Today was an overcast beautiful Fall day. The sky was dark, it rained off and on, mostly just sprinkling or mist. It was magical. Kronberg is less than 30 minutes from Frankfurt. The town hugs the Tanum Forest and it felt like we were in a dreamy wooded area with yellow leaves fluttering down around us.
The town of Kronberg is up on a mountain, overlooking the woods around us with a castle up on the hill and a really magical Old Town below. We parked and walked through the town, visiting the Sankt Johann Kirche, which was old and beautiful and cozy. There were lots of flyers about musical concerts here–Oh we’d love to come back for some of the holiday ones!
Here’s how the old part of town is layed out–with the castle up at the top and center.
These very old homes are in the heart of town, the former Rathaus or Town Hall and a Gasthaus. This photo is taken from the old church yard.
The former Rathaus (advice house) was built in 1581.
Below the Rathaus we found a “stumbling block,” indicating that Georg Krug lived here. He was taken in 1842 and murdered in the Holocaust.
I can’t get enough of these old towns and the beautifully restored VERY OLD half-timber homes. Old Gasthauses and city halls and counsel buildings, now homes and stores. There is such beautiful detail. Every tile of the roof, placed just right. The window boxes, with flowers still blooming. The cobblestone streets. The doorknobs and shutter latches. The pots of plants and flowers on doorsteps and climbing vines covering entryways.
It was really magical, all day long. We took our time and just wandered through the narrow streets, taking it all in. I could live here so easily. The history is incredible. These buildings are 100s of years old.
Looking down the street towards the old church.
We learned a lot about Queen Victoria, German Empress and Queen of Prussia who was the wife of German Emperor Frederick III. They married in 1858. She was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert.
Frederick III became the Emperor of Prussia when William I died. He ruled only 99 days before dying of cancer in his throat. Queen Victoria, his wife, became the Empress dowager, known from then on as Empress Frederick, named for her husband.
After 1894, she lived out her life in Kronberg, doing many wonderful things here. With her inheritance, she built a castle that was named Friedrichshof in honour of her husband, which we visited next. Here in Kronberg in 1898, she completely restored this old church from the 1300s. It was beautiful, we loved it the moment we stepped into it.
We were very interested to learn that there are regular musical events here, almost weekly. Kronberg is a community of artists and musicians and you can feel it. They value these fine things.
Then we walked up the hill to the castle. We learned that the castle didn’t open until 1:00. We walked around the grounds, then decided to come back after visiting the Schlosshotel (a 5 minute drive away) where Victoria lived. That splendid place will be featured in my next post.
Here are a few more pretty things from our walk back through town and to the car:
Our Frankfurt Germany Mission 