OBERPFALZ, Travel & Exploration in the Bavarian Kongo
Written: Apr 12 '01 (Updated Jan 24 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The Attractions, The Food, The Beer, The People, and the Landscapes
Cons: None at all
The Bottom Line: Oberpfalz is one of the best "Off the Beaten Path" adventure travel destinations in Germany. Highly Recommended.
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| Howard_Creech's Full Review: Germany |
There is a fairytale part of Germany that is almost unknown, even to most Germans. The area contains the largest forest in Europe and sits astride the ancient jura plateau along the frontier with the Czech Republic. Oberpfalz (the Upper Palatinate) is a sparsely populated section of Bavaria with rugged mountains, rushing rivers, a perfectly preserved walled medieval town, wonderful medieval and baroque cities, an ancient Roman encampment, a German version of St. George and the Dragon, and Germany’s oldest and largest National Park.
Northern German’s joke about the “hillbilly” inhabitants and call Oberpfalz the Bavarian Kongo, they make fun of the rustic dialect spoken by Oberpfalzers, and laugh at the tiny little market towns (called Kuh Dorfs or cowtowns) where stealing a neighboring town’s maypole is the most exciting event of the year. It is an area rich in history, natural treasures, and Baroque architecture that few American tourists ever get to see. Life has a leisurely pace in the Bavarian Kongo, which may help explain why many Germans travel to the area to escape the stress and gridlock of Berlin, Frankfurt, and the Ruhr Valley while hiking, cycling, fishing, shopping, and relaxing in the small towns, mountains, and forests of the Oberpfalz.
For almost fifty years the Oberpfalz was the face-off frontier between capitalist West Germany and Communist East Germany and Czechoslavakia. U. S. Army tanks and armored personnel carriers patrolled the tense “5 K zone”, the no mans land between the NATO west and the Warsaw Pact east. When I joined the Army, my first duty station was Grafenwohr, in the heart of the Oberpfalz. Years later my wife and I returned to live in the Oberpfalz for more than five years. “Graf” was and is the NATO and U. S. Army/Europe’s Tank crew training center. “Old Timers” still talk about the time in 1958 when Elvis Presley performed “You ain’t nothin’ but a Hound Dog” and “Blue Suede Shoes” at the “Mickey Bar” while on training maneuvers in Grafenwohr.
Every village and town has wonderful Gasthauses that serve delightful local beers in half liter glasses. The food is hearty, simple, freshly made, portions are huge, and everything is delicious. The world’s best schnitzel (a pork cutlet beaten thin, breaded, and then sautéed until golden brown) is served at the Hotel zur Post in Grafenwohr, the tastiest Sauerbraten you’ll ever eat can be found in almost any small restaurant in the area, it will likely be served with a potato dumpling the size of a softball, a steaming a bowl of Griesse Knodel Suppe, and a tangy wilted cucumber salad. The tiny little forest towns serve Frankische Bratwurst (pork sausages) broiled over open fires of pine-cones for every festival and volksmarch. Small bakeries offer Rot Wein Torte, Rhum Torte, Kase Sahne, and other sweet treats that you will never forget.
At every season of the year the Oberpfalz is beautiful. Small two lane roads wind through the Fir and Pine forests, their roadside edges filled with millions of lovely blue lupines in the summer. Every open field is filled with glowing canary yellow rape plants in the spring, while in the fall the Larch trees turn a wonderful golden yellow and appear like something from an impressionist painting as they drift in and out of focus in the morning mist. In the winter the ground is covered with snow as far as the eye can see. Small half-timbered villages can be seen in the distance, the buildings huddled together, as if for warmth, with wood smoke drifting dreamily from dozens of chimneys. There are no crowds, no gridlock, it’s not necessary to wait for a table in the local gasthaus or ice cream parlor, the many lovely old churches, palaces, castles, and museums are seldom crowded, and Oberpfalzers (although a bit shy) are friendly, helpful, and if you make the first overture, they love to talk.
Oberpfalz is less than an hours drive from Nuremburg; rent a car and follow one of the small country roads (or the Nuremburg-Berlin Autobahn) north. The proper greeting in Oberpfalz is “Gruss Gott” (pronounced Grewss Gahtt) and when departing say “Tchuss” (pronounced Chewss) Most guide books will set aside a page for Frankesches Schweiz and the Bavarian Forest, however the small towns and villages that make Oberpfalz special like Lichtenfels, Weiden, Amberg, Sulzbach-Rosenburg, Fichtelburg, Hahnbach, Lauf A.D. Pegnitz, Vilseck, Neustadt A. D. Waldnabb, and Naabburg won’t be included at all. It will require a spirit of adventure and an appetite for discovery to step off the beaten tourist path, but the rewards for travel in this area are great. The quaint picturesque villages you pass through are not tourist attractions, they are places where real people live and work. The Gasthauses, cafes, and Bakeries that you visit will be filled with local people going about their daily routines, not actors performing for visitors with credit cards. I promise you will return home with wonderful stories, unique souvenirs, and beautiful photos of churches, castles, and towns almost unchanged since the Middle Ages.
The Oberpfalz is bordered in the east, by the Czech Republic, Regensburg (60 miles south of Nuremberg), the administrative capital of the district, is the southern boundary. The Oberpfalz has more than 100 medieval castles (mostly along the Naab River) since historically the area was a major traffic route between central Germany and Bohemia. The western boundary of the Oberpfalz is defined by the slope of the Franconian Jura, an ancient plateau of Jurassic limestones and dolomites.
The hills and shallow valleys of the plateau are covered with short grass meadows and fir forests. The eastern edge of the plateau is dominated by mountains and runs along the Czech frontier. The forest runs south more than fifty miles from the Fichtel Hills at the district's northern boundary to the Furth Depression. Glassblowing, and ceramics (based on the prevalence of kaolin and china clays) are the major industries. Lumber, mining, and environmental tourism are also important, economically. Industry is concentrated in the cities of Regensburg and Amberg and in a few smaller towns along the Naab and Vils rivers. The people of Oberpfalz speak a local variant of the Bavarian dialect, and more than three-quarters of the population are Roman Catholics.
Regensburg
Regensburg is on the Danube River where it is joined by the Regen River. The area has been settled continuously for thousands of years, an ancient Celtic settlement (Radisbona) became the site of a Roman legionary camp, Castra Regina (founded AD 179). One Roman city gate (Porta Praetoria) and parts of the Roman defensive walls survive. Regensburg was the only imperial free city in the Duchy of Bavaria. The city fell to the Swedes in the Thirty Years' War and was captured and burned by Napoleon's forces in 1809. Astronomer Johannes Kepler died here.
Regensburg sustained little damage during WWII and most of its medieval buildings survived. Its imposing patricians' houses (12th–14th century) are unique in Germany and the Steinerne Brücke (Stone Bridge 1135–46) on the Danube is a medieval engineering marvel. The Cathedral of St. Peter (1275–1524) is one of the most important Gothic churches in Bavaria, with 14th-century stained-glass. Another important church is the Romanesque St. Emmeram's, parts of which date to the 8th century. The buildings of St. Emmeram's Abbey (founded in the 7th century) have been the palace of the princes of Thurn and Taxis (Brewers of Thurn und Taxis Beer) since 1812.
The town hall (14th–15th century) contains the Reichssaal (1350), in which the Imperial Diet was held from 1663 to 1806. The city is an important cultural, industrial, commercial and transportation center; a road and rail junction, and a busy port on the Danube River. Don’t miss the “Historische Wurstkuche” an eight hundred year old (1138) bratwurst stand right beside the stone bridge.
A river cruise through the beautiful Danube Gorges to
Weltenburg Island, home of Bavaria’s oldest monastery is not to be missed. The Weltenburg monks have been making beer on the island for 1000 years. No beer lover, worth his/her salt is going to miss the opportunity to see just how good beer can be when the makers have 1000 years of practice.
Amberg
Amberg is a small walled medieval city that spans the Vils River. It was considered one of the strongest fortified towns in medieval Germany. The old walls and town gates still stand. In 1796 the Austrians defeated the French at Amberg and the battle is recorded on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The 15th-century town hall, the ducal castle, and the electoral palace are among many important medieval and Baroque buildings. St. Martin's Church (1421), and the pilgrimage church (1697–1702) on the Mariahilfberg are also worthy of a visit.
Nabburg
Nabburg stands on high hill above the Naab River. Like Rothenburg o. d. Tauber and Dinkelsbuel on the Romantic Road, Nabburg is a walled and perfectly preserved 1000 year old medieval village. Unlike Rothenburg and Dinkelsbuel, Nabburg has few tourists. Wandering around the small cobblestone streets is like traveling back in time, especially since you won’t bump into 50,000 other tourists. When it’s time to take a break try one of the small “Mom & Pop” gasthauses for lunch, or have a beer at a sidewalk café while you rest up for more exploring and picture taking. Nabburg is a great place to buy lead crystal and pewter souvenirs, at prices that are only a fraction of what you would pay on the romantic road.
Castles
Lauf A. D. Pegnitz
Lauf's Castle (Burg Wenzellschloss) is on an island in the Pegnitz River, the castle was built in 1356 and is reached via a drawbridge. Lauf is a beautiful little town with one of the best bakeries in Bavaria, stop in and try something, everything they serve is luscious.
Prunn
Prunn Castle sits high above the entrance to the Altmuhl Valley. Parts of this castle date to the 12th century. A manuscript of the Teutonic epic “Die Niebelungenlied” (Wagner used this epic as source material for his nationalistic operas) was discovered at this castle. The furnishings are authentic, beautiful, and wonderfully preserved.
The Glass Road
Oberpfalz is world famous for its lead crystal. Crystal clear, Lemon yellow, Cobalt blue, Emerald green, and Ruby red wine glasses, vases, and decorative items too numerous to mention are on sale at factory direct prices at Glasshutten in every town and village. Drive Germany’s newest tourist road, Die Glasstrasse (like the Romatic Road, the Wine Road, and the Fairytale Road) that stretches more than 150 miles from Neustadt A. D. Waldnaab to Passau on the Austrian border. For more than 100 years Neustadt A. D. Waldnaab has been the center of the German Lead Crystal industry. The town is filled with beautiful old houses and mansions, a Baroque Palace (once the home of Bohemian Princes), several very good restaurants, and the Old Bavarian Crystal Fabrik, where visitors can watch skilled craftsmen blow and craft glass in traditional ways. Neustadt also has a Hummel and Goebel factory store.
Weiden
Weiden In Der Oberpfalz, lies on the Naab River, at the entrance to the Oberpfälzerwald, section of the Bohemian Forest, and was chartered in 1268. It is a beautiful fortified medieval town with gabled row houses, a magnificent town hall (1539–47), and a 15th-century church. Weiden is the birthplace of composer Max Reger (1873–1916), whose house is preserved as a museum. This small city is best known for its production of lead crystal, fine china, and industrial ceramics.
My wife and I lived in the small farming town of Mantel, (population 600) just five minutes from Weiden, for almost five years. My dog Hugo (a beautiful blue “Dobie”) was granted a seat at the Stammtisch (owners table) in Mantel’s only Gasthaus. I had trained Hugo to sit in a chair, and the Gasthaus owner loved to watch him sit and listen attentively to the conversation (perfectly behaved) while I drank a beer. Mantel’s only industry is a small family owned Zinn Fabrik (Pewter Factory) The family home adjoins the tiny factory, so if the showroom isn’t open just knock on the door of the house, and someone will cheerfully open up for you. Beautiful pewter plates, beer mugs, leaded glass, and hundreds of other wonderful souvenirs are available here at a fraction of the cost charged in tourist areas.
Waldmunchen is where the German lead crystal industry started, in the 13th century, and the art is still practiced here today. Bodenmais and Zwissel are both justly famous for beautiful lead crystal with dozens of small workshops, showrooms, and factories where even the most demanding lead crystal connoisseur or collecter will find something that he/she cannot live without.
The Flossenburg Concentration Camp
There is a historical dark side to the Oberpfalz that is best represented by the Flossenburg Concentration Camp. Flossenburg was the Third Reich’s “Political” camp; those imprisoned here were artists, intellectuals, spies, political prisoners, and enemies of the Third Reich. The camp was established in 1938 and the town of Floss was chosen because of its isolated location. Hitler had university professors, writers, journalists, and religious critics interred here. Dietrich Bonnheffler (a prominent anti-Nazi Protestant theologian) and Admiral Wilhelm Canaris (Chief of the Abwehr, the Nazi spy agency) were both executed here on May 9, 1945 just days before the end of WWII.
The Bavarian Forest
The Bavarian Forest features hundreds of kilometers of well marked hiking, biking, and skiing trails, more than sixty mountain peaks (the tallest is the Grosse Arber 1456 meters), and miles of creeks and rivers filled with trout and other sport fish. This is the largest forest in Europe and the ecosystem supports bogs, wetlands, upland meadows, diverse tree and plant life, caves, and a glacial lake. Deer, wild pigs, black storks, eagle-owls, and dozens of other animals and birds make their homes here. Camping is permitted in designated areas, and there are fun environmental learning activities available for children.
Furth im Wald
The small town of Furth im Wald (located exactly half way between Nuremberg and Prague) comes alive every August with the “Drachenstich” festival. More than 1500 costumed participants (and over two hundred horses) act out the story. Life on the border has always been hard, and the inhabitants of Furth im Wald never know from day to day, to which country they will owe their allegiance. Poverty and hardship are the constant lot of the border dweller. Danger lurks at every days dawning.
The Knight/Champion of the village must slay the dragon and rescue the princess in order to save Furth im Wald from destruction. This is the oldest continuously produced festival in Germany, for more than five hundred years, a dragon has been slain in Furth im Wald every August. The festival was originally religious in nature, a part of the Corpus Christi celebration, but in recent years it is more of a tourist event. The dragon used these days is a high tech wonder and the slaying is noisy, bloody, and very impressive. Furth im Wald is a lovely little town, filled with friendly people who are very proud of their arcane tradition.
Conclusion
There is much more to the Oberpfalz, and I hope that my brief listing of some of the high points will encourage many folks to visit. I lived in Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Kassel, and Bremerhaven (in addition to the Oberpfalz) but I liked the Bavarian Kongo best of all. I treasure the years I lived in Grafenwohr and Mantel in der Oberpfalz, I made many good friends, ate lots of wonderful food, drank vats of great beer, and never had a single boring day.
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Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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Howard_Creech
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Member: Howard Creech
Location: Louisville, KY
Reviews written: 334
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About Me:
Photographer/Writer fascinated by Movies, Music, Books, American Diner Food, History, "Popular Culture", and Travel.
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