The title ‘The Golden Road’ is so much more than a name. A single route, marked on the map in gold was originally sponsored and planned by Charles IV, who bought up swathes of land in the region known as New Bohemia. The route leads through Hahnbach, Weiden and Bärnau to the border. The so-called ‘Forbidden Road’ marked in red follows a more southerly route from Hirschau, through Wernberg to Waidhaus/Rozvadov, which is approximately the path of the motorway today.
The Bavarian-Bohemian knot
Alongside these main routes there was an entire network of smaller roads that linked them with the towns and villages that were a little further afield, and which had existed and been vital to the region for many years previously.
We see this route not as a single road, but as a corridor, a woven map connecting over 260 communities that were all able to profit from the trade brought to them.
This trade was of course not only positive for the region itself but also to the bordering regions of Egerland or the Bohemian Spa Triangle (das Böhmische Bäderdreieck). It is a road that joins not only communities but also cultures. Our tour presents the reader with many options and suggests taking the pace out of it. Why rush around and miss the best when you see so much more if you take a little time!
Bavarian-Bohemian Balance
Harald Bäumler’s sculpture at the service station on the A6 is a bronze symbolisation of the Golden Road. The gigantic metal loop reaches to the skies. The balancing act of the bronzed droplets on the sandstone base raises scepticism. But the amorphous form rests quietly on its seemingly precarious base, the balance ensured by the exact symmetry of the two halves, both wrought in the same material and twisted together like the two neighbours, Bavaria and Bohemia.
More Information is available about this fascinating work of art at www.viacarolina.net
An author once wrote ‘No province or land in Germany is more fancy and free than that land we call Franconia’. He was called Matthäus Merian and was one of the first writers that ever wrote travel logs for the use of others following in his footsteps. He was referring to the region’s ‘Frank and Free’ nature. Kaiser Charles I promoted Franconia to the centre of his realm. In the following chapter we will be exploring the area beyond the town walls of Nuremberg and the Upper Palatinate. First stop on the road to Prague. Oberpfalz frank und frei zur Fränkischen Pfalz – erste Station auf dem Weg nach Prag.
Capital Road- New Bohemia’s Golden South
The wealth of the Upper Palatinate and Amberg with its official residence and importance at the centre of the mining industry influenced the architecture in the area greatly. Between the ‘Hammerschlösser’ (the mansions built by the aristocracy near their works) a union of the owners of the mines and iron works was established, the Hammereinigung (1387-1626), a fore-runner to the European agreements of today and a kind of mining union enabling the free trade and transport of the materials between signatories was ratified.
Golden South: From Amberg through Nabberg to the Pfreimdtal
Like a spider keeping watch over its web, Amberg is actually situated several kilometres south of the Golden Road behind its still almost complete town walls, but for the tradesmen en route, it would almost certainly have opened its gates. The detour to the residence of the Winter King is worth the trip. Upriver along the Vilstal, on which the barges carried ore to Regensburg, to Schloss Theuern the traveler will see a wealth of wonderful sights, a fascinating town, quirky facilities like a the Museum of Air, castles and some truly beautiful ancient land and river scenery.
The Right Way
It is at this stage of the journey that the Golden Road splits. The good took the ‘right’ way through Weiden and Bärnau, the bad through Wernberg and Waidhaus, which in the end proved to be the cheaper of the two. Despite the popularity of two routes the trade that Charles IV supported and promoted brought much wealth to many a town and the region in general. Majestic town halls sprang up in which the tradesmen could do business. Later during the baroque period the acanthus leaf found fame in interior architecture and decoration. The Ancient Greeks and the Romans used the motif widely, and it was ‘rediscovered’ and used in the embellishment of many an altar and church.
Stiftland, Egerland and the Fraisch
Kaiser Barbarossa made Eger the seat of his Kingdom and the surrounding area was redesigned and refurbished, creating what was to be an example to all regions under the name of Provincia Egrensis. Later as Kaiser Ludwig of Bavaria had to give up the town to his rival and successor Charles IV the region retained its importance and its own parliament until 1806 when it became a part of Bohemia.
The neighbouring Stiftland, or as it was known the ancient province of Tirschenreuth, was under the jurisdiction of Cistercian monks in Waldsassen during this time and they kept a very close contact with Egerland.
Stiftland, Egerland and the Fraisch
Kaiser Barbarossa made Eger the seat of his Kingdom and the surrounding area was redesigned and refurbished, creating what was to be an example to all regions under the name of Provincia Egrensis. Later as Kaiser Ludwig of Bavaria had to give up the town to his rival and successor Charles IV the region retained its importance and its own parliament until 1806 when it became a part of Bohemia.
The neighbouring Stiftland, or as it was known the ancient province of Tirschenreuth, was under the jurisdiction of Cistercian monks in Waldsassen during this time and they kept a very close contact with Egerland.
Stiftland, Egerland and the Fraisch
Kaiser Barbarossa made Eger the seat of his Kingdom and the surrounding area was redesigned and refurbished, creating what was to be an example to all regions under the name of Provincia Egrensis. Later as Kaiser Ludwig of Bavaria had to give up the town to his rival and successor Charles IV the region retained its importance and its own parliament until 1806 when it became a part of Bohemia.
The neighbouring Stiftland, or as it was known the ancient province of Tirschenreuth, was under the jurisdiction of Cistercian monks in Waldsassen during this time and they kept a very close contact with Egerland.
The Forbidden Street
The Kaiser ordered the use of his own official route but was also very aware of the advantages of the ‘forbidden’ option. Charles IV sent his own Imperial Regalia on the forbidden street through Waidhaus, which shows that there was indeed good reason to circumnavigate the heights of Bärnau as proved by the routing of the A6, the modern alternative to the ancient trade route, which seems to follow the unauthorised path.
