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Town in Bavaria, Germany
Photo: Martin Geisler, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Eichstätt is a small town in Upper Bavaria that has an excellently preserved baroque city center, is one of the smallest university towns in Europe, and is located in the middle of the Altmühltal Nature Park.
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The Jurassic museum includes an original Archaeopteryx.
Pre-historic and early history museum
Cathedral
Dedicated to St. Salvator, Our Lady and St. Willibald, it is the cathedral church of the diocese of Eichstätt and is located in the centre of the city. The cathedral does not have a uniform architectural style and its origins go back to the 11th century: the Sacrament Chapel dates from the early Romanesque period, the towers from the High Romanesque period (12th century), the west choir (from 1256) with the bones of St. Willibald is early Gothic, the nave is High Gothic (14th century), the chapter sacristy with the Roritzer Chapel dates from the late Gothic period; late Baroque on the west façade. Particularly worth seeing in the interior of the church are the baroque Willibald Altar in the west choir of the cathedral, the Pappenheim Altar (11 m high), and the high Gothic main altar (from 1884, figures around 1480), the figures of the Siboto Madonna (1297) and the Buchenhüller Madonna (around 1480) and various grave monuments.
The palace once used by the prince-bishops. Built in the Baroque style. The first section of the current three-wing complex was built from 1700 under court architect Jakob Engel and, according to the portal inscription, was already completed in 1702 with its west wing and probably also the east wing. Under court architect Gabriel de Gabrieli, who was appointed Engel's successor in 1716, the south wing was built while retaining the overall concept of his predecessor. From 1767 to 1768, the third court architect Maurizio Pedetti added the new staircase in the west wing and expanded the Hall of Mirrors. Even after secularization, the residence was still the residence of the last prince-bishop. From 1855 onwards, it was again owned by the Bavarian state and the seat of various courts. The building's structure was preserved, but parts of the interior were lost. It is now the seat of the Eichstätt district office. Particularly worth seeing inside are the central, representative staircase in the west wing with iron railing and ceiling fresco (“Fall of Phaethon”, by Johann Michael Franz) in the Rococo style in brilliant white, and the ballroom/hall of mirrors created by Mauritio Pedetti (architect), Johann Michael Franz (painter) and Johann Jakob Berg (stucco). The ceiling painting in the ballroom shows mythologica
Mainly classic dishes from the regional cuisine. Good value for money. When the weather is good, you can sit in front of the inn on the cathedral square or in the cozy courtyard.
6 single rooms and 13 double rooms with shower/WC. The rooms are practically hotel standard, but the breakfast is more like a youth hostel. There is a kitchenette for guests, a small lounge with TV and direct access to the monastery's baroque garden. There are parking spaces for cars and storage for bicycles.
As the first train station sat outside the town (but more conveniently along the railway line) a secondary "Eichstätt Stadt" station was built later.
Read in the guideMuch of Eichstätt can be explored on foot, as the distances are very short. Otherwise, there is a bus network that connects the most important points in the city and the surrounding area.
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Nuremberg · International · NUE
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