After leaving Wertheim, we drove about 30 minutes through woods and forests and fields and pastures to another town on the river called Lohr am Main. We wanted to visit the castle here, in the heart of town, that’s called “the Snow White Castle.” The town has adopted the fairy tale about Snow White as part of their folklore.
Lohr am Main is known as the Snow White (Schneewittchen) city because of the real Maria Sophia Margaretha Catharina von Erthal who was the daughter of widower Philipp von Erthal who served the nobility in Mainz (they owned the Spessart forest and the wildlife) and lived in the Lohr castle beginning in the 1720s.
After his first wife’s death, Philipp married a widow who had children of her own and favored them over the good and kind Maria Sophia, who was ultimately forced to flee her home and stepmother.
It is thought she went to live with miners in the area, who were known for their short stature.
Glass and mirror making were common throughout the Spessart Forest area, so the new Frau Erthal would definitely have had a mirror and one that was used in the castle during lifetime is on display in the castle/museum. Whether it was magic or not back then is not known. But glassmakers could also have made the Snow White casket.
Two other interesting points: apple orchards were common on the edges of the forest in the 1700s and Frau Erthal had access to a poisonous plant that could induce rigidity in a person who ingested it.
So many intriguing similarities exist that Lohr am Main has adopted Schneewittchen’s tale as the theme of the city. There is even a beautiful magic mirror in the Schloßplatz across from the castle!
We only had one hour to see what we could see before closing at 4:oo. We moved quickly and read and saw as much as we could. It was a great castle museum!
I always LOVE seeing what daily life was like in times past.
This was a little prison cell.
Locks and keys:
Woodsmen:
Building tools. Look how the stairs are constructed.
A wagon maker’s shop.
A barrel maker’s shop and more wooden household items.
Mirror, Mirror, on the wall.
Beautiful carvings.
Displays of children’s toys:
People who lived here:
An indoor toilet:
Lohr was once in the crossroads.
Lohr is also known for glass making.
And mirror making. Fancy mirrors, like the Mirror, mirror, on the wall.
This room was about woodsmen and hunting.
What interesting things we saw! It would’ve been nice to have another hour here.
Our Frankfurt Germany Mission 