg as a stately summer residence. Since a psychiatric hospital and an orthopaedic clinic are located in the castle today, one has to be satisfied with a stroll through the extensive castle park.
www.schloss-werneck.de
Important Schweinfurt scholars and researchers
Friedrich Rückert
“Amongst all the honours worth the most to me are those with which the hometown honours me.”
Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866) expressed his thanks for the honorary citizen title awarded to him by the Schweinfurt city fathers with this concise couplet in a letter from 24 April 1865. The later so famous poet and orientalist Friedrich Rückert was born on 16 May 1788 in the Free Imperial City Schweinfurt. Rückert composed about 20,000 poems and had a command of 44 foreign languages. As an orientalist, Rückert endeavoured to link the worlds of the Orient and the Occident with each other, whether by means of translating the works of “classic” Arab and Persian poets or through the acquisition of oriental materials.
Upon his death on 31 January 1866 in Neuses near Coburg he bequeathed a titanic collection of translations, ingenious free adaptations and partially very personal lyrics (children’s death ballads). The city of Schweinfurt honoured their great son through the immense monument at Marktplatz, and not the least through the acquisition of the majority of his estate, which is especially available for research in the Schweinfurt City Archives.
Conrad Celtis
Leading figure of German humanism (1459 –1508)
Born in Wipfeld near Schweinfurt and appointed by Emperor Maximilian I., he was active at the University in Vienna since 1497. Despite the Latin language and nearness to Horace and Virgil, he demonstrated direct experience and cosmopolitan scope in his literature.
Olympia Fulvia Morata
Humanist (1526 –1555)
The native Italian came to Schweinfurt around 1550 through her husband, Dr. Andreas Grundler. She composed reformist writings and transformed her house into a meeting place for the city’s intellectual and spiritual leaders. She bequeathed numerous Latin and Greek speeches, discourses, letters and songs.
Johann Lorenz Bausch
Physician (1605 –1665)
The Schweinfurt native was the cofounder of the Leopoldina (German academy for naturalists) in his hometown. The society is regarded as the oldest still existing academy in the world. Its present-day domicile is Halle/Saale.
Friedrich Fischer
Pioneer of the ball bearing industry Hub production in 1928
Informations A-Z
ADVANCE TICKET SALES
Schweinfurt Bürgerservice, Rathaus, Markt 1, Telephone 5 10
Schweinfurt Tourist Information Centre
Brückenstr. 20, Telephone: 5 14 98
(only tickets for guided tours)
Theatre Box Office, Roßbrunnstr. 2, Telephone: 5 14 75 (theatre tickets)
Schweinfurter Tagblatt [newspaper]
Am Zeughaus 2, Telephone: 54 88 19
Buchhandlung Collibri [bookstore]
Markt 19, Telephone: 2 27 63
ARRIVAL
By car
In the Schweinfurt harbour or in the Main River valley there is a city connection to the motorways A 70 (Bamberg, Nuremberg, Würzburg and Kassel), A 3 (Würzburg, Frankfurt, Nuremberg and Munich) or A 71 ( Erfurt).
By railway
The Schweinfurt main railway station is located in the west of the city. In addition, there are two other stops – “Stadtbahnhof” and “Schweinfurt Mitte” (as of June 2006) – which are not served by all trains, however.
Taxis are located at the exit (east); public local transportation (buses) are located at the main exit in the north. The city buses run in a 10-minute cycle to the ZOB at Roßmarkt.
By aircraft
The nearest airport is about 100 km away in Nuremberg. The Rhine-Main airport in Frankfurt is about 150 km away, the Stuttgart airport is about 190 km away, and the distance to the Munich airport is about 290 km.
BOATS FOR HIRE/ BOAT TOURS
“Wunder – Kanu und Freizeit”
Kayak and Canadian canoe rentals
Am Zeughaus 24
Telephone: 2 35 69 or 01 75/ 4 95 67 79
BICYCLES FOR HIRE
Radsport Hofmann
Breakdown assistance, repairs, bicycles for hire, bicycle textiles and accessories, spare parts
Friedrich-Stein-Str. 12, Tel.: 2 48 62
Landgraf Liegefahrräder
Würzburger Straße 18
Tel.: 8 22 07 or 01 71/6 47 32 37
Zweirad Seifert
Breakdown assistance, repairs, bicycles for hire, accessories, spare parts
Mainstraße 24, 97493 Bergrheinfeld; Telephone: 9 02 62
CARAVAN PARKING AREAS
Parking areas are located at “I. Wehr”, weirs and the parking area at Volksfestplatz/P+R: Parking areas without supply/disposal possibilities.
EMERGENCY CALL
Police: 110; fire brigade: 112
Medical standby service, Telephone: 0 18 05/19 12 12
Medical emergency service, Telephone: 19 222
ADAC [automobile association] breakdown service, Telephone: 01 80/2 222 222
GUIDED TOURS
Schweinfurt compact
An hour by foot through the Old Town with a well-versed tour guide: May to September, every Saturday, beginning at 11.00 at the Friedrich Rückert monument at Marktplatz. Other city tours and sightseeing tours for individuals or groups are available on request. Information is available at the Schweinfurt Tourist Information Centre, Brückenstraße 20,
Telephone: 5 14 98
HOSPITALS
Leopoldina
Gustav-Adolf-Str. 8, Telephone: 72 00
St. Josef
Ludwigstr. 1, Telephone: 570
INTERNET
Information
The city’s website provides information as well as references to events at: www.schweinfurt.de
Internet cafés
There are not many special Internet cafés in the city. But a small place for an online chat can be found at “Diners Net”, Schelmsrasen 2, at “Bonus” on Brückenstraße and in the city library.
LOST & FOUND OFFICE
In the "Bürgerservice" [citizen service]
Rathaus, Markt 1, Telephone: 5 10
PUBLIC MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION
The “Roßmarkt” is the central bus station. All bus lines start from here or have a stop here. Individual tickets are available from 1.20 Euro.
You can obtain more information about prices or schedules in the sales outlet at Roßmarkt or in the KIC at Manggasse 7-9. Info hotline telephone: 93 13 25
POLICE
The Schweinfurt Police headquarters (Mainberger Str. 14A) is reachable at telephone: 20 20
POST
Main post office at Bahnhofsplatz as well as “Stadtpost” on Zehntstraße
TAXI
Taxi stands are located, among other spots, at Marktplatz, Roßmarkt (bus station), Jägersbrunnen (Galeria department store), Roßbrunnstraße (theatre), Hauptbahnhofstraße (main railway station), Niederwerrner Straße (Ledward Barracks), Gustav-Adolf-Str. (Leopoldina Hospital), An den Unteren Eichen (Silvana swimming pool), Baggersee [Quarry Pond] and on Ludwigstraße (St. Josef Hospital); taxi control centre telephone: 1 60 60