Street of Emperors and Kings

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Road of Emperors and Kings is an international tourist road that runs along the Danube from Regensburg via Passau , Linz and Vienna to Budapest . It can be traveled not only by water, but also by train, by bike along the Danube Cycle Path or on foot over the Donausteig .

The road leads past prehistoric and ancient archaeological sites, medieval towns, monasteries and castles, baroque monasteries, palaces and residences. Several UNESCO World Heritage sites can be visited on the section from Regensburg to Budapest : the old town of Regensburg, the Wachau cultural landscape , the old town of Vienna, the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna as well as Andrássy Street and the Buda Castle in Budapest .

The route was advertised as early as 1957 under its previous name From the Rhine and Main to the Danube . The motto Street of Emperors and Kings was introduced in 1989. In a brochure published by the City of Regensburg in 2016, the route was therefore described as the oldest international working group in German tourism .

Attractions

Germany

regensburg

Regensburg has been settled since the Stone Age and is one of the oldest cities in Germany. The Romans founded the legion camp Castra Regina (Camp on the Regen) in 179 AD . In the Middle Ages Regensburg experienced its economic heyday through long-distance trade and developed into one of the wealthiest cities at the time. Numerous Romanesque and Gothic buildings in the old town date back to the Middle Ages. Since July 13, 2006, the old town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Cathedral of St. Peter was built in 1207 to 1525 and is the architectural center of the city. The two cathedral towers were not completed until 1859; the cathedral cloister has Romanesque and Gothic style elements. In the small All Saints side chapel there are colored frescoes from the early 12th century.

Another attraction in Regensburg is the Schottenkirche St. Jakob , one of the best preserved Romanesque sacred buildings in southern Germany. Your entrance portal is one of the most important Romanesque architectural monuments in Germany. There are many interpretations about the meaning of the enigmatic picture cycles on the portal, none of which can be regarded as certain.

The stone bridge was built between 1135 and 1146 and is 350 meters long. The bridge tower facing the city, which houses a small museum, has been preserved.

Next to the bridge gate is the Salzstadel from 1620, which was renovated in 1992 and has since been equipped with a café and lecture rooms. Below the Salzstadel is the historic Wurstkuchl , in which Regensburg sausages are prepared on an open charcoal fire. In the past, the cookshop served to supply construction and dock workers.

Straubing

Strupinga was Straubing's first medieval settlement and was located around St. Peter's medieval cemetery. The Roman fort areas were originally also at this point. The settlement was re-founded as a city by Duke Ludwig dem Kelheim in 1218 and is located in today's city center. The St. Peter cemetery is one of the most important cemeteries in southern Germany.

Straubing's landmark, the Gothic city tower, extends in the middle of the town square . It was built in 1316.

One of the most famous museums in Straubing is the Gäubodenmuseum with a collection of Roman face helmet masks and Ross foreheads. Close to the museum is the Carmelite Church, a so-called mendicant order church, which was redesigned in baroque style at the beginning of the 18th century by the architect and builder Wolfgang Dientzenhofer .

In the northeast of Straubing is the former ducal palace , which served as the seat of important central authorities for many centuries and still functions as the tax office today.

Events such as the Agnes Bernauer Festival , the Bluetone Festival and the Gäubodenvolksfest take place in Straubing at regular intervals.

Passau

The old town of Passau on the Danube

Passau is surrounded by three rivers and is therefore also known as the three-river city . From the Dreiflüsse-Eck you can see the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz . At the time of the Romans, the Batavis fort was built on the peninsula between the Danube and Inn , from which the name Passau later developed. In 739 Passau became the seat of a bishopric and when the Emperor transferred secular rule over the city to the Passau bishop in 999, the city became a prince-bishopric. After the great fire of 1662, which left the entire city in ruins, Italian baroque masters were commissioned to rebuild the city. The baroque cityscape is still clearly visible today.

In Passau, most of the sights are in the historic city center. The late medieval St. Stephen's Cathedral is located above the Residenzplatz in Passau, and it took several centuries to complete. After the city fire of 1662, the cathedral was rebuilt in the baroque style. The largest organ in the world is located above the main portal of the cathedral, with almost 18,000 pipes.

The Lamberg-Palais with its rococo facade is located directly on the Domplatz. A plaque in the southwest corner of the square commemorates the Passau Treaty of 1552, which represents the formal recognition of Protestantism. In the middle of the square is the monument to the first Bavarian king Maximilian I Joseph , who secularized the old prince-bishopric of Passau in 1803 and joined the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Another attraction is the Passau booby , a 500-kilogram stone head that fell from the cathedral during the city fire in 1662. The fragment is on the right-hand driveway from Steinweg to Domplatz.

Austria

From Regensburg you can reach the Upper Austrian capital Linz via the eastern Bavarian cities of Straubing , Deggendorf and Passau . The route from Passau to Linz can either be via the federal highway 130 or along the left bank to Obernzell via a road connection. From there the river can be crossed by ferry. The Danube Cycle Path runs on both sides of the river, with the southern variant being passable all the way to Linz.

Linz

The Upper Austrian capital Linz
The old cathedral in Linz

In the first century AD the Romans built a fort called Lentia , and in 799 the name Linz was first mentioned in a document. In the years from 1489 to 1493 the emperor Friedrich III resided. from Linz across the German-Roman Empire. The Friedrichstor to Linz Castle dates from the time of Friedrich III. Up until the 20th century, mainly small and medium-sized enterprises were located in Linz. In the years after the Second World War, Linz was built into a modern industrial and cultural city. Linz is the second largest business location in Austria after Vienna and was European Capital of Culture in 2009.

On the main square there is the 20 meter high column of the Trinity , which was erected in 1723 out of gratitude for the disasters survived and to protect against war.

The Linz Castle was built by Rudolf II in the 17th century and is now the Linz Castle Museum. In 1800 the south wing of the palace was badly damaged in a city fire and reopened in a new steel-and-glass architecture in 2009, the capital of culture.

The old cathedral is located at the southern end of the main square and was built by the Jesuits between 1669 and 1683. The organ inside the cathedral was built according to plans by Anton Bruckner , who was the cathedral organist from 1856 to 1868.

The Lentos Art Museum in Linz is a museum for modern and contemporary art. Works of art from the 19th century, classical modernism, expressionism and contemporary art are exhibited here.

The Danube Park runs along the shore between the Lentos and the Brucknerhaus . The Linz Sound Cloud takes place there every year in September. In addition to the classic program, there is also a program for children and the visualized cloud of sound, a potpourri of modern music in combination with laser beams and video projections and fireworks.

The Ars Electronica Center was built in 1996, extends over five floors and has an area of ​​6,500 square meters. When it is dark, the building lights up in red, green, blue and white. The museum deals with projects at the interface of media art, technology, design and science.

Wachau

On its way through Lower Austria, the Danube not only passes the Wachau World Heritage Site , but also the cities of Ybbs an der Donau , Melk , Krems , Langenlois , Tulln and the Auland Carnuntum Lower Austria to the east of Vienna .

The history of the Wachau begins in the Upper Palaeolithic at the time of the Neanderthals. One of the most important prehistoric finds in the region is the Venus von Willendorf . During the Middle Ages, the Wachau was predominantly ruled by the ministerial family of the Kuenringer , who lived in the castles of Aggstein and Dürnstein . At the end of the 19th century the region along the Danube experienced a boom as a Viennese excursion area and in 2000 UNESCO put the Wachau cultural landscape on the list of world cultural heritage to be protected.

One of the sights is Schönbühel Castle , which was built on a rock forty meters above the surface of the Danube. Schönbühel Palace is privately owned and can therefore only be viewed from the ship or along the Danube Cycle Path.

Aggstein Castle , built around 1200, is located on a 150 meter long rocky reef and is one of the most famous castle ruins in Austria. The former knight's hall of the castle can still be used for banquets and banquets. The castle ruins also have their own chapel that can be used for wedding ceremonies.

Opposite Aggstein Castle is Willendorf with the small Venusium Museum , which has a larger replica of the Venus von Willendorf. In 1908 the Stone Age sculpture was discovered in this region. The original is in the Natural History Museum in Vienna.

In the shipping museum in the baroque palace Erla-Hof there is a true-to-life replica of a towing train that was in use until the 19th century and used to haul ships and rafts upstream with the help of draft horses.

Vienna

Vienna was 15 BC Founded by the Romans as a border fortress Vindobona and since 1155 was the residence of dukes and archdukes of Austria, German kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire . From 1278 to 1918 the Habsburg dynasty ruled Vienna for 640 years. After the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian Danube Monarchy collapsed , but its cultural and architectural legacy continues to have an impact today. There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Vienna: Vienna's old town and Schönbrunn Palace.

The St. Stephen's Cathedral is a symbol of Vienna and represents 800 years of history. The south tower was completed in 1433, while the north tower has remained unfinished to this day. Since 1952, the north tower has housed the Pummerin , a giant bell that originally hung in the south tower and had to be re-cast after the end of World War II. In the catacombs of the cathedral are the graves of the early Habsburg dukes and numerous urns with the entrails of members of the ruling house.

The Hofburg in Vienna was the residence of the Habsburgs in Vienna from the 13th century to 1918 and has been the official seat of the Austrian Federal President since 1946 . Another building of the Hofburg is the Stallburg, a stately Renaissance palace that has housed the Spanish Riding School since the 18th century .

The new Hofburg was completed in 1913 and today houses u. a. the reading room of the Austrian National Library and the Ephesus Museum .

The Kunsthistorisches Museum (since 1891) and the Natural History Museum Vienna (since 1889) are located opposite the Hofburg directly on the Ringstrasse. The monument to Empress Maria Theresa sits enthroned on a pedestal between the two museums . Opposite Maria-Theresien-Platz is the MuseumsQuartier , which opened in 2001 , is a modern cultural area equipped with museums, shops, cafés and restaurants.

In just a few minutes you can take the Vienna subway from the city center to Schönbrunn Palace , the former summer residence of the large imperial family. In the castle park there is the Gloriette and a coffee house on a hill .

Slovakia

The capital of Slovakia is only 60 km away from Vienna and lies on the Donauauen National Park. Bratislava and Vienna are closer to each other than any other European capital and can also be explored with the Twin City Liner along the Danube.

Bratislava

Bratislava (German: Pressburg) is an old border and bridge city whose history between 400 and 50 BC. BC as a Celtic city. Among the Romans, today's area of ​​Bratislava was known as the Limes Romanum , the border of the Roman Empire. The Slovak capital was granted city rights in 1217 and was the capital of Hungary from 1536 to 1784.

The Devín Castle (German: Burg Theben) is a ruin that is located in the district of the same name in the Slovak capital. In Roman times, the castle was a border station of the Roman Empire and served as a protection for Roman legions. From the 15th century, the current ruins were inhabited by various Hungarian noble families, until the fortress was blown up by Napoleonic troops in 1809. The castle ruin has been a national monument since 1961 and was later expanded into an open-air museum.

The Gothic St. Martin's Cathedral is named after St. Martin of Tours and is the largest church building in Bratislava and is located on the western edge of the old town. The building has been a cultural monument since 2002 and was equipped with a new organ in 2010.

The Bratislava Castle was built on a 85 meter high rock above the left bank of the Danube at the crossroads of European trade routes and has been inhabited since the Stone Age. Today the castle complex houses a museum and serves as a representative building.

Hungary

Budapest

Budapest's history begins with the establishment of the first settlement called Aquincum in 89 BC. BC, which was built directly on the Danube. Due to its favorable location, the settlement was declared the seat of the Roman governor and, in addition to a fortress, also housed a palace. Budapest was originally divided into two districts separated by the Danube. It was not until 1873 that the two districts were combined to form Budapest.

One of the most famous sights of Budapest is the Buda Castle . The UNESCO World Heritage Site is a symbol of the country and is home to three churches, five museums, several historically significant buildings, monuments, plazas and a theater.

The Andrássy street is 2,310 meters long and connects the downtown with the City Park. Since 2002, the Radialstraße with the Millennium U-Bahn underneath has been a World Heritage Site. Along Andrássy Street are the most beautiful eclectic buildings in Budapest and the Opera House built by Miklós Ybl.

The Chain Bridge is the oldest city bridge in Budapest and was designed by the architect William Tierney Clark on behalf of Count István Széchenyi . The bridge was badly damaged during the Second World War and renovated in 1949 on the 100th anniversary of its construction.

The parliament is the largest building in the country and was built between 1884 and 1904 according to plans by Imre Steindl . The building comprises 691 rooms, is 268 meters long and is located directly on the banks of the Danube.

The Basilica of St. Stephen is one of the most famous churches in the city . Its dome can be seen from anywhere in the city. The basilica was built between 1851 and 1905 in the classical style. It houses the largest relic of the Hungarians, the mummified hand of the first king and namesake of the church.

Places along the Route of Emperors and Kings

(The order corresponds to the route from Regensburg to Budapest)

literature

  • Weithmann, Michael: Street of Emperors and Kings . Majestic traces of the Danube. Grebennikov Verlag, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-941784-28-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brochure Lifestyle / World Heritage Regensburg / 10 Years Meeting Point World Cultural Heritage , ed. by City of Regensburg, Regensburg Tourismus GmbH and Diocesan Museum, Regensburg 2016, p. 13
  2. ↑ Vienna Tourism / 50 Years & the Future / 1955–2005 , Ed. Wiener Tourismusverband, Vienna 2005, p. 10
  3. ^ About Regensburg. Retrieved July 17, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Did you know ...? Retrieved August 4, 2014 .
  5. ↑ Straubing - old Bavarian ducal town on the Danube. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 8, 2014 ; Retrieved August 4, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bayerisches-thermenland.de
  6. ↑ The history of the city of Passau. Retrieved July 17, 2014 .
  7. ↑ City history in fast motion. Retrieved July 17, 2014 .
  8. ↑ Hauptplatz and Linzer Landstrasse. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 9, 2014 ; Retrieved July 17, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.linztourismus.at
  9. ↑ Linz Castle. Retrieved July 17, 2014 .
  10. ↑ Old Cathedral - Ignatius Church. Retrieved July 17, 2014 .
  11. ^ Lentos Art Museum Linz. Retrieved July 17, 2014 .
  12. ↑ About. Retrieved July 17, 2014 .
  13. ^ Lower Austria. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on June 30, 2014 ; Retrieved August 4, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.adac.de
  14. ^ Wachau - Danube landscape history. Retrieved August 4, 2014 .
  15. ↑ Rich in culture & tradition. Retrieved July 17, 2014 .
  16. ↑ a b Bratislava - a capital you can touch. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 10, 2014 ; Retrieved July 17, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.toureal.de
  17. ↑ Point of view: Bratislava - Devín Castle. Retrieved July 17, 2014 .
  18. ↑ Point of view: Bratislava - St. Martin's Cathedral. Retrieved July 17, 2014 .
  19. ↑ Point of view: Bratislava - Bratislava Castle. Retrieved July 17, 2014 .
  20. ^ History of Budapest. Retrieved August 7, 2014 .
  21. ↑ a b c d Budapest - Top 10 sights. Retrieved August 13, 2014 .
  22. ^ History of Budapest. Retrieved August 7, 2014 .