Wikipedia describes Wertheim as a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg with a population of around 23,400. It's located on the confluence of the rivers Tauber and Main. Wertheim is best known for its landmark castle, that we learnt later from our guide is a ruin, and medieval town centre.
We joined our guide Conny in bright and warm sunshine for a short, guided walk around this small but charming town. The town floods regularly in the Spring but surprisingly the main source of the flood water is not the Main but the Tauber River. One of the photos shows the depth markings on a house on the banks of the Tauber. You can just make out the highest marking as 1254 and that has to be 10 metres above the River!! The photo also shows our guide Conny and the red sandstone walls of the house which absorbs the water quickly but it also leaches out quickly as well.
Over the years the houses have been built up to cope better with the flooding so that their original entrances are, today, half buried at street level – see the photo.
There are many half-timbered Medieval houses in Wertheim, the one shown is the narrowest. The castle is impressive but is a ruin.
Conny pointed out a couple of interesting signs dating from the Medieval Guilds. The first is what looks like the Jewish Star of David but is in fact the sign of the Brewers Guild – one triangle representing the fire and the other the 'pot' in which the brew was heated.
The second is that of the Bakers in the shape of Pretzel. This sign hung above the door of the oldest bakery in Wertheim. The current baker is the 10th generation to have owned this bakery!! Above the sign you might just be able to see a small window. I didn't quite catch the whole story but I gather that the grandmother of one generation of the bakers was accused of being nosey and was banished from serving in the shop. It's said that she sat at this little window listening to all the conversations between the townsfolk as they waited to buy their bread. For many years people wondered why everyone knew about their gossip!!
We sailed on overnight and as I finish this post we are about to enter Würzburg. My excursion this afternoon is to the Medieval walled city of Rothenburg.
