{"id":8158,"date":"2024-05-27T18:10:31","date_gmt":"2024-05-27T16:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/romantischestrasse.de\/a-romantic-time-travel\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T17:16:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T15:16:25","slug":"a-romantic-time-travel","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/romantischestrasse.de\/en\/a-romantic-time-travel\/","title":{"rendered":"A romantic time travel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A romantic time travel<\/h1>
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Southern Germany\u2019s longest long-distance bus line began operating in June 1950. The historical photos on this page show some impressions from the past decades.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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The road is the destination \u2013 a romantic journey through time<\/span><\/span><\/h2>
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J\u00fcrgen W\u00fcnschenmeyer\u2026<\/h3>\n

\u2026 since 2000 J\u00fcrgen W\u00fcnschenmeyer is the CEO of the Romantische Stra\u00dfe Touristik- Arbeitsgemeinschaft GbR. This famous holiday route already left its mark at him as he was a little boy. That\u2019s why he summarized the most important events in the development of the Romantic Road. These are also linked with some nice individual (characters).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Cult star Charly Brown<\/h3>\n

Karl Heinz Zobel, better known by his \u00bbartist name\u00ab Charly Brown, drove generations of passengers safely down the Romantic Road. However, his large fan club did not only include people: one of his most loyal passengers was \u00bbSchnuppy\u00ab, a mixed-breed male from Wallerstein, who waited for the European bus every day, drove through town with it and ate a sausage during the journey, which Charly reliably made for him ready. The friendship between the bus driver and the Wallerstein dog lasted more than 14 years before \u00bbSchnuppy\u00ab embarked on his last journey to dog heaven.<\/p>\n

The cult bus driver on the Romantic Road, who always wore a black top hat and white gloves, lived near Wiesbaden until 2018 after his driver\u2019s license expired.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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January 10, 1950<\/h3>

Founding of the working group \u00bbThe Romantic Road between the Main and the Alps\u00ab. The roots of Germany\u2019s oldest holiday route go back to the year 1900, when the \u201cGerman travel route number 1\u201d connected the Main with the Alps. Above all, the American soldiers stationed in Germany and their families later took a liking to this route, which is peppered with rich history and scenic beauty.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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May 4-8, 1950<\/h3>

The first press trip along the Romantic Road is organised. A dozen journalists and travel book authors were there, who were able to get their own impression of the tourist potential of the Romantic Road.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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June 19, 1950<\/h3>

Southern Germany\u2019s longest long-distance bus line begins operations. The 377-kilometer long-distance line is used daily in both directions, with connections to Oberammergau, Ettal and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Departure in the morning at 6.30 a.m. from W\u00fcrzburg, arrival in F\u00fcssen at 8.15 p.m. Opposite at 6 a.m. from F\u00fcssen with arrival in W\u00fcrzburg at 7.35 p.m. Fare per km: 6 Pfennig. With the start of scheduled services, the buses on the Romantic Road will initially be accompanied by English-speaking translators and later by hostesses. In their neat uniforms, they didn\u2019t need to shy away from being compared to Lufthansa flight attendants.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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May 23, 1951<\/h3>

The Deutsche Bundesbahn uses a pair of express railcars on the Rothenburg \u2013 Feuchtwangen \u2013 N\u00f6rdlingen \u2013 Augsburg \u2013 Munich route and back. It is possible to change to the Romantic Road bus in all towns, so that all sights can be visited. The design of both timetables is the responsibility of the Augsburg Federal Railway Directorate (Reichsst\u00e4dtexpress).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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1952<\/h3>

The red train buses are run by the founder of the Romantic Road, Dr. Ludwig Wegele, ceremoniously welcomed: The MAN buses decorated with flowers have each covered 100,000 kilometers on the Romantic Road. The first driver was Johann Marquart (1913-2008) from Augsburg.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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May 12, 1955<\/h3>

The Deutsche Touring Gesellschaft includes the Romantic Road as part of Vogelfluglinie route 312 from Copenhagen via W\u00fcrzburg and Augsburg to Innsbruck. The Romantic Road is thus integrated into the European bus route network of the European railway companies. The red rail buses are replaced in 1962 by the turquoise-beige buses of Deutsche Touring, a 100 percent subsidiary of Deutsche Bundesbahn. Simultaneously with this takeover, Frankfurt am Main and Munich will be included in the timetable. Erwin R\u00fcb, later manager of Deutsche Touring, was the first European bus driver along the Romantic Road.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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