- There is a region in Germany whose climate is so perfect that its hills have produced fine wines for centuries.

And here, you will also find castles and churches and a bridge full of curious history.

Servus from Franconia.

(light guitar music) (light guitar music continuing) (light guitar music continuing) "Curious Traveler" is made possible by the following.

(train whooshing) (repetitive piano note playing) (mellow music) (jaunty music) In ancient times, a tribe called the Franks settled this region behind me.

In the Middle Ages, Franconia becomes one of the five great duchies of medieval Germany.

In the 19th century, Franconia is divided between the kingdoms of Bavaria and Wurrtemberg.

And today, we're going to try to cover as much of that curious history as we can, while, of course, making time for some of Franconia's fine wines and even finer cuisine.

So for now, wilkomin to Franconia.

(jaunty music) The name Franconia comes from the ancient Franks, a Germanic tribe of Western Europe, the same tribe that goes on to form France.

Over the centuries, Franconia passes between different dynasties and empires and has a rich Catholic tradition, which can still be seen today through its many, many churches.

It eventually becomes part of Bavaria, but Franconians are proud of their distinct Franconian heritage, which includes their distinct red and white Franconian flags, and their distinct red and white Franconian wines.

(jaunty music continuing) So here's what I'm curious about in historic Franconia.

Who stands proudly atop this fountain, and who lies underneath a linden tree?

What very important treasure used to be stored in this medieval hospital?

Where can you find the patron saint of bridges?

Why did some 11th century neighbors fight over these vineyards?

When did a cannonball maker design this beautifully baroque palace?

And how does this aroma library produce some of the most unique dishes in Germany?

- It's used for ice cream.

- As it should be.

I mean, come on.

(Felix laughing) Who, what, where, why, when, and how?

So much to be curious about in Franconia.

(jaunty music continuing) Our first stop in Franconia is its largest city, Nuremberg.

Nuremberg has a long royal history, which begins around 1050 AD when a castle was built here for a German king.

On the site of that original castle is today's Kaiserburg Imperial Castle, the mighty symbol of the city.

(light orchestral music) In the Middle Ages, Nuremberg becomes an important center of the Holy Roman Empire.

Then it becomes a center for the German Renaissance, with artists like the great Albrecht Durer, who drew in incredibly accurate detail.

One of his most famous works is "The Rhinoceros", (jaunty music) which was so legendary because no one in Europe had actually seen a rhinoceros before, and in fact, Durer hadn't either.

He created his famous woodcut from someone else's description, and he added his own armor-like fantastical details.

(jaunty music continuing) Science inventions like an early globe and the first pocket watch are created here in Nuremberg during this time period, and the town takes shape.

(mellow piano music) But of course, Nuremberg has a tragic history too.

In the 20th century, the city goes through its darkest period when, in the 1930s, Nuremberg becomes a center for the Nazi Party, who hold their rallies here, enact the Nuremberg laws, and later, the Nuremberg trials are held here.

After the tragedies of World War II, Nuremberg rebuilds and now looks back to its Renaissance days.

(light piano music) Some portions of the medieval and renaissance city survived, which today form Nuremberg's historical mile.

To guide us through these historic treasures is local guide, Claudia Radtke.

Ah, well, they chose wisely.

Our first stop is the Church of Our Lady, built in the 14th century under the orders of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, the one who made Nuremberg an imperial city.

Now, we have some beautiful figures there on the front of the church.

- The seven electors.

Of course, no human beings.

These are wooden puppets.

Then they come out and pass by Charles IV three times to say thank you that he had raised their status.

And the city, of course also says thank you to him, that he had raised the status of the city.

Since 1356, he had issued a so-called Golden Bull.

That was the first constitution of the Holy Roman Empire.

Every emperor should be elected by seven electors in Frankfurt.

Coronation should take place in Aachen.

And every new elected emperor should hold his very first imperial meeting here in the city.

- So that sort of made all of the major cities happy.

'cause everybody had a little piece of it.

- Yeah, sure.

- In theory, - In theory.

I need to admit there were not that many imperial meetings taking place here, but Nuremberg was known as the city of the first Imperial meeting until 1806.

- So, yeah, Nuremberg was a very highly-regarded city of the Holy Roman Empire.

We will see more proof of that in a moment.

But first, just across from the church, also on the main market square, is a fountain in the shape of a gothic spire with a quite curious name.

This fountain has more than 40 different characters.

And we have Christian figures, we have Jewish figures, we have people in philosophy, in history.

What an amazing fountain.

And it's so beautiful that it's actually called... - The Beautiful Fountain.

- The Beautiful Fountain.

- Well, it was built in the 14th century, - Like everything else good here.

(laughing) Everything else good here.

- Yes.

because this was the time that the city had the most money, the 14th and the 15th century.

And The Beautiful Fountain was the first public water fountain.

People were in need of water.

And they were able to read in it, because we had Moses with the prophets, we have the seven electors who elect the emperor, and Socrates with the liberal arts.

- [Christine] And with all those prominent people adorning the fountain, you might miss a small detail attached to the decorative fence.

This tiny golden ring happens to be part of a giant legend.

- There was a master, actually, who had a daughter, and he had an apprentice.

And, of course, they fell in love with each other, but the master said, "No, you're not good enough for my daughter, because when I pass away, you will take over my workshop.

I need someone good."

So the apprentice got so upset that in one night he made a golden ring, seamless, so you couldn't see where it got connected, and added it to the fence and left the city.

The next morning, the master woke up, saw the ring, and said, "Wow, this man is good.

It's a perfect husband for my daughter.

He did his this masterpiece."

- And this masterpiece, just look at how the ring is intertwined with the lattice work.

It was so impressive that the artist granted the marriage of the apprentice to his daughter.

So this ring became a symbol of wishes coming true.

And today, if you turn the ring, your wishes will come true.

Well, that is, if you can reach it.

(light music) our next stop is found along the Pegnitz River.

This is the Holy Spirit Hospital.

Isn't it beautiful, with its little arches over the river and half timber design on its upper floors?

It was founded in the early 14th century by this fella, Konrad Gross, who was one of the wealthiest men in the city.

The hospital also served as a nursing home for the elderly, a home for the poor, and its adjacent chapel served another more curious purpose.

What I find interesting is that it began as a hospital, but it later had a somewhat different purpose.

It became a symbol of power for the region.

- Yes, it had become a center of politics.

Because in the chapel of the hospital, the Imperial insignia, these were the signal of power, the signs of power of the emperor, the crown jewels, crown, scepter, and orb, together with many, many relics had been kept in there for over 350 years.

- [Christine] That's right.

In this spot, in a chapel that's no longer here, the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire were stored, from 1424 until 1796.

That ought to tell you how important Nuremberg was to the Holy Roman Empire.

(light music) But in 1796, after more than 350 years in Nuremberg, the Imperial regalia begins a curious journey.

To save these treasures from Napoleon, they were moved to Vienna, but in 1938, Hitler orders them to be brought back to Nuremberg, where they are put on display.

During World War II, they are hidden away under the Imperial Castle.

And then they were discovered by American soldiers in 1945 and returned to Vienna, where they are still safely stored to this day.

Next, we go to the former capital of Franconia, Wurzburg, (lively music) where we find a mighty castle up on a hill, a baroque palace down in the center of town, and a beautiful medieval bridge connecting the two.

The Alte Mainebrucke, or Old Main Bridge, dates back to the 12th century.

And in the 18th century, these 12 important statues were added.

Here, you will find prince bishops, St. Kilian, the patron state of Wurzburg, and even the patron saint of bridges.

Wow, I do like a dramatic entrance.

(lively music continuing) Wurzburg began as a Celtic settlement here along the main river.

And then the Wurzburg prince bishops ruled from the 8th through the 19th centuries, which explains why there are so many beautiful churches here.

In fact, those prince bishops liked that original Celtic hill fort location so much, they built their mighty Marienburg Fortress right on top of it.

Marienburg means the Virgin Mary's Hill, likely named for the Christian Church that replaced the old pagan temple here.

Over time, the prince bishops outgrew their Marian fortress and needed something bigger, grander, and altogether more fantastic.

(water gushing) So in 1720, the prince bishop began construction on this, the Wurzburg Residence, one of Europe's most renowned Baroque palaces, with more than 400 rooms and surrounded by acres of court gardens.

(lively orchestral music) Only the best artists, architects, and sculptors from Paris, Vienna, and Venice were brought here.

An ambitious project, to say the least.

- He was influenced, of course, by Versailles and Vienna.

Everybody wanted to have Versailles, right?

Everybody who was important and wealthy.

And that's why he decided to build a castle, or Residence, how we call it, here.

- [Christine] But this palace was to be a monument to the power of Wurzburg, not just a copy of that French Sun King's pad.

So the prince bishop hired a Wurzburg architect named Balthasar Neumann.

- He developed his own style, like the Wurzburg style.

And what you see here is the purest form of baroque castle, because it was built in one stretch, 24 years.

And Neumann was the guy who put all of those ideas together.

Do we have one staircase?

Do we have two staircases?

How do we do the garden?

You know, how many parts will the castle have?

He was the one in charge to put all of that together, and he did it very successfully.

- But here's the curious part of the story.

The architect's resume didn't exactly match the grandeur of the project.

Was he the cannonball maker?

- Yes.

He was a cannonball maker.

- That's incredible.

- And the prince bishop took a big risk, because Neumann had never built a building before.

And he gave him the task, but he said, "I have you to build three houses in the city, and if they don't collapse, I know that you are able to build something like that."

- He's like, "I don't care about those houses.

We're gonna do a test drive on those."

- But it was a big risk, - Oh, that's cool.

- but he saw his talent.

(light orchestral music) - And inside, another artist was hired to create a grand ceiling fresco above Neumann's staircase, but not just any artist, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

Here, he created the Apollo and the Four Continents, with the four known continents at the sides, and the prince bishop hanging out with the European Allegories, surrounded by gods.

And Tiepolo created his masterpiece on a massive scale.

At nearly 6500 square feet, it is believed to be the world's largest free-hanging ceiling.

Tiepolo even painted himself in here, along with our pal Balthasar Neumann, of course, leaning on a cannon.

(light orchestral music continuing) And back outside, taking pride of place at the entrance on the Franconia Fountain, is another important artist dear to the history of Wurzburg.

- Kind of his marketing, to show- - [Christine] But this artist was a poet, who forever sits here in front of the palace in his signature thoughtful pose.

- [Miriam] We have a poet from the medieval ages, Walther von der Vogelweide.

- [Christine] I'll let you say that.

(laughing) - Walther von der Vogelweide, yes.

And he wrote poems, but he also was a singer, a Minnesanger, Minnesanger, and he wandered from court to court and he was singing about love, about other things.

He always tried to get like a piece of land from the king or from the prince bishop, but never got it, until the end, where he got it.

And then he was all excited about that and said, "I have it!

I have it!

Now I don't have to be cold anymore."

- [Christine] Von der Vogelweide wrote hundreds of songs and poems, but is most remembered for his love poetry.

His most famous love poem is called "Under The Linden Tree".

And he is forever honored for that poem and for his contributions to German poetry in a very special place here in Wurzburg, here, in a little hidden courtyard between two beautiful churches, underneath, you guessed it, a linden tree.

- So he's buried here, and people come here when their heart is broken.

So when you are broken heart, or when you fell in love, sometimes people come here as well.

- And I think it's really special, because it's just his tomb, and all this space here in the courtyard next to the church just for him.

- Exactly.

Yeah.

So.

And he, you can see how important, or it tells you how important he was.

- And if you look closely, you will see how romantic the linden tree actually is, because the leaves are shaped like little hearts.

(light music) Our final stop in Wurzburg is a stroll back over the old main bridge.

And here, you might notice that everyone seems to be holding a glass of wine.

Well, this is a fun little custom here at sunset.

You get your glass of wine at one end of the bridge and return your empty glass at the other.

(jaunty music) And this is a very fitting custom, because Wurzburg has been part of a wine trading network and wine producing region for millennia.

In fact, if you look up at the Marienburg Fortress once more, you will see that we are surrounded by vineyards.

(jaunty music continuing) So on that note, it's about time we visit a Franconian vineyard, isn't it?

Just a few miles from Wurzburg is the tiny market town of Randersacker, population, 3,000.

You will find an old school house, a church, (church bells ringing) a cute little courtyard full of apple trees, and acres upon acres upon acres of gorgeous vineyards covering the Franconian hills.

(jaunty music continuing) You won't have a problem borrowing a cup of grapes from your neighbor around here.

The history of vineyards and wine production in Franconia dates back to at least the eighth century.

Franconian wines are unique and even have their own specially shaped bottle, called a box butyl.

And one of these vineyards has belonged to the Schenk family for many generations.

When we first arrived, I probably had that same first impression that any visitor has.

We're going, "Oh my gosh, this hill has vineyards, this hill has vineyards."

And you know, and we approach one and you go, "No, that's my neighbor's.

No, that's my neighbor's."

So I would assume that just about everybody who lives here has something to do with the wine business.

- Yes.

It used to be even more.

So every house had some vineyards of their selves to, like, supply theirselves with wine, of course, because nobody likes to drink water in here.

- (laughing) Why would they?

- (chuckling) Yes!

But nowadays, you still have 25 wineries in a very small town.

So every second house is probably a winery.

- Thomas and his wife Caro own and run the Schenk Winery and produce Franconian specialty wines like the Silvaner.

Thomas' grandfather was a master wagon builder, and his old workshop is now the Schenk Wine Tavern.

Each sip is truly a taste of Franconian history.

What is it about this climate and this soil?

'Cause I mean, from where we're standing, I see the hills covered with grapes and vineyards.

- So the climate here is very, very unique, because it's very dry, it's continental.

It's the same distance to the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

And we have very hot summers, which is very good for wine to be very ripe.

- You have 12 varieties?

- Yes.

Unlike like French growers, they have two or three, usually, varieties that they grow.

Germany's a little different.

After the war, people started to rebuild the vineyards, and they planted whatever they felt like.

So we're very open-minded here.

So there's a lot of Chardonnay being planted in the last decade, or Sauvignon Blanc.

So we basically do everything, because we're curious.

- Aw!

Good.

Curious.

Thomas's ancestors began growing wine grapes here more than 300 years ago, but the history of this fertile Franconian soil goes back much further.

So for your family, it goes back 11 generations, but for the soil, it goes back hundreds of years, or thousands of years?

- Well, the first mentioning of the town of Randersacker, where I come from, is been 778, and it's been an argue about a vineyard.

(chuckling) So that's the first mention in any book, is about a vineyard.

- So was it two neighbors arguing about... What was- - I'm not sure what it's... Because it's old German, I can't even read it.

But there is a document in the town hall.

- I was gonna say, where there's wine and where there's neighbors, there's going to be an argument no matter what.

No matter what.

(Thomas chuckling) (jaunty music) Next, we go from fine Franconian wine to fine Franconian food, and loop back to Nuremberg to visit a Michelin starred restaurant and a Michelin starred chef.

Taking notes.

We always talk about throwing tomatoes.

- That's right.

- To experience his curious take on the farm-to-table movement.

Welcome to Etz.

Etz means now in the Franconian dialect, which is perfect, because Chef Felix Schneider uses only the freshest ingredients that are ripe and ready to eat now.

He is a celebrity chef here in Germany, but within a few minutes of meeting him, you will soon learn that he lets his dishes be the real stars.

And you'll also learn that everything he does is a little bit quirky.

Do you serve rocks?

What are the rocks for?

I love this.

- (chuckling) Crispy rocks.

- Everything's just a little bit different in your restaurant.

What are the rocks for?

- The rocks are preheated before we put the cut bread inside.

- Okay.

- And so the bread stays a little bit longer warm on the table.

- So, not to fear, there aren't any rocks on the menu.

Instead, we are whipping up a tasty tomato concoction.

I'm going to guess, because they're here in your restaurant, these are a very special ones.

- They've grown by myself.

- Ah!

With your own two hands.

With your own two hands.

- Exactly.

- And because of all of those wonderful natural flavors, Chef Felix keeps things simple.

No heavy oils or creams or overcooking here.

It's just those summer-perfect, ripe tomatoes with an essence of something aromatic poured over the top.

What is this lovely jar of, I'm not gonna call it sauce, I'm not gonna call it juice.

What is it?

This goes with that.

- It's like a perfume of tomatoes.

- Oh, a tomato perfume!

I love it.

- We are blending and then hanging up in a tissue.

- We collect all this dripping juices.

And this dripping juices, we make a process that we find in beer culture here in the region.

- [Christine] Oh, interesting.

- Which is called bock beer.

- Okay.

- And this we make with the tomato juice.

So we remove a lot of water, we concentrate flavors and aroma.

- I'm gonna let you open it, because it makes me nervous.

It makes me nervous.

Oh!

It smells like a garden.

That's wonderful.

- And the interesting thing is, normally, when we talk about concentrated tomato flavor, it's cooked.

- I've never even heard of that.

That's wonderful.

- And that's very fresh.

It's raw tomato, but concentrate.

- This guy is a scientist.

Seriously.

He even has a lab to prove it.

Don't believe me?

Outside the restaurant, just take a right at the giant pea pod.

(light music) So this is where the culinary magic really begins, in a place that looks a whole lot like where a wizard would store his potions.

Alright, this is the most amazing.

I think it's either a science lab or a museum of creepy crawly things that happen to be really tasty.

What do we have here?

- It's like a library of aromas.

- It is a library of aromas.

What is this beautiful...

It looks like beef jerky, but I don't think it is.

What is this beautiful thing?

- [Felix] So this is a dried raspberry pulp.

- [Christine] Oh, my gosh!

- [Felix] So we're processing a lot of raspberries to make vinegar, and we collect all the pulp and dry it in the sun.

- Can I open it if I promise to be sanitary about it?

- Yes.

- Okay.

Oh, my gosh!

- It's a little bit vacuum sealed.

- Oh, my gosh!

Amazing.

Like the perfume of raspberry-scented angels.

What?

I can't reach that one.

If you can reach it.

What are these?

Are those mushrooms of some sort?

- Yeah, this is, this is very little mushrooms that come up in spring.

And they're called (speaking in a foreign language) which is something like cloth.

They have a little bit a taste of cinnamon or cloth.

- A mushroom has a taste of cinnamon?

- Yes.

- Oh, my gosh.

- You recognize, like, the perfume of spice.

- I love it.

So everybody needs to eat slowly so they can appreciate all the flavors.

- Yes.

Yes.

- Yeah.

When you're watching your customers, like, "You'd better eat this slowly!"

And then there is a whole collection of food items that you wouldn't think are food at all.

Well, maybe food for squirrels.

Are these pine cones or are these sea creatures?

I'll give one to you.

What are these guys?

- Yes, we have pine.

- Oh, my god!

- And we have spruce.

- See those pine cones.

What in the world do you use these for?

- We use, for example, the cones to, to let meat rest in between the frying process.

- [Christine] Each of these special items are stored at the peak of their freshness.

So when you enjoy one of Chef Felix's dishes, you just might feel like you're taking a bite out of a Franconian summer.

- And what we love to do, in winter, we have a serving of the frozen raspberry bush.

- Oh, okay.

- So we collect flowers, wood, the leaves, and the berries.

And then we all blend it together to an ice cream, like a sorbet.

- I'm coming on that day.

I'm coming on ice cream day.

- And people don't believe what raspberry leaves have for the unbelievable fragrance.

And they really spell like rose.

- [Christine] I can smell that already.

- It's like a little bit like tea.

- Oh, that's Wonderful.

That's what I was gonna ask you.

So that's not used for tea.

It's used for ice cream.

- It's used for ice cream.

- As it should be.

I mean, come on.

(Felix laughing) Out of the two choices, let's go with ice cream.

That's incredible.

I could spend all day here in the aroma library, but Felix needs to get back to cooking up more masterpieces for his guests.

So it's time to say auf wiedersehen to the Etz and to Franconia.

(jaunty music) So, from a German castle overlooking a Holy Roman imperial city full of fountain guarding figures and an emperor forever watching over his city, to a princely palace designed by a cannonball maker, decorated by a supersize statement, and fronted by a wistful poet, to some ancient vineyards which continue to produce unique wines all these centuries later, to a unique, to say the least, aroma library full of delicious, Franconian grown delights, Franconia has so much to be curious about.

Thank you for joining us on our educational journey.

And hopefully now you're even more curious about the who, what, where, why, when, and hows of beautiful Franconia.

As they say here, "Alles ist gut!"

We have filmed around the world.

We filmed probably close to 70 episodes now.

This is the first time I've had one of our videographers picking a grape and eating it (both laughing) behind the camera while we're doing the interview.

I saw him doing that.

I just thought that's a compliment.

That's a compliment.

That's a compliment.

- I thank you for that.

You're not gonna get charged for that, alright?

- [Christine] "Curious Traveler" is made possible by the following.

(train whooshing) (repetitive piano note playing) (mellow music) (lively music) Still curious?

Go to curioustravelertv.com and find our links to follow us on social media.

(lively music continuing) (dramatic music)