Kitzingen, Germany- Guest Post from 2Boys+1Girl=1CrazyMom

This is a guest post from Crazy Mom at 2Boys+1Girl=OneCrazyMom; she is from Germany and I’m excited that she agreed to introduce her hometown to us. The history on this little town, just like much of Germany, is phenanomal and I’m amazed by all that town has to offer.

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Hi, I’m Melanie founder of 2Boys+1Girl=OneCrazyMom, born and raised in Kitzingen, Germany and move to the US 14 years ago to raise my children in hopes to be able to give them a better future. Being away from home, you do get homesick quit a bit. I made Florida our home now, but you always remember your “home”. I’m very excited to be able to share my hometown story with all of you and hopefully one day you will be able to go and visit and think about us. My Hometown has a lot of history, more than anyone in the US can ever imagine; Kitzingen is over 1500 years old with a lot of history…..I so wish I could take ya all there and show you around…

Kitzingen is a town in the German state of Bavaria, capital of the district Kitzingen. It is part of Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County is the largest wine producer in Bavaria. It is said to be Franconia’s wine trade center. A little secret that most of my readers don’t know, even a lot of my friends here in the US don’t know, I was the “Siedlerkonigin” similar to the “Wine Queen” of my town 1994/1995. That is an exceptional honor to be able to represent your town and the wine and show everyone what your town is all about at events, trade shows and there like.

Some History about Kitzingen, Germany

According to legend, Kitzingen was founded when the Countess of Schwanberg lost her jeweled scarf while standing on the ramparts of her castle. The castle was located high above the fertile section of the Main River Valley where Kitzingen now lies. The Countess promised to build a cloister on the spot where the scarf was found. When it was found by a shepherd named Kitz, she kept her word and built a cloister which she called Kitzingen.

The city’s main landmark is the Leaning Tower, built during the 13th century. It is distinctive for its crooked roof. According to town legend, the tower was being built during a drought, and workers used wine instead of water to make the mortar causing the top of the tower to lean. Today the tower holds a carnival (Fasching) museum.

A local legend is that the golden ball atop the crooked tower contains the heart of Vlad Dracula of Romania. If you follow the path of the crooked tower, the golden ball leans directly toward a grave in the Kitzingen Old Cemetery located across the street from the tower that is called the Grave of Dracula. Another local US army legend is the upside down crosses that make up the small windows on the tower, appear right side up when light casts towards the grave yard to ward off vampires. The crosses alternate, such that every other one is upside down – pretty spooky on a dark day. Some, however, believe that the grave that is called “Dracula’s Grave” is not actually where Vlad Dracula is buried, but rather a heavely-decorated grave of a very rich family that resided in Kitzingen.

Kitzingen had a lot of US Military, with 2 Barracks, an Airport and a entire Housing/ school development, a lot of Americans are familiar with this little town and the funny thing is, I came across quite a few here in Florida who were stationed in Kitzingen, Germany.

I hope you enjoyed a little about a German Town History…. Does your Town have a unique Story ?? If you ever visited Kitzingen or any other German Town, would love to hear your favorite memories.. was it the Biergarden, the Food or anything else you really enjoyed??

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A BIG thanks to Melanie for such a GREAT look into her hometown! I loved the spooky Dracula legend- how neat! 🙂