Worms is one of the oldest German cities, located 23 km from Mannheim. These places were inhabited as early as the Neolithic era around 5000 BC. From August times (31 BC to 14 AD) Worms and its environs belonged to Rome.
In Franconian times, bishops ruled here. The city received the greatest development during the time of the Salians and already in 1074 it was exempted from customs duties. In 1184, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa granted the city extensive rights, and thus began the history of the imperial city. In 1689, the city was destroyed by the troops of King Louis XIV during the Palatinate War of Succession. The population was expelled and it took about ten years for city life to start again. The city was significantly destroyed by two Allied bombing raids on 21 February and 18 March 1945. The old town was rebuilt, but few old buildings in the modern style survived after the war.
Sights
It is worth noting the late Romanesque Cathedral, which is the symbol of the city. Built in the late 12th – early 13th centuries, it has two domes and four towers, the western choir stalls are decorated with patterned ornaments, and the southern Gothic portal is decorated with the “Bible in Stone Pictures”, reflecting the world of the Middle Ages. The northern portal, or as it is also called the imperial one, represents the Romanesque style and is mentioned in the famous Nibelungenlied. Dukes were buried in the crypt of the cathedral.
The Automotive Museum, an hour’s drive from the city in Sinsheim, features several pavilions and outdoor areas with more than 3,000 vehicles on display, representing different periods of time and allowing you to see the evolution of the development of this industry. Here you can see about 300 vintage cars, many motorcycles, aircraft, including Russian ones, which can be seen from the inside, 22 locomotives of various production dates. A popular place for citizens to relax – the IMAX cinema shows spectacular films. The Liebfrauenkirche has always been a place of active pilgrimage. Around it are vineyards, the harvest of which goes to the production of the famous Liebfrauenmilch, in Russia this wine is known under the name “Milk of the Beloved Woman”, although the producers meant “milk of the Mother of God”.
It is in Worms that the oldest synagogue of all located in Germany is located. Built in the Romanesque style in the 11th century and destroyed by the Nazis in 1961, it has been restored and modernized. Behind the synagogue is Rashi House, where the collection of the Jewish Museum is exhibited. The first mention of the oldest Jewish community from these places dates back to 588. In the same city, you can visit the oldest Jewish cemetery. Here, in some places, tombstones of the 11th-12th centuries have been preserved.
