Top sights to see in Weiden in the Upper Palatinate, Germany include the romantic old town, the International Ceramics Museum, and a church with Art Nouveau interior.
See the Romantic Old Town with Ceramics Museum and Art Nouveau Church
Weiden in the Oberpfalz is a mostly industrial town but with an interesting historical core and an important ceramics museum. The St Joseph’s parish church is a large, neo-Romanesque church but with an interesting Art Nouveau interior. The International Ceramics Museum houses rotating exhibitions of world-class ceramics from Bavaria’s excellent Neue Sammlung.
Weiden in the Oberpfalz enjoyed a privileged position during the 14th century due to its location at the crossing of the important trade route between NĂĽrnberg (Nuremberg) and Prague and the route from Regensburg to Leipzig. However, two major town fires, wars, the plague, and five confession changes prevented the town from reaching its full potential.
Following Weiden’s connection to the railway line in the late 19th century, industry developed with the town of around 43,000 still important in the manufacturing of glass and porcelain products. Weiden house the important International Ceramics Museum.
Weiden Tourist Office
Tourist-Information in der Max-Reger-Halle, Dr.-Pfleger-StraĂźe 17, 92637 Weiden, tel 0961-480-8250.
Top Sights to See in Old Town Weiden, Bavaria
Although Weiden is predominantly an industrial town, a pleasant old town lurks at its core. The elongated Marktplatz (Market Square) is more a wide street connecting the former town gates than a square. It is lined by gabled buildings from the 16th to 18th centuries.
The Renaissance is well represented in these gables as well as in the mid-16th-century Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) that divides Markt in two. Note the remnants of the pillory at the northern corner. The Glockenspiel (carillon), installed in 1983, plays daily at 11:35 am and 4:35 pm.
At the southern end of Weiden’s Oberer Markt is the Lutheran Pfarrkirche St Michael (Parish Church), Pfarrplatz 6, tel 0961-470-1577. This 15th-century, triple-nave Gothic church received a Late Baroque makeover in 1759-62.
Nearby is the 16th-century Alte Schulhaus (Old School Building), a huge former granary that later served as a school. It now houses the Stadtmuseum, Schulgasse 3a, tel 0961-470-3900, with art and items related to local history. It is open weekdays from 10 am to noon and 2 to 4:30 pm. Admission is free.
Art Nouveau in the Neo-Romanesque St Josef in Weiden, Oberpfalz
The nearby Pfarrkirche St Josef (Parish Church St Joseph’s), Bürgermeister-Prechtl-Straße 15, tel 0961-390-830, is an interesting, large neo-Romanesque church erected at the beginning of the 20th century. It is the largest church erected in the region since the Middle Ages.
The interior of the St Josef church has a very interesting pre-First World War Art Nouveau interior. It was painted by local artist Wilhelm Vierling to designs of Franz Xaver Hofstötter.
The International Ceramics Museum in Weiden, Upper Palatinate
The Waldsassener Kasten is a Baroque, former monastery building. It now houses the excellent Internationales Keramik Museum (International Ceramics Museum), LuitpoldstraĂźe 25, tel 0961-32-030, a branch of Die neue Sammlung in MĂĽnchen (Munich) and NĂĽrnberg (Nuremberg). The ceramic museum hosts rotating exhibitions ranging from Egyptian to Chinese works and contemporary ceramics and glassware.
Opening hours of the International Ceramics Museum in Weiden are Thursday to Sunday from 10 am to noon and 2 to 4:30 pm. Admission is free.
Further Destinations in the Oberpfalz / Upper Palatinate:
- Amberg – Old Town and Baroque Churches
- Weiden – Neo-Gothic, Art Nouveau, and the International Ceramics Museum
- Flossenbürg – Concentration Camp Memorial Site where Dietrich Bonnhoefer died
- Waldsassen – Cistercian Monastery Church & Library, and Holy Trinity Chapel
- Outdoor Adventures – Hiking, Cycling, and Canoeing in the Oberpfalz
- Hotels & Restaurants in the Oberpfalz – Including the World’s Smallest Hotel
- Introduction to the Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate Region in Bavaria)