Passau

The final stop on the cruise portion of our travels was Passau, our only port-of-call in Germany. Passau is in the southeast corner of the country, strategically situated at the confluence of three rivers, the Inn, the Ilz and the Danube.

Passau’s population is 50,415, of whom about 11,000 are students at the local University of Passau. The university, founded in the late 1970s, is the extension of the Institute of Catholic Studies (Katholisch-Theologische Fakultät) founded in 1622. It is renowned in Germany for its institutes of economics, law, theology, computer science and Cultural Studies.

The salt trade was the most important economic factor for Passau during the Middle Ages, because salt was an important raw material at the time. Trade in the so called “white gold” was facilitated by the favourable topographic setting of Passau. The confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz Rivers made Passau an important junction and reloading point for the commercial traffic between Bavaria, Austria and Bohemia.

 My first photograph features the Passau Salt Tower, a fortified tower dating back to the 14th century. It was part of the old salt boat harbour in Passau.

To the left of this scene, you can see the St. Gertraud Church. My next photo is a closer shot.

Not unlike most European cities, the presence of the Roman Catholic Church is very apparent. The centrepiece of the Catholic religion in Passau is St. Stephen’s Cathedral, featured in the following three photographs taken inside during an organ recital we attended. The first picture is a shot of the church’s organ, one of the world’s largest.

In this picture, you can see the church’s altar. As was the case with many cathedrals we saw, much of the lighting is natural. Not surprising since they were all built at a time when illumination was pretty much limited to candles. As a photographer, I very much approved of the lighting for this picture.

In the course of the organ recital, my eye was drawn to this nearby candlestick. I’ve included it for no other reason than I found it quite appealing.

In the course of our visit to Passau, I participated in an afternoon hike along the Ilz River. I got several nice photographs and I’m including a couple of those in today’s blog. Firstly, two young ladies enjoying a quiet paddle on the river. (Not a great day for those who suffer from pollen allergies!)

We saw many old bridges along the way, none more appealing than this one.

Another interesting place we visited was the Old Bishop’s Residence. As the name suggests it was the home of a succession of bishops who were not only church leaders but also the governors of the city at the time. The interior decor is very ornate and the following staircase and ceiling views make interesting photo subjects.

All excursions end with a return to the ship. I descended to our ship’s berth via this steep and narrow street. Not a lot of skate boarding here!

This narrow passage, descending to the riverside is typical of many such streets and alleys you can take.

I’ve pretty much covered the highlights of our recent river cruise. It’s time to move on to some new subjects. I hope you enjoyed this sequence of blogs and perhaps I’ve encouraged you to consider exploring this very fascinating part of the world.