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Main River Cruise Holidays
Main River Cruises
Germany's Equator
The River Main, flowing into the Rhine at Mainz, is often referred to as Germany's "equator", dividing the country into north and south. Many claim that the valley marks a change in character and that people are cooler, more disciplined to the north, more relaxed to the south. Gastronomes have even noted a corresponding change in cuisine: in the south they have a pronounced taste for pork, sausages, dumplings and Spätzle noodles, while to the north of the Main, preferences goes to beef, mutton, more fish and green vegetables.
Passing through the regions of Hesse and Franconia, travellers can happily get the best of both worlds—washed down by some excellent Rhine wines (at the Mainz end of the trip) and the delightfully light Franconian wines (as they approach Würzburg). For ecumenical harmony, try Franconia's famous Pichelsteiner, a four-meat stew of mutton, veal, beef and pork with potatoes, turnips, celery, onions, savoy cabbage and parsley.
The river, 524 km (327 miles) long, is formed near the city of Kulmbach by the confluence of the Red Main and the White Main, both of which have their sources in the Fichtelgebirge mountain range near Bayreuth. Navigable west of Bamberg, it has long been an important east–west trade route, even more so since the new Main– Danube Canal linked it to the Danube, creating a continuous waterway between the Black Sea, via the Danube, Main and Rhine, and the North Sea. Along the Main, no less than 40 hydroelectric plants have been constructed, the biggest being at Griesheim.
From the Rhineland's great cathedral and university town of Mainz, the Main's eastbound cruise passes through Frankfurt, Germany's business capital, before turning south on its picturesque route past the parks and Renaissance palace of Aschaffenburg. This is the heart of the beautiful Spessart hills with their forests of oak and beech. After a side-trip to Mespelbrunn's fancifully restored romantic castle, the river flows past the flowery, half-timbered façades of Miltenberg and the medieval ramparts of Gemünden and Karlstadt.
The journey's end is Würzburg, surrounded by sunny vineyards, with the baroque opulence of its bishop's palace, several magnificent churches and a monumental collection of Gothic sculptures by Tilman Riemenschneider.
Main River Cruises - Further Information
Connections - Elegant River Cruises
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