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Hearty welcome, dear friens of Bavaria or of my small travelguide.
If you're first time on my website, here a small introduction of mine:
you can call me George, I handle a shuttle service from Munich airport
Franz-Josef-Strauss to every where. A lot of times in a year also to
Passau with guests for the Danube cruises.
If time is not pressing us, we can make sightseeing stops left or right
beside the freeway. Today I'll tell you about one visit in the town
Straubing, what I've made with nice guests coming from a Danube cruise.
Coming from Passau we change
over to the highway in direction Munich and very soon we saw the exit
leading to Straubing. We took that exit and then we had about 23 miles
left and right mostly corn- and other fields, only some small villages
we must pass through.
This area of Bavaria, named „Lower Bavaria“
is since centuries one of the best and richest agricultural areas in
our lovely country.
After a while the silhouett of a tower appeared and very soon you will
see, it is a very very big one. That is the symbol of the town Straubing,
the old town tower.
The first views show you that not only citizens or traders were responsible
fot the building style of that town, also several different emperors
gave the town a special face.
The history of the town Straubing started far back in times, about
6000 years before our time. This is proved by outdigged old pieces.
Then the old Romans elected that place for a military and civilian
settlement, but around 200 after Jesus Christ they were pushed out
by an old German tribe named „Alemannen“.
Later on, around 900 a.J.Ch., a guy named „Strupo“ should
have settled here and from him the name „Straubing“ is coming,
people say. Hundert years later, the area was a property from the German
emperor and he gave the town as a gift to the church. The bishop was
sitting in Augsburg and so one Duke in the near thought, it would be
much better , if he can grab the taxes by trade and agriculture and
so he really „stole“ the ground, build some walls and the
bishop from Augsburg saw nothing more from the income of that area.
For the citizens of Straubing the new owner, the Duke of Kelheim,
was a good one. He protect the trade, was a good judge and so the town
grew more and more. So much, that the citizens were able to build that
huge tower, you've seen. It was built in the year 1316 as a far seen
symbol for the economical success (and to watch, if maybe enemies will
come :-). The year 1338 was one of the worsest years, because rambling
grashoppers were coming so many, that even the sky was dark like in
the night.
But in main, the trade was good in old times, you can see it on these
houses. Their style impress, how rich the town was once ( and is now
again). Look here, this house has a similar outfit like storehouses
in a Netherland harbour, isn't ? Yes, this is origin Dutch influence.
Duke Albrecht I. was on one hand Duke of Bavaria and on the other hand
governor of the Netherlands. And his son, Albrecht II., brought a lot
of ideas back from his visits in the north down to Bavaria.
Here you see a lovely picture, but in reality tells us a very very
cruel story from history happened in Straubing. A later son of the
Duke's dynasty fell in love to a barber daughter he met in a bathroom
in Augsburg. He married her without the permit of his father. As he
was some days far away on a duty travel, the old Duke came with some
priests and wanted to force his not-loved and not-noble daughter-in-law
to agree to a divorcement. But she did not want ! So the old Duke made
on her a „bitch-trial“ - she was accused and judged for a
„Lord's proof“.
Such proof was handled following: her arms were
bounded and then she was thrown in the Danube. If she would be a bitch,
she would not go under water, because the devil will save her. If she
would be innocent, she would go down (and be dead, yeah....!) She was
innocent and so she died under water. The old Duke was happy, but not
his son as he heard what had happened. He was so mad, that he collect
his and other troups and want fight against his father, only by mediation
through the German emperor a big and cruel family war was avoided.
But the dead of that poor lady is still alive in memory and by theater.
Later on, the thirty-years-during religion war touched the town, all
Lutheran believers had to leave. Here you can see the column to honour
St. Mary and the Trinity. This honouring symbol was built some century
later after the time, Austrian troups tried to conquer the town Straubing.
All citizens made an oath to build such honour for St. Mary, if she
will keep her hands over the town. And real, the Austrian soldiers
cannot force down the walls and the defenders, so......
Religion, in older and even the times of the last century was a very
weak point in Europe. One very good symbol to keep that in mind you
can see here in this house. It was and still is the synagoge of the
Jewish parisch in Straubing. The brave citizens of Straubing could
not avoid in the dark times of the Nazi-goverment in Germany, that
the jewish neighbours were deported. But they really fight against
the destroyment of the house and so the new living Jewish parish in
Straubing has an origin old church of their own again.
So, that's a short visit in an old town of Lower Bavaria. It is worth
to stay much more longer to discover more hidden jewels in and around
Straubing. The area is very good for biking, walking and to relax.
The Danube is not far and a lot of other nice towns like Passau or
Regensburg are reachable
in very short time. What do you think? Make some day a stop and learn
how nice people in Lower Bavara and especially in Straubing can be.
With best regards, your George
Script and pictures
by J.W.Lohfink
>> German version |
