Introduction to Miltenberg

29km (18 miles) S of Mespelbrunn, 71km (44 miles) W of Würzburg

This riverside town is located to the west of the traditional route of the Romantic Road, but it's very popular and well worth a visit. Miltenberg is sleepy, traditional, and full of half-timbered buildings. If you're looking for a medieval town but you want to avoid the tour-bus hordes that overrun places like Rothenburg, Miltenberg is for you.

The town, which is still enclosed within walls and gate towers, is attractively situated under a steep wooded hill crowned by a castle. Its municipal charter dates from 1237, but it was actually settled centuries earlier by the Romans. The best way to appreciate Miltenberg's charm is on a fast drive-through, with a pedestrian detour through its charming Marktplatz. Here, on steeply sloping terrain centered on a Renaissance-era red-sandstone fountain and a wealth of flowers, you'll find a phalanx of half-timbered houses, and one of the oldest inns in Germany, the Haus zum Riesen.