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Stuttgart forum: Visit to castle ruins and magnificent church
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Visit to castle ruins and magnificent church |
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Finally after postponing for years our visit to the ruins of the Hofen Castle and and the old church at Muehlhausen, we visited them Sunday afternoon. The ride on the U-14 along the Neckar River was gorgeous with the trees in almost full Fall color, however, most of the extensive vineyards were still green. We got off at Hofen and walked north along the river to below the castle and then took the stairway up. The Hofen castle is Stuttgart's largest old ruins. Unfortunately, it was never rebuilt after the 30 Year War, and stones from it were used to build the nextdoor St. Barbara's church, which had a nice (but not great) Baroque interior. This sleepy part of Stuttgart was amazing for the lack of sound. By the church and castle is also a winery/Besenwirtschaft* (unfortunately, broom-less) in an old building, and we could smell the wine fermenting. Then we walked across the Neckar and continued on to Muehlhausen and Veitskapelle (St Vitus' Chapel). Built in 1380 it is the oldest fully preserved church in Stuttgart, and the most important church for history and art. This very small Gothic style church has a very plain exterior, but its interior is a joy for art historians. Walls are covered with a series of paintings from between 1400-1440 with biblical motifs. The carved main altar group is from 1510 and another from 1450. There are also tombstones of the local lords. (This Protestant church, outside of church services, is only open on Sundays from 2-4:30PM from Easter to mid-October, or by prior arrangrment and tours can be arranged for groups of six or more. www.veitskapelle.de Germany's second oldest Protestant church and the oldest in the country's south -the one in Stuttgart's Old Palace- has similar very restrictive opening hours, from 1-2PM on Wednesdays. A general rule is that most Protestant churchs are plain and kept locked, Catholic ones are more ornate and left open.) That was it for our afternoon, a lovely enjoyable short day, but we'll have to go back to see a nearby palace and the nearby ruins of Engelburg Castle, which with the Hofen Castle across the river, controlled this stretch of the Neckar. Information about Stuttgart can be found at www.stuttgart-tourist.de . *Besenwirtschaft. Wineries are allowed to sell their wine and food as long as the new wine lasts. They advertise this by placing a Besen (broom) outside. Typically, you eat in the owner's dining room sharing tables with others. Wine (either red or white depending on the winery) is served ba the pitcher and Viertel (1/4 liter glass). Good traditional Swabian food is served, and often quite cheaply. It's a very fun thing to do. Report as inappropriate |
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Hello Marco Polo, We would like to visit Germany next year(2009) for a wine tour. I am a teacher and therefore can only visit in July and August. I have seen some of your recommendations and they sound wonderful. My husband loves Mosel Saar wines and I love wines that are Rheinphalz or Rheinhessen. Any recommendations on how we can make a trip to satisfy both of our tastes? The Stuttgart festival sounds wonderful but we would like to see some of the vineyards, too. Report as inappropriate | ||||||
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Stuttgart is also in a wine growing region called "Württemberg". The Swabians drink however their wine themselves (guess with the help of marcopolko). That's why you'll barely find any Württemberg wine elsewhere. The closest vineyards are just a few hundred meter from the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station). Stuttgart is the biggest city (in population not in wine output) producing wine in Germany. Wine in Stuttgart stuttgart-tourist.de/ENG/…weininstuttgart.htm Stuttgart Wine Guide stuttgart-tourist.de/downloads/stuttgarter_w… Viniculture museum & wine paths stuttgart-tourist.de/ENG/city/wein_museumund… Stuttgart Vineyards Walks stuttgart-tourist.de/downloads/Weinwanderweg… Report as inappropriate | ||||||
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"We would like to visit Germany next year(2009) for a wine tour. I am a teacher and therefore can only visit in July and August. I have seen some of your recommendations and they sound wonderful. My husband loves Mosel Saar wines and I love wines that are Rheinphalz or Rheinhessen. Any recommendations on how we can make a trip to satisfy both of our tastes? The Stuttgart festival sounds wonderful but we would like to see some of the vineyards, too." Stuttgart is one of the few large European cities with extensive vineyards, like Lyon, France. Most are on the north side of town. Wine has been the traditional product of Stuttgart until the advent of the automobile (Stuttgart is where it was invented, and there are the excellent Mercedes Benz and Porsche Museums). It is said that many of the old buildings used wine instead of water for their mortar as it was easier to obtain. Stuttgart has Germany's highest wine consumption, over twice that of the national average. The large Weindorf (Wine Village) takes place in late August early September ( www.stuttgarter-weindorf.de probably only in German). Württemberg wines are mainly reds such as Trollinger and Lemberger, but there are also plenty of whites. Pamphlets on the Weinwanderweg are readily available from the tourist office and probably also free through their website www.stuttgart-tourist.de . Also, abalada has given the website, which in general is www.stuttgarter-weinwanderweg.de . The walks through the vineyards around the pleasant former village of Uhlbach with its wine museum and Obertuerkheim are very nice, and also the burial chapel of the Wuerttembergs is on a high hill nearby. The views are very nice as you climb the wine slopes. There are plenty of wineries, Weinstubes, and Besenwirtschafts along many of the suggested walks. July-August is probably not the best for Besenwirtschaft's, but some may be open. Also available from the tourist office is a map of the Wuerttemberg Wine Road, a route through the Wuerttemberg vineyards which of course also partially includes some of the Stuttgart ones. The Neckar River and its tributaries such as the Rems (another wine route) have extensive vineyards planted along them. Wineries along this route are signposted so that they are easily found. We particularly like the wines of Rolf Willy (google if you're interested, somewhere in the website is a part in German and also their wine list) in Nordheim just to the SW of Heilbronn. Nice old towns between Stuttgart and there are Besigheim and Lauffen (Hotel Elefant has an excellent restaurant and serves Rolf Willy wines) which has a small completely walled old part. Ludwigsburg ( www.ludwigsburg.de ) with Germany's largest perfectly preserved (all original, not a 1950s rebuild like so many others) Baroque palace (in www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de as are also the Stuttgart palaces) with several days of excellent things to see is also in this area. The Bottwar region also has many fine wineries and a few castles and interresting churches. For the Rems Valley, besides the wineries, the monastery at Lorch (in www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de ) is interesting and is the burial site of some of the Staufer emperors and there is a reconstructed Roman Limes tower there, and Schwaebisch Gmuend has a nice medieval center. Esslingen ( www.esslingen.de ) just to Stuttgart's east has an excellent well preserved medieval center, many vineyards, and also Germany's oldest Sekt (German champagne) cellar, Kessler ( www.kessler-sektkellerei.de ) which has guided tours by appointment for 6€ per person, although I don't know if you would qualify for one. The largest castle (fortress) ruins of the Swabian Alb ( www.schwaebischealb.de ), Hohenneuffen (in www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de and www.hohenneuffen.de ) has its own vineyards below the castle, and I believe they are served at the restaurant there with its very good food and excellent views. A good source of information on Baden-Wuerttemberg is www.tourismus-bw.de , and you can order free information from them. If you don't change the website to English, there are many more excellent publications including "Baden-Württemberg 2008 erleben" which has listings arranged by category of tourist sights and activities for most of the better places to visit in this German state.
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Marcopolko - I took your recommendation and took a day trip to Esslingen today. Excellent advice! Esslingen is a wonderfully preserved, charming little town on the Neckar River. It is just large enough to spend a full day exploring the cobble-stoned streets lined with cool, little shops. There are beautiful churches, scenic vineyards, and great restaurants, however, the highlight of the day for me was visiting th Kessler sparkling wine cellars. What fun! There is another winery in town (Kusterer, I think) but they were closed because of a family emergency. Oh well, I definitely plan on returning someday soon! Report as inappropriate | ||||||
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RickRoll, I take it that you have gotten your apartment situation resolved. You might like to return to Esslingen for their Medieval & Christmas Market (25Nov-22Dec) which is situated in the medieval center of town. The medieval part is particularly nice in the evening when lit up by torches. An excellent place to eat in Esslingen is Gambrinus, if they have Wildmaultaschen on the menu, it is superb. In May, the restaurant in the Dicketurm (fat (large) tower on the hillside above the town) has a special asparagus menu of over 20 pages. As you enjoyed Esslingen, try Tuebingen which we like even better. Also, the Linden Museum of Ethnology in Stuttgart is having the Market of the Nations, with a lot of interesting nice items for sale from places around the world. I believe it will still be open until this Sunday from 10-6, but better check first. Report as inappropriate | ||||||
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