The visit to Naumburg an der Saale was made during a press trip together with German Tourist Office, but all opinions and thoughts are, as usual, my own.
It is the well-preserved medieval town center of Naumburg that makes me fall head over heels. As I wander along the cobbled streets, surrounded by statues and historic buildings, I take a giant step back in time. Specifically 1000 years back in time. In Naumburg (or Naumburg an der Saale) I find an authentic town that has so far escaped the large tourist flows. From the magnificent Romanesque-Gothic cathedral to the ornate gates and beautiful Renaissance buildings. Naumburg is a destination that surprises and impresses.
Wild Boar
It shakes and twitches. Yelling and screaming. To take "Wild Boar” up to Naumburg's city center is not a quiet and pleasant journey. The nostalgic trams from the GDR era have been running since 1892 as one of the city's regular train lines. The train is named after the sound it makes when it stops, a sound reminiscent of a squealing goat. Add to that the bursting curves and jerky stops, and you'll understand why it's called "Wild Boar”, the “wild goat”.
Naumburg (or Naumburg an der Saale) is both a small and a large city, depending on what you measure. In surface area, the city center is the same size as Leipzig, but the number of inhabitants is only 34. For many years, the number of inhabitants decreased, but in recent years both retirees and families with children have started to move in. The distances are small in the region and it is possible to work in Leipzig, but live in Naumburg - and at lower costs.
The tram driver not only drives the train but is also a conductor and takes payment and helps old ladies safely off the carriage. But above all, he is a proud tram driver of one of Naumburg's unique historical sights. The route is only 2,8km long, but it goes uphill towards the city centre, which is as good a reason as any for the line's popularity. The oldest carriage still in use is 90 years old and still carries passengers and tourists.
Nietzsche's childhood home
We get off at the old city wall and at the house where Friedrich Nietzsche lived for large parts of his childhood. His family was poor and after his father passed away, his mother moved here with her children. Here, Friedrich spent his childhood in a room shared with several other families.
When Nietzsche had mental problems during the last part of his life, his mother moved him back to his childhood home in Naumburg. A terrace was built on the roof so he could roll out in his wheelchair on nice days. Today the house is a museum and next to it is his childhood home Nietzsche Documentation Centre where his work is researched and in several places in the city center there are statues of him.
The royal road – Via Regia
The reason for Naumburg's large city center is that two cities have grown together over time – the bourgeois city of Naumburg and the episcopal city of Naumburg. Two legal devices, with all important functions duplicated. Churches, squares and markets. The border consisted of a large and thick wall, but the wall was not created for either protection or discord. The wall only marked the legal border between the cities.
We continue our walk towards the city center and Jakobsstraße, the former shopping street. Naumburg was first mentioned in writing in 1012, as a city located at the intersection of the two main trade routes of the Via Regia (Royal Road). Here basically everyone who traveled in the area had to pass by. King as peasant.
On 100In the 0th century, Naumburg was one of the region's most important cities and Germany's 14th largest city, but in the 16th century, Liepzig began to take over most of the trade. The Thirty Years' War shattered large parts of the region and Naumburg's economy collapsed. The roads were no longer safe to travel on and in the wake of the war came food shortages and misery.
Jüdengasse
The small street Jüdengasse has a dark history, like so many other Jewish neighborhoods in Europe. When the plague struck in the 15th century, the people and the church demanded someone to blame. It was the city's Jewish population that had to stand as scapegoats and in 1494 they were banished from the city overnight. A tragic event that has been immortalized in a plaque with stone figures on one of the walls of the street.
It was not until the end of the 19th century that Jews were again allowed to move back to the city. But the tragedy, as we know, did not end there. Another plaque on one of the walls of the alley honors the memory of the Jews from the town who lost their lives during World War II.
Hildebrandt's organ
In the large, but rather anonymous, church of St. Wencelas stands Hildebrandt's organ. Named after its builder Hildebrandt. But this is not just any organ, but Johann Sebastian Bach's organ. Bach was not a great and popular organist during this time and it was a great personal victory for him that he got the chance to be part of this construction. Bach oversaw the entire construction of the organ and gave his expert advice on the construction and the result was nothing short of magnificent.
Market Square (Marktplatz)
We continue our walk towards Marknadstorget and a large square lined with trees and large Renaissance houses meets us. Despite the gray overcast day, the square's buildings and colors light up even the grayest day. The stately houses around the square were built after the year 1517, when a big fire destroyed all the half-timbered houses that had previously stood here by the square. The houses are high and show the wealth of the town's merchants during the 16th and 17th centuries. The first four floors of the houses were usually living space, while the many floors under the roofs were storage space and warehouses.
Naumburg's marketplace and the Peter-Paul-Messe market were in the Middle Ages an important meeting place for traders and craftsmen from all over Europe. Wine and beer, wood, textiles, fur, salt and grain were sold here. Today, markets are still held here in the square every week, but the long-distance traders are no longer as present.
At one of the houses in the square, a half-open and well-decorated wooden door with images of a king, surrounded by grapes, can be seen. All the houses' signs are well decorated and the city hall's window boxes are overflowing with flowers. This is beautiful, well maintained and incredibly charming.
Mary Square
At Mariaplatsen is the medieval Mariaporten, the last remaining gate into the city. The tower dates from the end of the 14th century, when the important trade route to Halle passed through here. On market days, cart after cart rolled in here through the gate and the distinctive sound of the hard wooden wheels must have echoed between the house facades.
Mariaporten is not just one gate, but actually two. Around the two gates, high walls embrace the inner castle courtyard. Just because you got through one gate, didn't mean you were allowed into the city.
Around the former square and its small fountain, the houses stand close together. The facades are plastered and the windows are painted in all the colors of the rainbow. During the summer there are sometimes festivals, theater performances and markets here in the square, but on an autumn day like this it is very quiet. The restaurants and shops around the square are closed, and flowers and trees are slowly but surely starting to take on their autumn colors.
The gates tell a story
The beautiful surrounding area Marienstrasse was once a neighborhood for the city's wealthy residents. Street numbers were not yet invented, but to name the houses, the doors were decorated with portals with images of famous people and animals. Famous people in the late Middle Ages usually meant people from the Bible.
One of the best preserved portals is The Samson Gate, a 16th-century stone Renaissance gate depicting the biblical strongman Samson defeating the lion. On other houses nearby I find both shells, a long-necked bird and an elephant. The elephant looks more like a pig with a vacuum cleaner hose. It was not easy for the artists of the 17th century to depict animals that they had never seen in their entire lives.
Steinweg
We follow the tall cathedral towers towards the large church. The street we walk on is Steinweg, which probably comes from the fact that this was the city's first cobbled street. This was the street of the artisans, and although there are now more ice cream parlors than artisans, some unique shops remain. For example, the brush maker with his beautiful sign, who makes brushes and brushes of all kinds.
This is one of Naumburg's most beautiful streets and the stone houses from the 18th century frame the outdoor seating on the way to the cathedral. Because we have saved one of Naumburg's biggest attractions for last. Naumburg Cathedral (Naumburger Dom), a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the region's most powerful churches.
Naumburg Cathedral
The first cathedral here in Naumburg was already under construction 11th century, but the main part of the cathedral was built in the 13th century, in a period between Romanesque and Gothic architecture. In just 20 years, the style changed and inside the cathedral you meet both worlds in the same place. Look in one direction inside the cathedral and you are met with Gothic style with pointed arches and tall windows, look in the other direction and you are met with Romanesque style with round arches and massive columns. Romanesque style is clean and simple and round. Gothic style is more ornate, pointed and the statues more lifelike. Besides the fact that the cathedral is one of the best-preserved buildings from the Middle Ages, it is also this mix of architecture that made the cathedral a World Heritage Site.
Thanks to the cathedral being a living church, both the art and the details have continued to evolve over the years. For example, through the eye-catching railings on the stairs to the eastern chancel. Here, during the 1970s and 1980s, Heinrich Apel created two incredible works of art in bronze with lots of animals, plants and people. One railing revolves around the snake winding its way up the stairs with the devil riding on its back. The second rail revolves around Francis of Assisi and his life.
From east to west is the cathedral 100 meters long and both the eastern and western choirs are separated from the rest of the church by their own walls. A very unique design that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The east wall is in Romanesque style and the west is in Gothic style. But it is the western wall and the western chancel that attract the most visitors.
The Gothic style is lifelike, vivid and dramatic, which is clearly visible on the west wall. In eight incredibly detailed scenes, Jesus' way to the cross is described. In the middle of the wall, in the middle of the door to the choir, then hangs Jesus. All the statues look like ordinary people. No weird proportions, just regular people. It also applies to Jesus.
Inside the west chancel you will find twelve lifelike statues of the cathedral's founder, one of which is a bit more interesting than the others. The statue of Uta, also called the world's most beautiful woman in the Middle Ages. Throughout the ages, Uta has had to stand as a model for the female ideal in many contexts, and even Disney himself drew attention to Uta's beauty. However, not as one of the sweet princesses, but as the mean queen in the classic film about Snow White.
In the western chancel you will also find an altarpiece, which at first glance looks like any other altarpiece depicting Mary and Jesus. But look a little closer. In the background stands a man with a blue shirt and glasses and another man has a red cap. After almost 500 years, the broken altarpiece received a new centerpiece in 2022 by local artist Michael Triegel. And the protests surrounding the painting's modern expression have been heard. Some of the voices believe that it is too modern, it destroys the cathedral's historical appearance or it takes up too much space in the room with the twelve statues. Now the altarpiece has been granted a dispensation until July 2025, then its fate will be decided if it will be allowed to remain. Personally, I really like it - perhaps precisely because it is so modern and easy to adopt for today's generation.
The east choir is the most important part of the cathedral. Here you will find the cathedral's main altar and here the choirmasters used to gather up to seven times a day for services. Two giant handwritten books of over 40 kilos each were on bookshelves that were used both for singing and discussions. To create each book, hides from 1200 cows were required, which would cost a completely unreasonable sum in today's currency. The book displayed in the church today is a copy, but one of the original books can be seen down in the treasury.
Naumburg Cathedral requires a few hours to fully explore, but if you only have an hour, it's worth a visit to get an insight into the architecture and aesthetics of the 13th century.
The Naumburger chair
Before leaving Naumburg and its historical treasures, you should visit Bakery & Confectionery Block and try one of the city's historic delicacies. One of Germany's most classic pastries around Christmas is "stollen” – an oblong cake with dried fruit covered in icing sugar. Already in 1329, the stollen is mentioned in a document in Naumburg, which makes the Naumburger stollen Germany's oldest stollen. Here, the cake is filled with cherry water and dried cherries, which is different from the more common dried fruit stollen you find in the rest of Germany.
The patisserie is a good place to stop for a coffee and reflect on all the impressions of the city. Because Naumburg is not only its unique world heritage, but so much more.
How do I get to Naumburg an der Saale?
Naumburg is located 1 hour by car southwest of Leipzig in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. The city also has good train connections to Leipzig.
Naumburg Cathedral is a living church and hosts weekly masses and weddings. During these times the cathedral is closed to other visitors, if you are short on time during your visit you need to check which times are open to the public.
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