Bad Mergentheim & Stuppach Germany
Spa, Teutonic Order Castle & Stuppacher Madonna in the Tauber Valley
Bad Mergentheim in the Taubertal, Germany is famous for its spa, the
Teutonic Order (Deutschorden) Castle and Museum, and the Stuppacher
Madonna by Matthias Grünewald.
Bad Mergentheim in Germany is a prosperous town of close to 23,000 inhabitants.
For tourists, it has a dual role as spa resort on the right bank of the
Tauber and the historical center on the left bank.
During the 13th century, the counts of Hohenlohe gave much of Mergentheim
to the newly established Teutonic Order. (The Dominicans and Order of St
John also had a presence in town.) It was only in 1525 that the order really
took control of the town when they established their new head quarters here.
The wealthy order was responsible for most of the historical sights in town.
After the forced disbandment of the Teutonic Order in 1809, Mergentheim
seemed destined to follow the route of so many others in the region into
gentle decline. However, in 1826, the chance discovery of Europe’s strongest
sodium sulfate and bitter-water springs in the town saw “Bad” (Spa) added to
the town name and enduring prosperity assured.
Bad Mergentheim Tourist Office
Tourist-Information, Marktplatz 3, 97980 Bad Mergentheim, Germany, tel
07931-57131, www.bad-mergentheim.de.
Cultural Events
Bad Mergentheim has the full cultural program usually associated with a
spa resort. The Kurkonzert is held weekdays (except Tuesday) at 3:30 and
7:30 pm in the Wandelhalle or in the park. On weekends, the more elaborate
Promenadenkonzert is at 10:30 am. Concerts are occasionally held in the
Deutschordenschloss.
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Bad Mergentheim Old Town
Bad Mergentheim has a lovely old town located on the left bank of the
Tauber River. The large Marktplatz (Market Square) is dominated by the
Renaissance Rathaus (Town Hall), which divided the oblong square in two. It
was originally erected in 1564 but altered through the centuries.
To the north, the Münster St Johannes (Minster St John), Kirchgasse, was
built by the Johanniterorden (Order of St John) in the 13th century. It has
original wall paintings from the 13th to 16th centuries.
To the south, at Marktplatz 7, is the Mörikehaus where popular poet
Eduard Mörike lived from 1844 to 1851. The nearby Marienkirche (St Mary’s),
Hans-Heinrich-Ehrler-Platz, was erected by the Dominican Order during the
14th century. Especially noteworthy are the monumental tomb of Grand Master
Walter von Cronberg (died 1543) from the studio of Peter Vischer and a
wood-carved altar of the death of Mary from the studio of Tilman
Riemenschneider.
Deutschordenschloss (Teutonic Order Castle), Bad Mergentheim
The main sight in Bad Mergentheim is the Deutschordenschloss (Teutonic
Order Castle), which dominates the eastern part of the old town. The
original 12th-century moated castle was extended in the 16th century to
serve as head quarters of the Teutonic Order from 1525 until the forced
abolition of the order in 1809. The Rococo Schlosskirche (Castle Church) was
erected between 1730 and 1735 with some assistance by Balthasar Neumann who
designed the towers and Francois Cuvilliés who designed the stuccowork.
The castle now houses the Deutschordensmuseum Bad Mergentheim (Teutonic
Order Museum), Schloss 16, tel 07931-52-212,
www.deutschordensmuseum.de.
Most of the museum is dedicated to the history and practices of the order.
The apartments of the grand master including his bedroom and the
neo-Classical Kapitelsaal (Chapter House) are on the second floor. Note the
magnificent Renaissance corkscrew-shaped spiral staircases in the two corner
towers. The museum also includes the local history museum, a display on poet
Eduard Mörike, an eclectic antiques collection, and around 40 dollhouses.
Opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday from April to October from10:30 am to 5
pm and November to March from 2 to 5 pm, Sunday from 10:30 am to 5 pm.
Admission is €3.80.
To the west of the castle is the lovely Schlosspark (Castle Park). The
original Baroque park was altered to an English landscape garden in the late
18th century. It has numerous walkways as well as water features and
stretches all the way to the Tauber River. A bridge across the river leads
directly into the Kurpark.
The Deutschorden (Teutonic Order)
The Deutschorden (Teutonic Order) was established in
Palestine during the Third Crusade in 1190. After the fall of the
Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1198, the order returned to Germany where it
received numerous donations and estates, including part of Mergentheim.
However, they are more famous for conquering Prussia and parts of the
present-day Polish and Russian Baltic coasts, which they repopulated
with German peasants and ruled from their strongholds in Marienberg
and Königsberg (East Prussia).
In 1525, Grand Master Albrecht von
Brandenburg-Ansbach accepted the Lutheran Reformation and changed
Prussia into a secular state (later to be unified with Brandenburg
into the Kingdom of Prussia). The Roman Catholic wing reestablished
the religious order with head quarters in Mergentheim, from where they
dominated the town and received tributes from as far away as
present-day Lithuania. In 1809, en route to his ill-fated Russian
campaign, Napoleon disbanded the order. The Teutonic Order later
reestablished itself in Vienna from where it still operates as a
charitable foundation.
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Spa Town
The spa facilities are on the right bank of the Tauber River. Despite the
unfortunate route of the railway line, the Kurpark (Spa Park) with over
2,000 trees and a million flowers is considered one of the ten best of its
kind in Germany.
Most of Bad Mergentheim's spa-related facilities are in the northeastern edges of this
park. The 1930s Wandelhalle (Pump Station) is used for the daily concerts
(see Culture). Nearby is the Trinktempel (Drinking Temple) which plays an
integral role in Trinkkur (Drinking Cure). Here the salty water of four of
the springs is drunk – it supposedly helps with various stomach and
intestine problems. The Kurkolonade is an upscale shopping complex that
gives a good indication of what people on weeklong cures like to buy –
mostly expensive clothes and jewelry. In the Haus der Kurgaste,
www.kur-badmergentheim.de, are the medical facilities and nearby is the Klanggarten (Sounds Garden).
Behind the Musikpavillion (Music Pavilion) with Wasserspiele (Musical
Fountains) is the Rosengarten (rose garden) and a small Japanese garden.
Across the road is the spa Bade- und Wellnesspark Solymar, Erlenbachweg, tel 07931-965-680. It has five pools ranging in temperature from 27 to
34°C/80 to 93°F, wave machines, slides, facilities suitable for small
children, and a range of saunas and steam baths. Opening hours are Monday
from 1 to 6 pm, Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 10 pm, and weekends from 9
am to 7:30 pm. Admission is from €8 for two hours without sauna to €14 for a
full day with all facilities.
Further Afield: Stuppacher Madonna
Around 6 km/4 miles from Bad Mergentheim's old town in the suburb Stuppach is a
small, unremarkable chapel that houses a remarkable painting, the
Stuppacher Madonna, Matthias-Grünewald-Straße 45, 97980 Bad
Mergentheim-Stuppach , tel 07931-2605. The painting of Mary with Child
was removed from the Maria
Schnee Kapelle in Aschaffenburg during the 1525 Peasants’ War. It
remained in the hands of the Teutonic Order until it came to this
chapel in 1812. It was long thought to be the work of Rubens. Only in 1908
was it recognized as one of the pieces from the Marienaltar (Mary
Altar) and the 1519 work of the great German Renaissance painter
Matthias Grünewald. (A second piece of the altar is in Freiburg, while
Aschaffenburg only has copies.) Opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday in
November from 11 am to 4 pm, in March and April from 10 am to 5 pm,
and from May to October from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. Admission is €1.50. |
Next:
November 25, 2007
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