From God’s Garden to Europe’s Samba capital“I climb up to Saint Vitas of Staffelstein and see
countryside surrounding
River Main in front of me.” When visiting
Upper Main Valley – Coburg Region it is very easy to understand and relate to Viktor von Scheffel’s enthusiasm for
Franconian region and countryside that is expressed so wonderfully in his “Frankenlied” (‘Franconian song’).
When approaching from
south you get a fantastic view of
Upper Main Valley: The baroque gem that is
Banz Monastery and
Rococo Vierzehnheiligen pilgrimage basilica are located on both sides of
beautiful valley between Adam Riese’s birthplace of Bad Staffelstein and Lichtenfels,
home to
German basket-making industry.
It is certainly not surprising that this valley is known affectionately as “God’s Garden”. The unique “Upper Main Musical Summer” series of concerts take place in many of
area’s architectural masterpieces.
A visit would not be complete without a walk up Staffelberg hill, where
Franconian countryside really does quite literally “lie at one’s feet”... From this point on it is already possible to see
Veste Coburg fortress, known as
“Franconian Crown”, which is yet another of
region’s highlights.
However, while on
journey to Coburg there are many charming and attractive towns with wonderful half-timbered buildings, such as Sesslach, Burgkunstadt, Altenkunststadt, Marktzeuln and Weismain, and idyllic landscapes, like
Kleinziegenfelder Valley, that are well worth visiting.
Roughly 20kms to
north of Lichtenfels, Coburg is located among some delightful and hilly countryside, and unlike many towns of a similar size (Coburg has a population of roughly 42,000) this former seat of
Dukes of Coburg possesses an abundance of works of art, historical monuments, castles and palaces that truly outstrips its size.
Many of these are thanks to
Dukes of
former duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha which, through its marriage policy, established links with almost all
European royal families.
Now Coburg is regarded as
“Samba Capital” of Europe due to its hosting of
International Samba Festival every July.
Furthermore,
town has a truly diverse cultural programme that ranges from
classical to
modern, including operas, operettas, revues, ballets and plays, which take place in both
magnificent State Theatre (Landestheater) and St Moriz Church,
main church of
town’s Protestant community and where Martin Luther once preached. There are also regular open-air concerts on Coburg’s Palace Square.
The whole Coburg region is home to many castles and palaces. Callenberg Castle, Rosenau Castle and Tambach Palace, to name just three, are worth visiting.
Where
basket-making trade is
dominant industry in
Lichtenfels area,
doll-making, toy, and glass-painting industries are very much at home in
Coburg region.