I'm a textile historian planning a trip to Germany and Austria next year. Are there any old (Baroque or earlier) costumes, vestments, or textiles in Salzburg? I stayed there for several weeks in the 1970's but I was a teenager and of course didn't pay attention.
Also, would like tips for clean budget hotels in Erfurt, Munich, Nurember, Salzburg, Seefeld, and Vienna. Right now I'm planning to go during November of 2022. Thanks.
what do you mean by "budget", in Euros or US dollars?
What are the minimum amenities you'll accept? Do you need a private bathroom? Or is down the hall ok? Do you need breakfast? TV? WiFi (W-LAN)? Elevator? How near to the centre do you need to be?
Driving or train and bus?
Budget - dollars.
Bathroom - en suite preferred but I can make do.
Elevator - strongly preferred, I injured my left knee years ago and it sometimes locks up on me
How near the center - I'd like to be fairly close, or at least on a transit line. I had no problem with the Tube when I was in London so can navigate a subway system.
Transportation - train between cities, flying into Frankfurt and flying out of Vienna.
Thanks!
You may want to look at a monastery stay. This one looks centrally located in Salzburg, cheaper than a hotel although basic accommodations. I found it when I started to research a trip for 2023 so have not stayed there. https://www.gaestehaus-priesterseminar-salzburg.at/en/
There are more monastery stays listed on https://www.monasterystays.com/?d=Austria-accommodation
evansquilt
Budget - dollars.
What he means is what do you consider to be "budget" $50, $100, $200, $500, (in dollar or euro since we don't know your home country). It means surprisingly different things to different people.
I'd prefer to keep the hotel cost below $120 per night. Right now I'm planning to go in November of 2022 if that makes a difference.
HW - thanks for the tip. I've never stayed in a monastery before so it could be interesting. Thanks!
$120 equivalents to €100. To find a hotel room for that price should not be a problem.
I prefer HRS (Hotel Reservation System) for booking in Europe: https://www.hrs.com/
Check for availability, set the maximum price to €100, and the user rating to 8 (out of 10).
Your research interests are very specific. It’s unclear to me if you’re willing to visit a bunch of palace and cathedral treasuries just in the hope there may be some religious vestments of interest on permanent display. Or do you hope for specialized archives that might require an appointment?
There might be some fabric fragments in the splendid old synagogue museum in Erfurt. Did you know Erfurt made its fortune in woad dye? I also suggest the schloss in Gotha, especially since it has one of the three major surviving court theaters of Europe. I wonder if the UNESCO WHS Dessau-Worlitz park has any textiles in the many buildings?
Although it's not that easy to get to from Erfurt, I should mention Quedlinburg. It's mainly visited for architecture, but it has a small cathedral treasury that has some of the most important individual objects of that kind in Germany, which is saying something. It was plundered in WW II, and later returned. It's mainly things like book bindings made from classical artifacts and jewelry, not so much fabrics. I do think that the former East Germany is a good place to look, because there are many places that time can still be said to have passed them by. Don't put off Prague if you haven't researched it yet, or the heavily touristed but worthwhile Cesky Krumlov,.
I wonder if you should select some medium sized historic German cities, like Aschaffenberg, and see if there are collections you want to see there. I mention Aschaffenberg because I've been there, and both the huge Schloss and its' associated Pompeianum should have some objects that involve textiles or garments.
It's a more obscure thought, but I've been to some tiny towns, like Lörsch, where the (modern bronze) replacement for the town fountain displays the home-needlework trades that built the town. But such towns (despite in this case, having a UNESCO WHS mostly-vanished cloister!) are too small to support the scholarship and expense of a real museum. Now, that cloister has a swell museum, but it tends towards early 20th century objects, other than the tobacco industry part of the town's history.
Edit: I see that Leipzig has a substantial Museum of Applied Arts, which will have textiles and maybe garments. Have been to the excellent Fine Art museum there, but not the M.A.K. The Bavarian National Museum in Munich is Decorative Arts, but I only remember a whole case (?) of John The Baptist's head-platters!
100€ will be fine in some of those places, and a bit more tricky in others...
I've looked at my favourite hotel in Seefeld in Tirol, the Hotel Eden https://www.eden-seefeld.at/en-46188 which we settled on several years ago. Fabulous staff, even kept their professionalism one year when we were there during the Euros or World Cup (don't remember) which had the Russian fans and media in most of the hotel - say no more, very excellent food, great location and very comfortable rooms. A very short walk from the station.
In November of this year - who knows about next year, way early to book, a very comfortable single including buffet or room breakfast is between 110€ and 125€ a night. That's for what they now call 4 Star Superior, and they are not far off. When we stay there we usually go half board for their fabulous multi course dinner. It only adds 10€pppn. It would be a little less perhaps in the off season. There is even more to do in Seefeld in Tirol in winter than there is to do in summer. For drivers (I know you are on the train, but for others) they provide covered parking spaces in the winter, and for a small charge fully enclosed private garages.
In Salzburg I have always stayed on a bus line just out of town so can't help with central hotels. I can no longer get into my fav since Rick put it in the book and I refuse to book more than a few weeks ahead (Americans now book it many months out) and the price has gone right up with the RS effect, so I can't help you there.
Nuremberg I stay on a train line several miles out near the autobahn so I can't help there.
Munich, again on a train line several stops east of the city so again no help.
Each of the cities, except perhaps Seefeld in Tirol which is a small town, will have a Treasury attached to the cathedral (Dom in German). They will have both silver and gold plate and almost certainly vestments, perhaps very old ones.
You have bags of time to plan - that is often half the fun.
Tim - I did not know that about Erfurt and woad - thanks! That is fascinating, especially since woad was the source for blue in Europe for centuries. I'm particularly interested in Erfurt because of an embroidered tablecloth in the treasury that has designs identical to those in a medieval appliqued hanging in the Victoria & Albert Museum. The V&A's piece doesn't have a provenance, so if I can determine where the Erfurt embroidery was made, that might shed some light on the V&A's piece as well.
I am absolutely open to visiting small church museums as well, since they often have treasures that are overlooked by major tours. An example is the church museum in Impruneta, a little town in the Chianti region of Italy - it has a nice Ghiberti crucifix, some gorgeous manuscripts, and one of the oldest known pieces of decorative patchwork in Europe (or possibly the world), a cushion that was made sometime in the 15th century. You'll never know if you don't look!
Nigel - thanks for the tip on Seefeld! Again, I'm most interested in St. Oswald's because of a painting that shows Oswald Milser wearing a pieced, quilted coat - it's one of the oldest depictions of either quilting or patchwork in Western art, and there's little written about it. I want to see it in person before I cite it in a paper on early patchwork.
Thanks!
Salzburg -- I highly recommend the Gästehaus im Priesterseminar mentioned above and have stayed there a couple of times -- time #3 will hopefully be May 2022. It's a priest seminary, which is slightly different from a monastery; it is in a delightful old building. Great courtyard. Good breakfast. A single room is around 69 euro per night. You get a simple, clean room (no tv, but there is one in the common area). En-suite bathroom. Washer available -- I don't remember if there is a dryer or just racks for drying clothes. Good location right across the river from the old town proper. There is usually someone at the desk who can speak English, but not always. A little German is helpful.
Erfurt -- I highly, highly recommend Hotel Domizil. Great location near the town's central square (Dom Platz). Hotel has something like 11 rooms. Run by a mother-son team; son is a trained chef who makes excellent breakfasts. Super clean; en-suite bathroom. In 2019, it was 105€ for a double room for single use; pay an extra 10€ and get a view of the cathedral -- it's worth the extra 10€. Mother speaks adequate English; son speaks great English. https://www.hotel-domizil-erfurt.de/en/home/
Vienna -- I like Pension Suzanne. Singe room (with en-suite bathroom) around 88 euro per night. In the city center near the opera house. Great location. Super breakfast. Great owners who speak excellent English. https://www.pension-suzanne.at/
Nuremberg -- I liked Hotel Victoria a lot. Great old building. Simple, clean rooms, some of which have some character due to the oldness of the building.. Good location just inside the old city walls near the train station. Great breakfast. Single with en-suite bathroom is 82 euro per night. Most if not all staff speak English. https://www.hotelvictoria.de/en/index.html
Munich (but also Salzburg, Vienna, and Nuremberg) -- The Pension in Munich that I liked has closed, sadly. Munich (along with the other three cities), though, has a good selection of Motel One locations. Motel One is a German budget chain that has simple, clean rooms with a touch of style. They have great common areas. Nightly rates usually range from 69 to 89 euro for a single (breakfast is around 10 euro more). I've stayed at locations in Berlin, Bremen, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Vienna, and London. All my stays have been great. If you go the Motel One route, sign up for the Be One membership program, which gives you a one-time free breakfast and a free bottle of water with each stay. https://www.motel-one.com/en/
Dave -
Wow. This is exactly the sort of information I was looking for. I was strongly considering some of these already, particularly the Pension Suzanne, but this seals it. Thanks so much!
Glad to be of help. 🙂
