Miltenberg is a town in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia (Unterfranken) in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named district and has a population of over 9,000.
The old town lies on the Main's left bank on the "left knee" of the Mainviereck ("Main Square") between the Spessart and Odenwald ranges. Since the Main riverbed in the Miltenberg area is relatively near the foot of the Odenwald, only a narrow strip of usable land is left, little over 150 meters in width, which in past centuries was time and again flooded by the Main. The historic centre, which stands on this land, often sustained considerable damage in these floods. Only in the 21st century efficient flood control measures, most of all a wall, have significantly reduced the adverse effects of these floods. Since about the beginning of the 20th century, after buying land from the neighbouring community of Großheubach, Miltenberg has been expanding on the right bank.
Tourism is very important for the economy of Miltenberg. Visitors are mainly day trippers from the urban agglomerations in Hesse (Hanau, Offenbach am Main, Darmstadt, Frankfurt), but bunter sandstone, some small and medium enterprises and crafts and trade are also important.
Main sights include:
- Historic town centre with the Schnatterloch, the historic market square which served as a location for some scenes of the film The Spessart Inn (1958). Nearby are the Hotel Zum Riesen (one of Germany's oldest inns, if not the oldest) and the old town hall. Miltenberg still has a total of around 150 half-timbered houses.
- Mildenburg (the local castle). It was the seat of the Oberamtmann, the Archbishop's local administrator until 1803. It then passed to the Princes of Leiningen before Carl Gottlieb Horstig purchased it in 1825. His widow sold it to Friedrich Gustav Habel, who also preserved several other castles on the Rhine and Mosel rivers. He set up a museum of his collection of antiquities in the Mildenburg. His nephew Wilhelm Conrady researched the Limes and discovered the Teutonenstein. Conrady's heirs auctioned off castle and collections. His nephew, August Conrady bought the Marstall (stables) and exhibited his art collection there. The castle has been under the town's ownership since 1979. In 2010/2011, it was renovated. It now houses a museum of icons and contemporary art. The castle's inner ward once held the Teutonenstein, a 5m-tall sandstone column found on Greinberg, the inscription of which is still a puzzle to this day.
- Town museum "Museum.Stadt.Miltenberg", which now contains the Teutonenstein
- Mainz Gate (Mainzer Tor)
- Würzburg Gate
- The Gothic Laurentiuskapelle ("Saint Lawrence's chapel") with its abutting graveyard.
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