5 Best Sights in Coburg, Franconia and the German Danube

This fortress, one of the largest and most impressive in the country, is Coburg's main attraction. The brooding bulk of the castle guards the town atop a 1,484-foot hill. Construction began around 1055, but with progressive rebuilding and remodeling, the predominantly late Gothic–early Renaissance edifice bears little resemblance to the original crude fortress. Seek out the elaborate 17th-century Jagdintarsien-Zimmer (Hunting Marquetry Room), home to some of the finest woodwork in southern Germany, as well as the room where Martin Luther lived for six months in 1530 while he observed the goings-on of the Augsburg Diet.

Today, much of the castle is given over to two exceptional museums. The first is the Kunstsammlungen, an impressive art collection with works by Dürer, Hans Holbein, and Riemenschneider, among others, as well as furniture, historical weapons, and coins. The second is the Europäisches Museum für Modernes Glas, a vast and valuable antique glass collection, with most exhibits from the baroque age, along with some modern ceramics.

A statue of Prince Albert, Victoria's high-minded consort, is surrounded by gracious Renaissance and baroque buildings in Coburg's beautiful Marktplatz. The 16th century Stadthaus, former seat of the local dukes, is the most imposing structure here, with a forest of ornate gables and spires projecting from its well-proportioned facade. Opposite is the ornate, four-story Rathaus (Town Hall) which, in January 1931, held the dubious honor of being the first public building in Germany to fly the swastika flag. For a lighter perspective, look for the figure on top of the building's tympanum (the triangular section with the clock); this is the Bratwurstmännla, whose 31-centimeter-long (12-inches) staff is said to be the official length against which the town's famous bratwursts are measured. These tasty sausages, roasted on pinecone fires, are available on the market square.

Perched on a hill 5 km (3 miles) northwest of Coburg, this was, until 1231, the main castle of the Knights of Callenberg. In the 16th century it was taken over by the Dukes of Coburg and from 1842 it served as the summer residence of the hereditary Coburg prince and later Duke Ernst II. It holds a number of important collections, including the Herzoglicher Kunstbesitz (the Ducal Art Collection, complete with portraits of the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and precious baroque, Empire, and Biedermeier furniture) and the Schützenmuseum (the museum of the German Rifle Association, featuring antiques from the history of shooting—but very little information in English). There are three ways to reach the castle from Coburg: by car (10 minutes), by bus (5 minutes to Beirsdorf, then a 25-minute walk), or by foot (55 minutes).

Prince Albert spent much of his childhood in this ducal palace in the heart of Coburg. Built in the mid-16th century, it has been greatly altered over the years, principally following a fire in the early 19th century. Duke Ernst I invited Karl Friedrich Schinkel from Berlin to redo the palace in the then-popular neo-Gothic style. Some of the original Renaissance features were kept. The rooms of the castle are quite special, especially those upstairs, where the ceilings are heavily decorated with stucco and the floors have wonderful patterns of various woods. The Hall of Giants is named for the larger-than-life caryatids that support the ceiling; the favorite sight downstairs is Queen Victoria's flush toilet, which was the first one installed in Germany. Here, too, the ceiling is worth noting for its playful, gentle stuccowork.

Near the village of Rödental, 9 km (5½ miles) northeast of Coburg, the 550-year-old Schloss Rosenau sits in all its neo-Gothic glory in the midst of an English-style park. Prince Albert was born here in 1819, and one room is devoted entirely to Albert and his queen, Victoria. Much of the castle furniture was made especially for the Saxe-Coburg family by noted Viennese craftsmen. In the garden's Orangerie is the Museum für Modernes Glas (Museum of Modern Glass), which displays nearly 40 years' worth of glass sculptures (dating from 1950 to 1990) that provide an interesting juxtaposition with the venerable architecture of the castle itself. To get here, either drive 15 minutes from Coburg via Neustadter Str. or catch a 10-minute bus to Rödental then walk the last mile.