The Via Romea Germanica: the "Melior Via"

Ecce habes omnes fere vias itineris versus Romam.

(And there you have practically all the ways to get to Rome.)

- Albert of Stade, Annales Stadenses (1236)

While touring the Christmas markets in Bavaria in December, I spotted the above waymark for the Via Romea Germanica. What is this route? Where does it go? - To Rome, of course... but where does it start? - In Stade, near Hamburg. Why? - Because Abbot Albert travelled from Stade to Rome and back in the 13th century, and, like the tenth-century Archibishop Sigeric of Canterbury, but unlike most travellers of his day, Albert wrote down the stages he travelled, recording every stopping-place along the way. So modern-day scholars have been able to reconstruct his route, and, with the help of the towns along the way, set up a walking trail for contemporary pilgrims to follow. 

Albert of Stade 

Albert of Stade was a thirteenth-century monk and chronicler. Born before the close of the twelfth century, he joined the Benedictine order, becoming abbot of the monastery of Harsefeld in Stade, near Hamburg, in 1232. In 1236 Albert journeyed to Rome to request the permission of Pope Gregory IX to convert his monastery from the rule of Saint Benedict to the rule of the Cistercians. The Pope agreed, but upon his return, the monks refused to accept the new and stricter discipline. 

In response to this failure, Albert resigned his post as abbot and became a Franciscan friar in the Minoritarian monastery of St. Johannis of Stade, which was committed to the Franciscan ideal of poverty - a novelty at that time, only a few decades after the death of St. Francis. 

Here, Albert settled down to the task of writing his Annales Stadenses, a chronicle of world history from creation until the year 1256; he may also be the author of an addition reporting on events up to the year 1265. The earlier portions of his chronicle draw upon Bede's Libellus de sex aetatibus mundi and Ekkard's Chronicon; like most medieval chroniclers, Albert becomes more detailed and reliable in his account of events closer to his own time. 

The Melior Via

The part of this chronicle of interest to pilgrims is presented in the form of a dialogue between two monks, whom the author calls Tirri and Firri, discussing the Melior Via, the best route for a pilgrimage to Rome. In this dialogue, Albert describes his own journey to Rome, specifying all the resting places and the exact distances of the respective sections. 

On his way from Stade to Rome, Albert took a long detour through France, most likely to visit Cîteaux Abbey, the mother house of the Cistercian order. But he took a more direct route through Austria on his way back home. His main stopping points were, listed from north to south: Stade, Celle, Rietze, Braunschweig, Hornburg, Wernigerode, Hasselfelde, Nordhausen, Bad Langensalza, Gotha, Schmalkalden, Meiningen, Bad Neustadt, Münnerstadt, Schweinfurt, Würzburg, Ochsenfurt, Aub, Rothenburg, Dinkelsbühl, Marktoffingen, Donauwörth, Augsburg, Igling, Schongau, Oberammergau, Partenkirchen, Mittenwald, Innsbruck, Brixen, Bozen, Trento, Padua, Venice, Ravenna, Forli, Arezzo, Orvieto, Viterbo, Rome. 

The Via Romea Germanica today

Dr. Giovanni Caselli, an Italian anthropologist who has played a key role in reconstructing medieval pilgrimage routes in modern times, found a 14th-century copy of Albert's chronicle in Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel; in 2008 Caselli and retired German priest and theologian Uwe Schott convened a meeting of the mayors of 28 German towns mentioned in Albert's chronicle as being on the pilgrimage route, and together they began to work on reconstructing the ancient pilgrimage route between Stade and Rome. The Via Romea Germanica is now an established pilgrimage route approximately 2200 kilometres long, divided into 54 stages in Germany, 4 in Austria, and 46 in Italy.

In Germany, the VIA ROMEA is divided into 12 sections, from north to south: 

Stader Geest (Stade – Harsefeld – Zeven)
Heide (Zeven – Scheeßel – Soltau – Bergen – Celle) 
Ostfalen (Celle – Rietze – Wolfenbüttel – Braunschweig – Hornburg) 
Harz (Hornburg – Wernigerode – Hasselfelde – Nordhausen)
Thuringia (Nordhausen – Bad Langensalza – Gotha – Schmalkalden – Meiningen) 
Rhön (Meiningen – Mellrichstadt – Bad Neustadt – Münnerstadt – Schweinfurt) 
Franconian wine country (Schweinfurt – Würzburg – Ochsenfurt – Aub – Rothenburg ob der Tauber) 
Romantic Franconia (Rothenburg ob der Tauber – Schillingsfürst – Feuchtwangen – Dinkelsbühl)
Donau-Ries (Dinkelsbühl – Marktoffingen – Nördlingen – Donauwörth) 
Swabia (Donauwörth – Markt Meitingen – Augsburg – Igling – Schongau) 
Pfaffenwinkel (Schongau – Oberammergau) 
Bavarian Alps (Oberammergau – Garmisch-Partenkirchen – Mittenwald)

 

For Latin scholars only 

Here is the complete Latin text of Albert of Stade's itinerary from Rome back to Stade, as published in 1256: 

Hiis auditis Firri respondit: Qua via michi redire consulis? Cui Tirri: Nescio, societas et rerum eventus et temporum tibi reditum demonstrabunt. Sed dic, quorsum vis redire?

Cui Firri: In Daciam, unde exibo.

Et Tirri: Poteris redire per vallem Tarentinam, per Evelinum, per montem Iovis; poteri etiam per Pusterdal.

Per vallem Tarentinam sic. A Roma redeas per Viterbium, et sic ultra Alpes ad balneum sanctae Mariae via praedicta usque Meldolam. Et, tunc Furlin non veniens, eas 25 leucas ad Tavernam? Inde 9 per modicam aquam, ex utroque tatere omnino paludosam usque trans Padum. 3 asd Sanctum Albertum. 30 ad Argenteam. 20 ad Ferrariam. 10 ad aquam. 7 per aquam. Haec aqua, quamvis sit modica, tempore tempestatis valde est periculosa, quia a nullo latere refugium est, obstandibus paludibus et deserto; et licet primo sit arta, ad ultimum se dilatat. Unde consulo tibi, ut tranquillo tempore transeat in bona navi. Bonos homines ibi habere non potes, quia nequissimi manent ibi leccatores. Transeat ergo contra diem, non contra noctem.

Aqua transacta, vadas 5 leucas usque Ruvine. 5 iterum ad Anguillariam. 28 ad Paduam. 8 Curterule. 8 Passanum. Ibi est introitus ad montana. 3 Solanie. 12 Sysmo. 2 Covalle. Ibi est antrum naturale in monte, et urbs de antro facta. Nequam sunt in antro, cum sociis transeas. 8 Grind. 10 Ausuge. 5 Leuin. 5 Pergine. 5 Tarentum. 25 Novum Forum. 5 Francole. 10 Boz. Inde duo ad Clusam. Inde duo ad Brixiam. De Brixa quator usque Stercinge. Si vero suasum tibi fierit redire per Carnolum, cum a Roma veneris Ravennam, de Ravennam per mare Venetiam eas et inde Tervisium; et sic transibis Pusterdal carissima sunt tempora et mala hospitia.

De Stercinge quator milliaria usque Materel. 3 Enspruc. Prope locum Illum est claustrum, ubi iuxta altare ad laevam sepultus est Heymo. Cuius sepulcrum habet longitudinem 13 pedum, quorum duo porrigunt subtus murum. 11 sunt extra murum. De Enspruc 2 usque Cirle. 4 Medewald. 3 Bardenkerke. 2 Amergo. 5 Schange. Ibi eris de montanis. Inde per 4 miliaria occurret tibi Ingelinge, per 5 Augusta. 5 Danubius, Transi Danubium et statim intra Vorthen. 4 Offinge. 3 Dinkepole. Rodenborch. 3 Ouwe. 2 Osenvorde, Moyn fluvius. 3 Herbipolis. 5 Swinvorde. 3 Muirestad. 1 Niestad. 4 Werra fluvius, Meininge. 2 Smalekalte. 5 Gota. 3 Salca. 5 Northusen regis. Harthicus mons habet tria miliaria Haslevelde. 2 Werningerothe. 3 Horneborch. 3 et Brunswich. 2 Rithhusen. 3 Testle. 16 Stadium; transi Albiam et curre in Daciam.

- from “Monumenta Germaniae Historica”, Scriptores, vol. XVI, pp. 335-340, Hannoverae 1858.  “Annales Stadenses Auctore Alberto”, Herzog August Bibliotek, Wolfenbuttel 

sources of information: 

https://www.viaromea.de/en/

https://viaromeagermanica.com/en/

https://tuttatoscana.net/itinerari-2/

https://wanderingyetagain.blogspot.com/