A Visit to an Old Friend: Wertheim, Germany

Wertheim, Germany

Many years ago, I lived in a small town in southern Germany. I was there for just slightly over two years, but my life there left an indelible impression and memories that have stayed with me ever since. I’ve now been gone from there for many years, but the thought of returning was always in my mind. The question was, "Could I go back again?", and would I be disappointed by the changes that I knew were inevitable. Going back to Wertheim, felt like a visit to an old friend.

I didn’t live within the village of Wertheim, but at nearby Peden Barracks, a former US Army installation. Peden Barracks is long gone, a relic of the cold war, forgotten except by those who lived there. I still remember vividly, walking into the village, down the long steep hills, with the Main and Tauber river in the valley below and the ruined castle on the opposite hill.

Altstadt (Old Town)

Upon my arrival I parked the car at the town's central parking lot. I remembered this as a park, where people would walk their dogs and sit on the benches watching the boats as they traveled up and down the Main River. Now, it's a parking lot. I understand the need for parking, but it saddens me to see the change. Happily, I saw the Spessart Brewery across the river in nearby Kreuzwertheim is still there. They make such wonderful beers. :)

Continuing into the Altstadt from the parking lot, I pass what remains of a Wertheim’s last synagogue, built on the Judengasse (“Jews’ alley”) in 1799. The synagogue was appropriated by the village in September 1938, before being demolished in 1961. A plaque and a memorial were unveiled at the site in 1976 and 2004.

Walking the narrow roads to the Altstadt, along the former Judengasse (“Jews’ alley”).

I remember visiting friends in the Altstadt, when I lived here those many years ago, remembering the way the light played on the cobblestones in the late afternoon, remembering the thick early morning fog that used to envelope the town, and wondering where my friends had gone in the years since I lived here.

Commemorating Karoline (Lina) Klaus (born 1865) who was the last Jew to be taken from this house on 21 Oct 1940.

I continued walking into the central area of the Altstadt, looking into windows, admiring the flower pots, pondering on the meaning of signs and seeking memories.

Doorway showing high water marks - Wertheim, Germany

Flooding from the nearby Main and Tauber Rivers has been a problem for the town since its early days. I remember vividly the high water marks on some of the buildings within the Altstadt, so as I walked I looked for signs of those marks. Many of the marks are small and easily missed, but I found this doorway particularly interesting, highlighting the flooding at someone's home in a way that made it easy to see the effects the flooding must have had over the years.

Market area, with 16th Century Engelsbrunnen (Angels) Fountain (1574)

The 16th Century well, with the Eiscafe Boutique Café behind it, seemed to be just as I remembered it. Across the cobblestone walkway stands the Gasthaus Zum Goldenen Adler as I remembered it.

Restaurant sign at the Gasthaus Zum Goldenen Adler in the Altstadt

Wertheim was once home to the US Army's Peden Barracks, which was closed in the 1990s. It seems some of the residents still remember those days, as I do. I found this sign at the Gasthaus Zum Goldenen Adler, the oldest German pub in Wertheim, at over 100 years old.

This sign dates wine growing in the area back to 1796.

Vintaculture, or wine growing, has long been an established tradition in Wertheim. The village is located adjacent to the Franken wine district; a wine-growing region in the northwest of Germany's historic state of Bavaria, known for it's dry white wines, bottled in the distinctive Bocksbeutal.

Bluehouse (1593) - Wertheim, Germany

The Blue House, which is located on Rathausgasse, is a half-timbered house, built in 1593. The uniqueness of this building is in the paint used for the timbers; a mixture of mixture of finely crushed glass with cobalt blue - a sintering of cobalt and alumina powders - made into an emulsion with oil.

Kittsteintor with the ruins of the 12 Century castle on the hill - Wertheim, Germany

All too soon, I cross over the Tauber River and to sit on a bench across from the Kittsteintor. I remember when I used to sit here and watch the swans swim up and down the river. I wonder if they still swim here. Being back in Wertheim after so many years brings back many memories.

Considering Change

The changes I saw in the village were thought provoking, bringing back memories, good and bad, and invoking a sense of sadness. No longer the sleepy village of my memory, but now a tourist destination, with buses lining the parking lot and people speaking languages other than German. I only had a few hours to visit on this trip, as I needed to be in Bad Neuenahr near Bonn by late afternoon. The trip had stirred memories of times gone past, and I wished that I could have stayed for another day or more, to try to recapture what I saw of the village all those years ago.

I hope that one day I will be back, to see the old friend of my youth; Wertheim am Main.

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Current Weather in Wertheim, Germany