"Opera and cycling in Weikersheim" Weikersheim by Nemorino

Weikersheim Travel Guide: 38 reviews and 82 photos

Weikersheim Castle Garden

Weikersheim is a pleasant country town in the Tauber Valley, 63 kilometers upstream from Wertheim and 37 kilometers downstream from Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

The surprising thing about Weikersheim is that it has a renaissance castle (Schloss Weikersheim) with a sizable formal garden modeled after the one in Versailles.

You can always hear some kind of music coming out of one wing of the castle, because it contains rehearsal rooms for young musicians who are learning under the auspices of Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland, the German section of "the world’s largest youth and music network," Jeunesses Musicales International.

Weikersheim Castle

Every second summer, in the odd numbered years, Jeunesses Musicales conducts an opera course in Weikersheim. Young singers and musicians work together under professional leadership to produce a complete opera, which is presented open air on nine evenings in the inner courtyard of the Weikersheim castle.

In the summer of 2003 I saw their production of Carmen by Georges Bizet and in 2005 La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi. Unfortunately I couldn't come in 2007 for La Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossini, but in 2009 I saw three performances, with somewhat different casts, of the German opera The Merry Wives of Windsor by Otto Nicolai (1810-1849), based on the Shakespeare play of the same name.

This is a pleasant light opera which used to be popular in Germany but is no longer played very often, the main reason being that Giuseppe Verdi's last opera, Falstaff, tells the same story, but better. The really brilliant parts of Verdi's opera are just spoken monologues in Nicolai's version -- and Nicolai left out the character of Mrs. Quickly, which is really a shame, because she is one of Shakespeare's funniest and quirkiest creations.

Since Nicolai died shortly after the world premiere of The Merry Wives of Windsor in 1849, he never knew that his opera was later upstaged by Verdi's Falstaff, which didn't appear until forty-four years later in 1893.

I don't know if Nicolai and Verdi were personally acquainted, but in the early 1840s they were both living in Milan, where Nicolai for a while was more successful with his operas than Verdi was. Verdi's big breakthrough came in 1842 with his opera Nabucco -- using a libretto which had first been offered to Nicolai, who turned it down. (Nicolai was not a big fan of Verdi's operas after that, and he soon left Italy in a huff.)

At the Market Square in Weikersheim

Please have a look at my General Tips on this page for more on the Weikersheim summer opera productions in 2011, 2009, 2007, 2005 and 2003.

If you have some time before the opera starts, be sure to take a tour of the castle. Lots of the rooms still contain the original furniture and tapestries from the 16th to 18th centuries.

Weikersheim is also a good starting point for a bicycle trip. In my “Off the Beaten Path” tips I show some of the places along the Tauber River that I went through on my bike between Weikersheim and Wertheim, which is where the Tauber flows into the Main River.

Update: Another really good thing to do in Weikersheim is to walk or cycle the Weikersheim Planetary Trail, which I have described in detail on my Queckbronn page. Queckbronn was a separate village for most of its history, but in January 1972 along with nearby Schäftersheim it was incorporated into the city of Weikersheim.

Last visit to Weikersheim: Jul 2009
Intro Updated Aug 3, 2011
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Reviews (33)

1. The Foreigner, by Guido Messer (1989) - Weikersheim

Guido Messer sculptures Things to Do (13)

Photos: 1. The Foreigner, by Guido Messer (1989) 2. Full view of The Foreigner, with his suitcase 3. Ecce homo, by Guido... more travel advice

1. Exhibition on wine making - Weikersheim

Wine making in the Tauber Valley Things to Do (13)

Photos: 1. Exhibition on wine making 2. Wine making equipment 3. Wagon and barrels Wine making has a long tradition in... more travel advice

Harmonium, loom and washing utensils Things to Do (13)

Photos: 1. Harmonium 2. Loom 3. Washing utensils The Tauberländer Dorfmuseum (Village Museum) also has an old harmonium... more travel advice

1. Museum on Marktplatz in Weikersheim - Weikersheim

Tauberländer Dorfmuseum (Village Museum) Things to Do (13)

Photos: 1. Museum on Marktplatz in Weikersheim 2. Bedroom of an 18th century farm couple 3. Collection of pre-electric... more travel advice

Hotels (2)
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Favorites (5)
See All The Merry Wives of Windsor in...
Restaurants (2)
See All On the left

Transportation (2)
See All Cycling routes in the Tauber Valley
Off The Beaten Path (9)
See All Mainspitze in Wertheim
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Comments (52)

kris-t Jan 23, 2011 at 9:18 AM Report Abuse

Totaly agree about Niagara Falls "attractions"... Weikersheim looks like a very interesting place to visit. Love small European towns like that, they are breathing with history...
June.b Sep 20, 2010 at 2:12 AM Report Abuse

Cycling and Opera... i kinda like the contrast. Really love your pages! Cheers!
balhannah Dec 19, 2009 at 12:26 PM Report Abuse

An enjoyable page to read. Weikersheim Castle Garden looks so beautiful in your photos, would love to see it, plus the inside of the Castle!
JLBG Dec 18, 2009 at 9:21 PM Report Abuse

Schloss Weikersheim is impressive ! Interesting updates since my 2005 visit! In France, we have Persil too but have not built a new word out of it! I did not know that it came from Germany and patented by Henkel in 1907.
mtncorg Nov 24, 2009 at 7:53 AM Report Abuse

Good to see opera is alive and well in the land of spaetzle and pigeons;-] Nice rundown of the town and surroundings.
Roadquill Nov 19, 2009 at 11:54 PM Report Abuse

Hi Don, good info on a city I had never heard of before this evening. See you in Karlsruhe. Hope to see Rossini's Barber of S. in the next few weeks. Fortunately my youngest daughter likes opera. Karl
ranger49 Nov 19, 2009 at 4:10 PM Report Abuse

Things in common - we also have regular visits from small touring opera companies - and open air Shakespeare in the castle gounds in summer! Another faascinating page here! Loved the Guido Messer tip and "persilschein"
LoriPori Nov 9, 2009 at 6:19 AM Report Abuse

Interesting info on all the plays you have attended here in Weikersheim. Great tips on restaurants and accommodations too.
Kuznetsov_Sergey Nov 9, 2009 at 12:56 AM Report Abuse

Great updatings since September, 2006! Your page reminded me this beautiful town which I happened to visit three years ago. Thanks!
yumyum Oct 4, 2009 at 2:28 AM Report Abuse

Very pretty little town! Like the fountain and the tower.