Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Coburg
09561 / POP 41,000
If marriage is diplomacy by another means, Coburg's rulers were surely masters of the art.
Over four centuries, the princes and princesses of the house of Saxe-Coburg intrigued, ro-
manced and ultimately wed themselves into the dynasties of Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark,
Portugal, Russia, Sweden and, most prominently, Great Britain. The crowning achievement
came in 1857, when Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha took his vows with first cousin Queen
Victoria, founding the present British royal family. The British royals quietly adopted the
less-German name of Windsor during WWI.
Coburg languished in the shadow of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, all but closed
in by East Germany on three sides, but since reunification the town has undergone a reviv-
al. Its proud Veste is one of Germany's finest medieval fortresses. What's more, some
sources contend that the original hot dog was invented here.
Sights & Activities
Coburg's epicentre is the magnificent Markt, a beautifully renovated square radiating a col-
ourful, aristocratic charm. The fabulous Renaissance facades and ornate oriels of the
Stadthaus
(town house) and the
Rathaus
vie for attention, while a greening bronze of
Prince Albert, looking rather more flamboyant and Teutonic medieval than the Brits are
used to seeing him, calmly surveys the scene.
Veste Coburg
(
www.kunstsammlungen-coburg.de
; adult/concession €5/2.50; 9.30am-5pm daily Apr-
Oct, 1-4pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar)
Towering above Coburg's centre is a story-book medieval
fortress, the Veste Coburg. With its triple ring of fortified walls, it's one of the most im-
pressive fortresses in Germany but, curiously, has a dearth of foreign visitors. It houses the
vast collection of the
Kunstsammlungen
, with works by star painters such as Rembrandt,
Dürer and Cranach the Elder. The elaborate Jagdintarsien-Zimmer (Hunting Marquetry
Room) is a superlative example of carved woodwork.
Protestant reformer Martin Luther, hoping to escape an imperial ban, sought refuge at the
fortress in 1530. His former quarters have a writing desk and, in keeping with the Reforma-
tion, a rather plain bed.
FORTRESS, MUSEUM
