Kitzingen is a picturesque town in the heart of Franconia, where historic half-timbered houses, lively culture and the sun-drenched wine landscape of the Main Valley come together. Nestled between the rolling hills of the Steigerwald and the River Main, Kitzingen combines traditional Franconian hospitality with a modern attitude to life. Whether you are a wine lover, history buff or nature enthusiast, there is something for everyone here. Discover a town that impresses with its charm, diversity and quality of life.
The city
Founding saga
According to legend, Hadeloga, the sister of the Frankish king Pipin the Younger, who often stayed at the Carolingian castle on the Schwanberg, was the founder of the monastery. She was of a pious disposition and longed for the peace and quiet of a monastery. Heaven itself was to choose the location for the monastery. On a stormy day, she left her veil to the winds from the castle garden. On the western bank of the Main, it was found hanging from a strange shrub with golden and blue berries by a shepherd called Kitz, who was tending his sheep there. He brought him to the Carolingian castle, and the princess considered the place where he was found to be the God-willed foundation site of a convent for women. At her request, King Pipin built the convent on the southern slope of the Eselsberg. It was consecrated by Winfried Boniface according to church tradition on 23 September 745 and named "Chitzinga monasterium", i.e. Kitzingen Monastery, after the finder of the veil, the shepherd Kitz. Princess Hadeloga was the first abbess of the Benedictine monastery, which was established according to the Rule of St Benedict. Endowed with royal privileges, the Carolingian imperial monastery was dedicated to the Christian education of the female youth of the Franconian nobility and was regarded as the foremost centre of Christian culture in the entire region. This "Monasterium Chitzinga" was to become the original centre of the later town of Kitzingen.¹
¹ from: Hertz Richard, Ahrens Uwe Bernd: Chronicle of the Protestant parish of Kitzingen. History of the town parish. Books on Demand. Chapter 1.