Day 11 Friday June 3/11 Passau

Passau, our last stop in Germany, is noted as one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  I agree.  As we go along I think it can't get any more beautiful but it does!  And of course this city suffered minimal damage.  That is why we are stopping at these places of course and so we can see "the Jewels" (architecture) and their history. As with many towns here it was first settled by the celts and then came the Romans.  In the 10th century the Bishops of Passau became so powerful that they ruled for nearly 6 centuries!  The power and wealth of the Church is something I knew about from history classes.   But seeing the evidence in opulent churches and other buildings has made it more real.  

Passau has an ornate Baroque Cathedral that was rebuilt after the town burned down in 1662 and 1680.  Baroque "attempts to imitate heaven on earth," unlike Gothic which makes earth look dark and gloomy.  You have to look up to see heaven.  The reconstruction of the Cathedral involved Italian Artists and workers.  (Our guide Dorothea is a Passau native going back generations and is of Italian descent.) This Cathedral houses the largest organ in the world with 17,300 pipes. Mozart played on it when he was 6 years old.  After the walking tour we went back here for an organ concert!  It was packed and the sound was amazing.

The bishops had an ornate palace by the church as well as a castle and fortress up on the hill.  We walked up there after the tour.  It was quite a view. You could see the confluence of the 3 rivers, the Danube, the Ilz and the Inn.  Past this point the Danube is called the "Blue Danube" but it is not blue.  There is speculation about this name.  Some say it goes back to when many dead French Soldiers were thrown into the river during a conflict.  

You can see in the background work is being done on the church.  We have learned that this is ongoing on all churches to keep them in a good state.  It never ends.  

There was a large and beautiful market in the church square.  I envy them their markets! 

Inside the Cathedral...the ceiling frescos were amazing. 

Huge and light. 

We just happened to go in the Cathedral when a choir was practising.   You can see how light it is in here.  This is all from the windows. 

Lovely cobbled and colourful streets in Passau.  

A plague door.  

The Blue Lady in the artisan section.  She stands outside a gallery.  

The other side of Passau. 

A lovely square. 

Look up at the buttresses. These give the buildings more support.  They are often flooded as we have seen in many river towns.  

Up on the hill you can see the Bishops' castle and fortress.  We go up there later. 

A bride. 

Back to the Cathedral for the organ concert. 

About to begin the long climb to the top. 

Passau from above. 

You can see the colours of the three rivers that meet here. 

Could have stayed up here all day. 

Looking back at Passau from the other side of the river.