Our last medieval town, Wertheim, straddles the borders of two states in Germany: Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg. These are the most prosperous states, according to our last two guides. Today's tour was in two parts: the first an adoration of Wertheim, a town that missed being bombed in the last month of the war - the allied bombers flew over, but the town, located at the confluence of two rivers, was buried in fog. So the medieval buildings survive. There is a new threat however. Floods. The town has been flooded for centuries but they are more frequent now and cause much disruption. The water doesn't just come in the doors - it comes up from below. Most of the main floors only contain objects that are light enough to be moved quickly. There are also connecting holes in the floors that allow the water to spread from one house to another to control the depth.
BTW. Our guide insisted we can't leave Germany without a piece of Black Forest Cake and that we should also support the local economy. We did our part.
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| Our guide, Ursula, standing in front of building with light marks indicating dept of floods. Top flood mark is part way up white wall. |
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| Medieval Wertheim |
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| It was raining today so no one sitting outside in the cafes. |
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| Wertheim houses located on the other side of the river are in Bavaria |
We stayed with our guide for a second, optional tour of the Jewish story of Wertheim. She took the role seriously, researching for a year before agreeing to lead these tours. She quoted the philosopher who said, "You don't inherit guilt but you do inherit responsibility." She is now involved in the formation of a museum to be used to educate the children of Wertheim about the treatment of Jews both during the war and in history. We left the tour chastened but educated.
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| Jewish Cemetery, headstones date from the 1600's until 1936 when the Nazi's took over. |
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