European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 14, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                At right a Bridge Over the main leads to a massive Gate and the oldest Section of Miltenberg. Below the old City Hall in Worth. Continued Iron it Page j towers. A stairway loads Down to a Riverside Park. In the fall the Gold and yellow leaves of the poplars sift Down through the branches to Drift away downstream. A Short 10-minute drive South lies Worth. Unlike Obernburg whose Elevation gives it a certain detachment from the waterway Worth is very much a River town. This has had both a positive and negative Impact. Name s like the Toast huns turn Schitt recall Worth s shipbuilding past the last shipyard moved across the River to erlenbach in 1918. At the Back left Corner of the old c Ity Hall just one Block up irom the River is a series of horizontal Marks carved into the Timber beside each one is a Date the lowest one at neck height is labelled february 1970. Next to the highest More than i 2 feet above Street level is inscribed feb. 29, i 784. I Hose historical gouges denote water Levels read he d during some of the major floods that have inundated Worth. I he town has always been at the mercy of the River. It dec mint d my livelihood of Many trom fishermen to Baige men and shipyard workers. But at no time is its Power Moie awesome than during the annual Winter thaw. It is usually i Ehi uary when the heavy Rains begin to fall melting the1 Snow in the Distant Hills of the Frank is he so Invez and the nearby Spessars. Quot it comes slowly Quot says longtime with resident i Ludwig i burst. Quot every hour 1 centimetre 2  Hirst who was born in Worth for years ran an upholstery shop on Rathaus Strasse one Block up irom the River. Five years ago he moved upriver to Tren Furth to escape the flooding. The floods come about on e every three to five years he says but Quot you have to count on it the possibility every  in the late 1800s the floods were so bad that officials attempted to move the town to higher ground on the other Side of the main Street. The Effort was Only partly successful. Many residents simply refused to leave their ancestral Homes despite the threat. A plaque on the new City Hall on Luxburg Strasse hails the building of the new town Quot from the ruins of the flood of 1882.&Quot i Oday the division is Clear. On the River Side of main Street the old town is a collection of tiny uneven streets and alleyways lined by Quirky Hall timbered houses in varying states of repair. 1 he new town is mainly sober and solid Brick and Stone Homes built beside Broad boulevards. Worth is not a pretty tourist town. 1 he threat of hooding has kept it poor and Small a slightly More than 4,000 residents. But Otti vials Hope to change that and bring in tourist Money. Quot we Are in the process of making the old town Sale from to oct Waters says a town official. The project which is estimated to Cost 20 million Marks about $12.5 million will incorporate parts of the old City Wall and additional blood dikes. It will also include a face Litt Tor Large parts of the old town. Most of the Money w ill come trom the1 bavarian state government. But despite its current state of decay tie old town is still Worth seeing. The old City Hall is splendidly renovated. Be sure to stroll Down to the Riverside Park outside the City Wall. Also Worth a look is the former St. Wolfgang Church now a shipping museum. Eight Miles upriver from the neglected Backwater of Worth is Miltenberg the mid main s tourist Mecca. Located where the Valley s bordering Hills ascend to the first High Steep Bluffs Miltenberg is the town Worth aspires to be. Squeezed out Long and thin Between the River and the Bluffs this carefully Pretti fied studiously quaint town of 1 5,000 is full of sights you expect to find in a German tourist Center a half timbered houses a Beautiful Market Square attractive shops a turn of the Century Stone Bridge. Miltenberg s City charter dates to 123 7 and it once sat astride the most important Trade route Between Frankfurt and Nurnberg. But its Economy today is tourism based. Among the most noteworthy attractions Are the town s namesake Castle the Mildenburg the Lewish cemetery the St. Acob s c Hurch and the Market Fountain. Its Many guest houses and restaurants make Miltenberg an excellent lunch Stopover Point. There is a Large parking lot along the Quay which is a boarding Stop Tor Rier cruises