Having finished our day Bend tour, we boarded the Delta Star and headed upstream (Slovakia will be off on our right and Hungary on our left) as we move toward Bratislava, population 450,000.
BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA Day city tour. The capital of Slovakia, the largest city in Slovakia, is situated at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. The Austrian border is almost within sight of the city, and Hungary is just 16 km away. Founded in 907 AD, Bratislava was already a large city in the 12th century. The city became Hungary’s capital in 1541, after the Turks captured Buda, and remained so for nearly three centuries.
Between 1563 and 1830, 11 Hungarian kings and seven queens were crowned in St. Martin’s Cathedral. Maria Theresa was crowned here, and Bratislava flourished during her reign (1740-80) and some imposing palaces were built. In 1918 the city was included in the newly formed Republic of Czechoslovakia and since 1989 it has been the capital of the Slovak Republic. David Stanley,
Eastern Europe (1995) pp. 778-785
Wednesday, July 10:
Our bus tour gave us our first view of Bratislava Castle perched over the city. We passed by the part of the City Wall that is still standing. At one time the city walls surrounded the city.
The bus stopped at a viewing platform so we could get an overall view of the city.
Our guide pointed out some high rise apartments built in the Soviet Era of the 70s for the influx of people at that time.
Then we were guided through Bratislava Castle. Since the 9th century the castle has been rebuilt several times. It served as the seat of Hungarian royalty until it finally burned down in 1811. Reconstructed between 1853 and 1962, the castle houses a large historical museum. Looking down from the entrance we could see the buttressed walls.
In the large inner courtyard, our guide drew our attention to changes in the walls by Maria Theresa.
The 15th century walls were very wide so she changed them in the 18th century to create a walkway for horses.
Stairway in the palace.
The provided walking tour started in the older historic section of the city. We began at the square with the Primate’s Palace (1781) where Napoleon and the Austrian emperor Franz I signed a peace treaty in 1805. On the roof of the building is an emblem for the cardinal who resided here, as well as other statues. Today guards are posted outside the building.
Just inside the entrance was beautiful St. George fountain (w/dragon), since St. George is the major saint of Bratislava.
Nearby was the Municipal Museum, the Old Town Hall (1421). We walked around this building to another square that opened to the museum. Embedded in the Museum wall is a cannonball from the Napoleon conflict. We entered the Museum building courtyard and observed the Renaissance style upper balcony. One marker in the courtyard indicated 1558 the year As we left the courtyard one could see the vaulted ceiling of the exit.
Before us stood Roland’s Fountain (1572) situated over the city well. Roland had the well dug after a major fire here in this part of the Old Town.
The walking tour next had us at a beautiful park area facing the Slovak National Theatre which stages ballet and opera events. Just in front of the theatre is the Ganymede’s Fountain (1888). On the other end of this plaza setting is a statue of a famous Slovakian poet. From here we caught a glimpse of a peace monument to celebrate the Soviet liberation of Bratislava from the Nazis and freedom. Watching us out of a window were two cheerful Gypsy girls. The last part of our tour took us back to the Czechoslovakia monument of 1918.
The Delta Star was waiting for us to continue our journey upstream into Austria. Looking back we saw a parting view of the city. To the right of the Castle is St. Martin’s Cathedral, site of the coronation of many Hungarian kings and queens. The Slovak flag was still flying on the front of the ship since we were still in the Republic of Slovakia. The cruise director arranged for the orchestra to play music on the sun deck, while some passengers amused themselves with water balloons.
Soon we were in Austria (red/white/red flag) where we saw a large Roman Castle ruin high on a hill, one of the best preserved Roman castles in Austria. More castles dotted the landscape.
The Hainburg Castle and City of Hainburg were off to our left.
We arrived in Vienna in the late Wednesday afternoon. On our own we walked around the Immigration Church on Mexico Plaza .
We then walked across the river bridge toward the United Nations Complex. At midnight we pulled
out of Vienna and headed upstream.
Thursday, July 11:
As the Delta Star approached Durnstein, we could see tiered vineyards, a church, and far off the Durnstein Castle overlooking the town. In the tower of this castle, English King Richard I (Lionhearted) was imprisoned (1192-3), until he was rescued by Blondel. Though much fiction surrounds the tale it is true Richard was a prisoner here and it is true that the Duke of Austria collected an immense ransom for his release. Durnstein Castle on right.
A tour bus was waiting for us at Durnstein to take us through the ”Beauties of the Wachau”. Passing through Weissenkirchen and Spitz (Protestant stronghold during the Reformation) on the way to Melk, we briefly saw St. Martin’s parish church and Castle Hinterhaus. Castle overlooking Spitz on right. See Johannes Binder, Traveling on the Danube
(
Vienna) pp. 112-125.
Across the river at Melk we toured the Benedictine Monastery, a Baroque masterpiece on a promontory above the Danube. Stift Melk, a Benedictine Abbey, was once the location of a residence of Leopold I (976). In 1098. Leopold II gave the castle to Benedictine monks from Lambuch. To the present day Benedictine monks have lived and worked here following the rules of the order laid down by St. Benedict. The baroque buildings you see now date to 1736.
We entered through formal gardens leading to the main entrance. The arched entrance opened to a large courtyard with an ornate fountain. On our way to the main Public Rooms we saw narrow passageways that bypassed the rooms. Statues were everywhere. Exhibits in the former Emperor’s Rooms contained religious relics such as a monstrance with the lower jaw (and a few teeth) of a saint and a jeweled cross that was said to contain a piece of the cross from Calvary.
The Marble Hall was quite large and elaborately decorated, with a fresco ceiling. Just outside the door was a gallery that afforded a good view of the Danube, the countryside, and the tiled rooftops of Melk. The Marble Hall was one of two halls that extended out in front of the Church to form a courtyard entrance.
The other hall (or wing) was the Library with more than 70,000 volumes and 2,000 manuscripts (some illuminated).
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul was very Baroque.
My shots include the altar, side chapels, and the pulpit. When the organ recital began, I centered in on the organ pipes and the elaborate decorations around the organ balcony. Then I zeroed in on paintings in the side chapels of the Holy Family, and Doubting Thomas with Jesus. After the recital we had a chance to see the musician who performed the organ recital.
As we traveled back toward Durnstein we saw familiar landmarks and scenery. Our guide drew our attention to the fact the terraces of vineyards go back to Roman times.
The bus dropped us off at the west end of Durnstein so we could walk through the picturesque narrow street of the town. Durnstein has seen its share of destruction. In 1428 and again in 1432 it was plundered by the Hussites. In 1477 and 1485 Hungarian troops sacked the town. The Swedes occupied the town in 1645 during the Thirty Years’ War and blew up the castle when they left. In 1805 the town had skirmishes with French troops of Napoleon. The highlight of the Durnstein tour was the Baroque Blue Church. The magnificent church, together with the convent was built by Prandtauer. Some of the old town walls remain.
The bus stopped at Weissenkirchen for a tour and wine consumption. Our guide said this region is famous for its white wine derived from grapes peculiar to this region. Weissenkirchen, picturesque town was fortified by the Turks in 1531 (Luther’s time).
Weissenkirchen means white church. We saw the church (at right), but it is no longer white. Next to the church was an old fortification wall still standing. We headed for the 1542 Teisenhoferhof to try out the region’s famous wine. We were greeted by an accordion player and friendly waitresses. Tour members were taken in by the music and generous servings of wine. Then back to the Delta Star.
We headed upstream toward Germany when we came across a huge castle perched above a recently constructed lock. Weitenegg Castle is the largest ruin of the Nibelungengau and from the 12th century it used to be the center of a royal enclave. It held out against the Swedes in the Thirty Years’ War. See DDSG Lines, Traveling on the Danube (
Vienna), pp. 110-112. This particular castle had been the birthplace of Charles I, the last Habsburg Austrian emperor. On the lock post was the inscription DER NIBELUNGENZUG.
That evening we met in the lounge for the Captain’s Cocktail (on video only), followed by the Captain’s Dinner, and touched off with Romanian folk dances in the lounge. Yes, that is Professor and Mrs. Raddatz on the dance floor for the audience participating number (video only).
The Raddatzes were on the trip. Here they are in a less athletic moment.
Friday, July 12:
Now that we were in Germany, a German black, red, and yellow flag was flapping from the front of the Delta Star. As we approached Passau, Germany, the Fortress “Veste Oberhaus” (1219) came into view.
After we had gone further upriver, I took another video of the old fortress built to control commerce across the rivers. The castle’s upper part is connected with its lower part by a battlement parapet.
In this bird’s eye view, Passau is located on peninsula between the Inn River on the left and the Danube on the right. The castle we just observed is situated on the right hand side of the Danube (just below the bridge on the lower right of the picture). 18th century traveler Alex von Humboldt included Passau in his list of the seven most beautifully situated cities in the world. Settled more than 2,000 years ago by the Celts, then by the Romans, Passau later passed into the possession of prince-bishops, whose powers once stretched into present day Hungary.
Our guided walking tour of Passau began at the statue (left of the tree) in the center of Romerplatz.
We passed the Convent Niedernburg. You can see twin towers in the last picture. The Niedernburg Abbey was founded in the 8th century as a convent. It was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in the last century in Romanesque style. Today it is a girls’ school. Fodor’s 96, Germany, p. 141-143. Our guide explained how it became an orphanage. Niedernburg on right.
We then continued across the narrow peninsula to the Inn River, where our guide pointed out a monastery, the Mariahilf (1627) across the river. This 7th century pilgrimage church has a covered staircase leading to the river.
Back to the peninsula, we next faced the bright Gothic facade of the 13th century Rathaus (town hall), Originally the home of a successful merchant, it was declared the seat of city government after an up-rising in 1298. At the base of the bell tower, markings indicate the different flood levels over the years.
Then, down a narrow street of well restored buildings, we came to Residence Square with its Wittelsbacher Fountain. The fountain was built in 1903 to honor Mary, as a protector of Bavaria. She is prominently on top. The flowing water represents the rivers of Passau. Behind the fountain was the Alte Bishop’s Residenz (1711). Next door is the Neue Residenz with its main entrance facing Residenzplatz. We stepped inside the stately entrance of the palace to see the staircase, “a scintillating study in marble, fresco, and stucco”.
The church bells of St. Stephen’s Cathedral began to ring. This is the original mother church of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. We walked around the side of the church to the front for a better view of this Baroque building complete with dome and flanking towers.
Beneath its lavish exterior is the largest pipe organ in the world, built between 1924 and 1928, and enlarged from 1979 to 1980. It claims 17,388 pipes and 231 stops Professor and Mrs. Schenk attended an organ recital here. The statue on the square (last photo) facing the cathedral is of the Bavarian King Maximillian Joseph I.
I thought the interior of the cathedral magnificent. I loved the brightness of walls and pillars and the light emitted from the windows. So many European churches are so dark.
If we had had more time we could have continued on to the city square (the Kleiner Exerzierplaz) to see the Nibelungenhalle, a Nazi-era hall that seats 8,000. The name is taken from an epic poem about German mythology written in Passau in the 12th century. Richard Wagner (on right) choose the poem as the theme for his immense 19th century operatic cycle, The Ring of the Nibelung. Later Hitler recast the legend in an attempt to legitimize the Nazi creed. The hall is still used for political rallies.
We returned to the docking area and re-boarded the Delta Star. Our Romanian captain was pacing the deck. The ship began the voyage downstream toward Vienna and our flight home.
Ah, the wonderful Blue Danube....
Fred
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