Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [324]
TRAIN
Hourly trains run between Eichstätt Bahnhof and Treuchtlingen (€5.10, 25 minutes), and between Treuchtlingen and Gunzenhausen (€4, 15 minutes). RE trains from Munich that run through Eichstätt Bahnhof also stop in Dollnstein, Solnhofen and Pappenheim.
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EICHSTÄTT
08421 / pop 13,700
Hugging a tight bend in the Altmühl River, Eichstätt radiates a distinct Mediterranean flair. The cobbled streets meander past elegant buildings and leafy squares, giving this sleepy town a general sense of refinement. Italian architects, notably Gabriel de Gabrieli and Maurizio Pedetti, rebuilt the town after Swedes razed the place during the Thirty Years War (1618–48) and it has since remained undamaged. Since 1980 many of its baroque facades have concealed faculties and libraries belonging to Germany’s sole Catholic university.
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Orientation
Eichstätt has two train stations. Mainline trains stop at the Bahnhof, 5km from the centre, from where coinciding diesel trains shuttle to the Stadtbahnhof. From here walk north across the Spitalbrücke and you’ll end up in Domplatz, the heart of town. Willibaldsburg castle is about 1km southwest of the Stadtbahnhof.
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Information
Post office (Domplatz 7)
Raiffeisenbank (Domplatz 5)
Tourist office ( 600 1400; www.eichstaett.info; Domplatz 8; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, 10am-1pm Sun Apr-Oct, 10am-noon & 2-4pm Mon-Thu, 10am-noon Fri Nov-Mar)
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Sights
TOWN CENTRE
Eichstätt’s centre is dominated by the richly adorned Dom. Standout features include an enormous stained-glass window by Hans Holbein the Elder, and the carved sandstone Pappenheimer Altar (1489–97), depicting a pilgrimage from Pappenheim to Jerusalem. The seated statue is of St Willibald, the town’s first bishop.
The Domschatzmuseum (Cathedral Treasury; 507 42; Residenzplatz 7; adult/child €2/free; 10.30am-5.30pm Wed-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat & Sun Apr-Nov) includes the robes of 8th-century English-born bishop St Willibald and baroque Gobelin tapestries.
The Residenz (Residenzplatz; admission €1; tours 10.15am, 11am, 11.45am, 2pm, 2.45pm & 3.30pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct) is the former prince-bishops’ palace, completed in 1736. It has a stunning main staircase and rococo Spiegelsaal (Hall of Mirrors) with a fresco from Greek mythology. In the square is a golden statue of Mary on a 19m-high column.
North of the Dom is another baroque square, the Markt, where markets are held on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. About 250m northwest of here, on Westenstrasse, is the Kloster St Walburga, burial site of St Willibald’s sister and a pilgrimage destination. Every year between mid-October and late February, water oozes from Walburga’s relics in the underground chapel and drips down into a catchment. The nuns bottle diluted versions of the so-called Walburgaöl (Walburga oil) and give it away to the faithful. A staircase from the lower chapel leads to an off-limits upper chapel where you can catch a glimpse through the grill of beautiful ex-voto tablets and other trinkets left as a thank you to the saint. The main St Walburga Church above has a glorious rococo interior.
WILLIBALDSBURG
The hilltop castle of Willibaldsburg (1355) houses two museums. The Jura-Museum ( 4730; Burgstrasse 19; adult/under 18yr €4/free; 9am-6pm Apr-Sep, 10am-4pm Nov-Mar, closed Mon) is great, even if fossils usually don’t quicken your pulse. Highlights are a locally found archaeopteryx (the oldest-known fossil bird) and aquariums with living specimens of the fossilised animals. Also up here is the Museum of Pre-History & Early History with a 6000-year-old mammoth skeleton. Descend to the cellar to find the 76.5m-deep well – toss in a coin and listen for about 10 seconds for the plop. The Bastiongarten, built on the ramparts, affords fantastic views of Eichst