Schweinfurt Cruise Port: Mainlände, Old Town and City History

Schweinfurt on the Main: Harbour and City

River cruise ships dock at the Mainlände in Schweinfurt. The Gutermannpromenade is separate: sports boats and private motorboats can dock there. The Main flows southeast of the historic centre; the Mainlände lies east of the Maxbrücke, near Am Zollhof and Alter Bahnhofstraße. The market square and town hall are farther inland.

Old Town and Zürch

The Renaissance town hall, built between 1570 and 1572, stands on the market square, which is also home to the Rückert Monument. Friedrich Rückert was born in Schweinfurt in 1788. Lanes lead from the square into the Zürch quarter, whose homes and craft workshops form a more intimate part of the city.

The name Schweinfurt is documented as early as 791. In the 12th century, the imperial city was established west of an older margravial settlement. In 1397, the city received rights to use the Main; in 1542, it joined the Reformation. After its destruction in 1554, Schweinfurt was rebuilt over several decades. In 1609, the city joined the Protestant Union; during the Thirty Years’ War, it was occupied repeatedly by imperial and Swedish troops. In 1652, four Schweinfurt physicians—Johann Laurentius Bausch, Johann Michael Fehr, Georg Balthasar Wohlfarth and Georg Balthasar Metzger—founded the Academia Naturae Curiosorum, which became today’s German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.

Industry and Culture

In 1853, Philipp Moritz Fischer invented the pedal-crank bicycle; in 1883, Friedrich Fischer developed the ball-grinding machine, which marked the beginning of the rolling-bearing industry. In 1890, Fries & Höpflinger founded a ball-bearing factory; the Fichtel & Sachs company was established in 1895. In 1903, Ernst Sachs invented the Torpedo freewheel hub. In 1909, Georg Schäfer took over Kugelfischer. Vereinigte Kugellagerfabriken AG was established in 1929 and renamed SKF Kugellagerfabriken GmbH in 1953. The Sachs engine is another of the city’s technological developments. At the city-centre Pflasterklang festival, singer-songwriters, music groups and street performers appear at various locations.

Train Station, Bus and Main River Towns

The main railway station is southwest of the historic centre. The central bus station is at Roßmarkt; these are separate transport hubs, both distinct from the cruise landing. The Main is also home to the harbour towns of Miltenberg and Wertheim. River cruises connect harbour cities and stretches of river across larger cruise regions.