Veitshöchheim station
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is at kilometre marker 7.0 on the Main-Spessart Railway
Main-Spessart Railway
The Main-Spessart Railway is a 110 kilometre long railway line in the Bavarian province of Lower Franconia and the neighbouring state of Hesse in south central Germany. It runs from Würzburg via Gemünden and Aschaffenburg to Hanau...
from Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
to Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart"...
. It was built during the construction of Ludwig's Western Railway
Ludwig's Western Railway
Ludwig's Western Railway is a German railway line that was originally funded by the Kingdom of Bavaria. It runs from Bamberg via Würzburg to Aschaffenburg and on into the former 'Kurhessian' Hanau.- History :...
, which was taken fully into service on 1 October 1854.
The station was built in the immediate vicinity of Schloss Veitshöchheim, a summer residenz
Residenz
Residenz is a very formal, otherwise obsolete, German word for "place of living". It is in particular used to denote the building or town where a sovereign ruler resided, therefore also carrying a similar meaning as the modern expressions seat of government or capital...
initially of the prince bishops of Würzburg
Bishopric of Würzburg
The Bishopric of Würzburg was a prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire, located in Lower Franconia, around the city of Würzburg, Germany. Würzburg was a diocese from 743. In the 18th century, its bishop was often also Bishop of Bamberg...
, later the kings of Bavaria
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
, at Veitshöchheim
Veitshöchheim
Veitshöchheim is a municipality in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Main, 6 km northwest of Würzburg. In the town is Schloss Veitshöchheim; this summer palace of the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg was built in 1680-82, and was enlarged to its...
near Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
. The castle is especially well known for its surrounding rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
garden.
In the 19th century this park, which was then a public facility, was nearly destroyed by the construction of the railway. Engineers had planned to use the central avenue of the park for the trackbed of the railway. This idea was however vetoed by King Ludwig I
Ludwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I was a German king of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states.-Crown prince:...
, who ordered the line to be routed to the east around the castle gardens even though this was topographically less suited.
This was also where Veitshöchheim
Veitshöchheim
Veitshöchheim is a municipality in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Main, 6 km northwest of Würzburg. In the town is Schloss Veitshöchheim; this summer palace of the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg was built in 1680-82, and was enlarged to its...
station came to be built. It was given a station building which was particularly representative of a spa town and which was to required to serve both as an excursion station for Würzburg's citizens visiting the park as well as acting as the station for the royal castle. The public station building was much larger than was warranted for Veitshöchheim which was only a village at the time. Next to this building a royal pavilion (Königspavillon) was built directly on the main axis of the castle acting as a private railway station. This was connected to the station building by a covered hallway. The royal pavilion is used today by the municipal library and by Veitshöchheim's youth hostel.
Between 2004 and 2005 the platforms at the station underwent extensive modernisation. For a total of 3.2 million euros, two new prefabricated outer platforms were built, which were sited a platform length towards the direction of Würzburg. A new underpass was built to act as access for the platforms. The old home and intermediate platforms were removed following the completion of the new ones in July 2005.
External links
- There is an English-language discussion forum at Railways of Germany