Coburg and the Queen

It is only a short kilometre from the station to Ehrenburg Castle. From Lossaustraße, turn left into Mohrenstraße and walk along the Kleine Mauer to Theaterplatz with the Landestheater.

Duke Ernst II had the classicist building built as a court theatre in the 1840s. Today, the Landestheater presents opera/operetta, drama and ballet here. It is one of the most magnificent theatre buildings in Bavaria and, with 488 seats and 100 standing room seats, also one of the largest. The Free State of Bavaria has co-financed 40 per cent of the theatre's operation since 1920.

The fact that Bavaria made such financial concessions to the small Franconian town in 1920 and gave money for the theatre had a simple reason: at that time, the economically struggling Coburg was considering joining the newly formed state of Thuringia. Next to the theatre stands the Edinburgh Palace from 1845, which belonged to the British Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, son of Queen Victoria. A famous photograph in front of the palace conservatory shows the illustrious family: the German Emperor Wilhelm II, the later Russian Tsar Nicholas II, the Romanian Crown Prince Ferdinand, the Coburg Dukes - and Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland, whose mother came from Coburg.

Today the building is the seat of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce and can only be visited from the outside. The theatre and palace complete the ensemble of buildings on the Schlossplatz, the focal point of which is the magnificent Ducal Palace.

In the 16th century, the Coburg Duke Johann Ernst moved his court from Veste Coburg down to the town. Here, between 1543 and 1547, he had a Franciscan monastery dissolved by the Reformation converted into a three-winged building in the Renaissance style. From 1690, Ehrenburg Castle was converted into a Baroque residence of the Coburg dukes with a magnificent hall and the court church. After 1810, the building received its neo-Gothic style - the still young Berlin architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel provided the designs for it.

The magnificent living and social rooms are designed in the Empire style and bear witness to a time when Queen Victoria of Great Britain visited her German relatives here at the end of the 19th century.

On a tour of the palace, 25 rooms can be visited, including the Family Hall, Giant's Hall, Throne Hall, the two picture galleries, the Duke's Apartment and the Duchess's living quarters, as well as the Court Church.

After the tour, you can stroll a short distance through the courtyard garden, which stretches about a kilometre from the Schlossplatz up to the Veste. The grounds date back to 1682. More than 60 tree species such as the rare yellowwood tree or the primeval sequoia and around 350-year-old woody plants make the garden something special. Here you can also discover the bronze equestrian statue of Duke Ernst II and the Duke Alfred Fountain. If you feel like it and have time, the Natural History Museum on the northern edge of the Hofgarten is an interesting destination.

The Coburg dukes were known for their scientific interest and their passion for collecting. They gathered stuffed birds, special stones and exotic woody plants and thus laid the foundation for the museum in 1844. In 1914, the collection moved into the purpose-built building in the Hofgarten. Today, on an exhibition area of 2,400 square metres, guests can admire more than 700,000 collection items such as minerals, fossils, native and exotic animals and plants as well as learn about the history of prehistoric man and peoples.

Now head back in the direction of Ehrenburg Castle, along the Wettin complex to Steingasse and on the left into Kirchgässlein, directly towards the town church of St. Moriz.

St. Moriz is the oldest and largest church in Coburg and traces its origins back to a Romanesque basilica from the 13th century. The town church provides insights into Coburg's varied history. Here you will find the ducal burial place and a 13-metre-high alabaster epitaph of Duke Johann Casimir from the Renaissance period. Martin Luther preached several times in St. Moriz during his stay in Coburg in 1530.

Back to Steingasse, it is only a stone's throw to the market square. No fewer than seven alleys lead to the central square, which dates back to the 15th century. This is where people meet to see and be seen, to chat over coffee and to shop. Twice a week the square invites to a colourful market hustle and bustle, when traders offer fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs and meat. In the centre of the market square is the monument to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, erected in 1865. The square is lined by neat historic town houses with gables and oriels and the Renaissance town hall. The "Brunnen am grünen Baum" (fountain by the green tree), which is reminiscent of an inn of the same name, is incidentally one of around 30 fountains that bubble up in the city. It is less than 100 metres to one of Coburg's most beautiful half-timbered buildings, the listed Münzmeisterhaus.

The former mint master's house is one of the most important town houses in Coburg. Built in 1333 as a three-storey half-timbered house, it is one of the oldest half-timbered buildings in Germany. It was one of the first Gothic half-timbered houses built in the so-called storeyed style. The family of the mint masters, called "von Rosenau", lived here. The influential family provided councillors and mayors of the city several times.

Before you head back, take refreshments in one of the restaurants around the market square and then walk the short kilometre to the station via Judengasse and Viktoriastraße, which commemorates Marie Luise Viktoria (1786-1861), princess of the Coburg duchy. Married in second marriage to the Duke of Kent, she was the mother of the British Queen Victoria.