Passau-May 6/19

50,000 population +30,000 students plus 2,000,000 tourists a year. Out of the 50,000 people that live here, 5000 are employed with BMW.

The water level of the Danube today is 4.84m. As read on posted sign later, we see the heights of floods over time….. huge! The highest in 500 years was 12.85m. in 2013. The highest was actually in 1501.

Passau old city

The left bank of the Danube

Start of our walking tour of Passau

High flood marks over the centuries

The postal lady delivering on her bicycle

These were put in place so as to not damage the corners of the buildings from skids, wagon, you name it

As buildings started to collapse into each other they would place these arches so to prevent any further mpvement.

Passau was first inhabited 2500 yrs ago

Romans were here until 500 AD, then came 200 years of the Dark Ages when there was no documentation telling of the time. Then Catholics came about 739AD….. ruled by Prince Bishops.

Vesta Oberhaus (a fortress/castle and residence of the prince bishop)on the hill between the Danube and the Ilz Rivers is the size of 10 soccer fields

For a period it was used as prison. One such prisoner was Charles de Gaul.

When the rivers are flooding the buildings down by the river have bulkheads that they put up to prevent the water from coming in. They are only so high…. maybe 2.5 feet. If the flooding is higher, they have to remove them to allow water into the houses or the force of the water would destroy the houses completely. They have to allow the water pressure to equalize.

Wild man river.. symbol is half naked man

After many riots the prince bishop permitted a place to be built where the citizens could socialize…. the dance hall.

The ScharfrichterHaus is the executioners house.

The prince bishop had a birds eye view from his castle on the hill …….of the executioner & the dance hall.

Ratskeller or city council’s drinking place

The executioner’s house

The bishops fortress, Veste Oberhaus begun

in 1220 but the date when this section was complex shows 1499 (1, then half infinity or an eight means 4 plus 9 & 9)….strange!

the bishops residence

That postal lady is following us.

There were 8 fires that destroyed the city. After the 1662 fire, the house were all rebuilt in the baroque style.

1803 Napoleon kicked out prince bishop and made it a free city of Bavaria.

St. Stephens Cathedral was not totally destroyed in the fire of 1662 hence one side is built in the late gothic style. The other side is built in the baroque style. It really is not a beautiful cathedral from the outside but inside…..absolutely magnificent! It seems like each subsequent cathedral we see is better than the last. The organ in it, is considered the worlds largest pipe organ.