37. Amberg in the Oberpfalz
Depart your Munich intercity hotel 8:00 AM. This small but charming medieval town was first mention in 1034 AD. There was no damage done to the intercity of Amberg in WW2, leaving it still holding much of its magical European atmosphere. With only 50 000 residences the town is very enjoyable with very few tourists.
Amberg is surrounded by 2 miles of ancient city walls, with several gates to fortify the city. In this German city religion made many changes from reformation to Calvinism and back to recatholization.
Our drive to Amberg will take us about 2.5 hour from Munich, we should arrive about 10:30 AM to make a very enjoyable walking tour of the intercity.
Lunch will be possible either at one of the 11 breweries in the town or a little outside of the town on top of the nearby hill which offers a delightful view over the city and the valley below. Better save some appetite for dessert here as the cakes are fantastic.
The Story of the Amberger Dumpling:
In the year 1703 the city was taken over by General Graf Herbeville of the Austrian army who gave the city over to Graf San Bonifanzio. The Austrians then began shooting on Nov. 3 and destroying the Martins tower and leaving the south end of Amberg in rumble and ashes. On Nov 20th Graf Herbeville was having lunch in the monastery of Mariahilfberg; when a shooting expert named vom Dockenhansel took careful aim and fired. The cannon ball landed in the middle of the General Graf Herbeville’s plate like a dumpling! It now is above the main door to Mariahilf Church for all see.
We will return to Munich over the beautiful green rolling hills to the through the area where the hops are grown for the famous Bavarian beer.