The semester contribution

Würzburg in a Nutshell

Like every proper Würzburg student, I actually come from somewhere else. My home town is Erlangen: a city that is so well looked after that the police officers themselves commit crimes so they don't get bored. After my A-levels, it was clear to me that I wanted to leave – but not too far away, so that I could always return to this well-protected nest if the life of a real big city ever overwhelmed me. That's why, after my A-levels, I got myself a regional travel guide and began researching Bavarian university cities. Page one, Regensburg: Beautiful old town on a picturesque river and shopping shops in the pedestrian zone. A city that combines tradition and modernity! In contrast, Bamberg: Beautiful old town on a picturesque river and shopping shops in the pedestrian zone. A city where tradition and modernity go hand in hand! Then came Schweinfurt: Also a city. And finally I came across Würzburg: Beautiful old town, picturesque river, shopping shops, pedestrian zone, tradition and modernity… And wine! A lot of wine. My decision was made. On my very first evening, I found out that trams in Würzburg are apparently called "Strabas" and immediately wanted to move away again. How could anyone prefer a word like "Straba" to the pleasant sound of such a sublime term as "tram"? "Straba" sounds as if WVV employees were too lazy to come up with a decent name for their means of transport and then asked their children, who actually wanted to use the word for a new ice cream flavour with stracciatella and banana. Presumably the same children also recorded the stop announcements in the "Strabas" – sometimes I think the entire WVV workforce lets their children work for them! After this bumpy start, I settled into Würzburg better and better. In wine-soaked nights on the Main meadows, I began to understand why this city is also called the Venice of Northern Bavaria, although that doesn't really mean much, because every city is called some region's Venice as soon as there are houses standing close to a river somewhere. But honestly: who needs St Mark's Basilica when you can have the Käppele? How the vineyards rise above the Main on orange summer evenings is a sight that still moves me even on the hundredth viewing. No, Würzburg is not the Venice of Northern Bavaria – Venice is the Würzburg of Italy! And the Charles Bridge is the Main Bridge of Prague! And Versailles is France's Residenz! And Neukölln is Berlin's… Grombühl. That's where I lived at the beginning of my studies in a hall of residence behind the university clinics. As the crow flies to the university: three kilometres. Travel time by public transport: Approximately 10,000 people die by suicide in Germany each year; in the Würzburg area it was more than 40 in 2020, of which 20 alone were in the city. Suicidality has far-reaching consequences not only for the affected person, but approximately six other people are also affected by each completed suicide – family, friends, work colleagues, supervisors, etc. Suicide prevention aims to help people in and out of their psychophysical distress. Therefore, it is helpful to talk about it and to bring the topic of suicide prevention more into the focus of the public. To address the topic, an interview with Prof. Dr. Med. Reinhard Lindner and Hannah Müller-Pein from the National Suicide Prevention Programme on the de-stigmatisation of suicidality lasted one and a half hours. Vineyards always have a dark side too. Over time, I noticed how divided the Würzburg cityscape is, so that you quickly get the impression that all of Würzburg consists only of trendy students or respectable over-50-year-olds. Both gangs have their own district, which they are prepared to defend to the death: The students besiege the Main meadows with beer-pong battalions and the respectable citizens block the Main Bridge with sturdy Silvaner soldiers. I wondered whether there was anything that still held these such different groups together and after almost three years I now believe I have found an answer. What is Würzburg's core essence? The essence of this city, which I would write as its fundamental definition in the next regional travel guide? Würzburg in a nutshell is not beautiful old town, picturesque river, shopping shops, pedestrian zone, tradition and modernity – and no, not the wine either (per se). Würzburg is simply just the proof that two divided generations can at least agree on one thing: A glass of Müller-Thurgau in front of a beautiful backdrop and the division of society is completely overcome for a brief moment!

Yannik Ambrusits