Coburg's market square is one of the most harmonious in Franconia — a wide, cobbled rectangle flanked by well-preserved Renaissance and Baroque townhouses, with the imposing town hall at one end and the bronze statue of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg watching over the centre. The square has been the heart of public life in Coburg for centuries, and it functions that way still: markets, festivals, and the daily passage of the town's residents.
The bratwurst stands around the market are the reason many Bavarians make the trip to Coburg in the first place. The local sausage is longer and thicker than the Nuremberg variety, grilled over burning pinecone embers for a distinct smoky flavour, and served in a crusty roll. It has been cooked the same way here for at least five hundred years. The square fills with tables on warm evenings, and eating a sausage at an outdoor stand while watching the Veste looming above is one of the uncomplicated pleasures of northern Bavaria.