The Alte Mainbrücke is Würzburg's central gathering point: a medieval stone bridge lined with twelve baroque statues of saints, connecting the old town to the Marienberg hill. In summer, the adjacent wine stands sell Franken wine by the glass, and on warm evenings the bridge fills with locals and visitors doing the Brückenschoppen — the Würzburg tradition of drinking a glass of wine on the bridge while watching the sun go down behind the fortress. It is the essential Würzburg experience, simple and utterly pleasant.
The bridge was first built in the 12th century and widened in the 15th and 16th centuries. It was severely damaged in the 1945 bombing and restored afterwards. The sandstone statues are copies; the originals, badly eroded by centuries of weather, have been moved into the Museum für Franken in the fortress. The view from the bridge — the fortress above, the vineyards on the hillside, the cathedral towers behind — is the classic image of the city.