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|Cycling over the Rhine into Baden-Württemberg
As with all other German states, Württemberg lost its remaining sovereign rights to the German Reich under the Nazis. As early as 1933, the country was reduced the Nazis' Gleichschaltung policy to that of a German province. The old boundaries remained unchanged, although a constitutional union of areas between Württemberg and Hohenzollern created the Nazi Parteigaus Württemberg-Hohenzollern although this was not carried out until the end of the Nazi dictatorship. Support for Hitler grew steadily during his reign, reaching its height with the annexation of Austria in March 1938 and the victory over France in June 1940. Many Württembergers overlooked or accepted the persecution of the Nazis' political opponents through a compliant judiciary. The regime discriminated, abducted and abused unpopular people - especially the Jews - like everywhere in the kingdom and killed many in concentration or extermination camps. The general euphoria of the Germans after the defeat of France gave way in the course of World War II to great disillusionment. From 1943 the major cities like Stuttgart Württemberg, Heilbronn and Ulm were largely destroyed in the air war. In April 1945, American and French troops occupied Württemberg. After the war Württemberg was reconstituted into Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern.
Once, in the Black Forest city of Freiburg, when his car was pelted with stones, he jumped down from the vehicle waving his whip, forcing his astonished attackers to scatter.Roger Moorhouse (15) Killing Hitler: The Third Reich and the Plots Against the Fuhrer
Adolf-Hitler-Straße and the Martin Gate in Freiburg in the thirties, now Kaiser-Josef-Straße. Of Freiburg, Hitler described it as one "from which all joy is lacking" whose
women have addressed me in so ignoble a fashion that I cannot make up my mind to repeat their words. It's on such occasions that I become aware of the depth of human baseness. Clearly, one must not forget that these areas are still feeling the weight of several centuries of religious oppression.
(288) Hitler's Table Talk
"Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer": The Siegesdenkmal and Münsterturm in April, 1938; the memorial has since been moved:
A group of SA-men in front of the rathaus on March 6, 1933.
Gaukulturwoche in the Münsterplatz in October 1937.
The Bertoldsbrunnen in 1937. The Zähringerplatz Fountain was completely destroyed on 27 November 1944 during a British air raid. The offer of the Freiburg sculptor Hugo Knittel to create a free replica of the old figure was rejected by the authorities responsible for the reconstruction in favour of a cheap, "timeless" fountain.
|Süddeutsche Disconto-Gesellschaft
Möslestadion; hard to believe that as many as 50,000 came to this site to attend a speech by Hitler on July 29, 1932.
The Synagogue on Freiburger Werthmannplatz was destroyed like so many others on the Riechskristallnacht, November 8-9 1938.
The memorial on the left is beside the new synagogue whilst the 'stumbling blocks' remind passers-by of those killed by national socialism. During the war on 22 October 1940, the Nazi Gauleiter of Baden ordered the deportation of all of Baden's Jews, and 350 Jewish citizens of Freiburg were deported to the southern French internment camp of Camp Gurs in the Basses-Pyrénées. They remained there under poor conditions until 18 July 1942, when the majority of the survivors were sent to their deaths at Auschwitz. The cemetery for German Jews who died at Camp Gurs is maintained by the town of Freiburg and other cities of Baden. A memorial stands outside the modern synagogue in the town centre. The pavements of Freiburg carry memorials to individual victims in the form of brass plates outside their former residences, including that of Edith Stein, a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Catholicism, became a nun, and was canonised as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross in 1998.
Bertoldstrasse in 1875 and today
Looking the other direction
Bertoldstrasse 8 and Haus Löwenstraße then and now, only slightly damaged in the war
Höhere Töchterschule, now the Goethegymnasium and the Bürgerhaus on the corner of Adelhauserstraße and Marienstraße
The Gasthaus zum Rössle and Niemenstraße between Kaiserstraße and the university
Left showing Gasthaus zum Bären, the centre the Oberlindenbrunnen, and the right branching off to Herrenstraße.
The memorial on the left is beside the new synagogue whilst the 'stumbling blocks' remind passers-by of those killed by national socialism. During the war on 22 October 1940, the Nazi Gauleiter of Baden ordered the deportation of all of Baden's Jews, and 350 Jewish citizens of Freiburg were deported to the southern French internment camp of Camp Gurs in the Basses-Pyrénées. They remained there under poor conditions until 18 July 1942, when the majority of the survivors were sent to their deaths at Auschwitz. The cemetery for German Jews who died at Camp Gurs is maintained by the town of Freiburg and other cities of Baden. A memorial stands outside the modern synagogue in the town centre. The pavements of Freiburg carry memorials to individual victims in the form of brass plates outside their former residences, including that of Edith Stein, a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Catholicism, became a nun, and was canonised as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross in 1998.
Bertoldstrasse in 1875 and today
Looking the other direction
Bertoldstrasse 8 and Haus Löwenstraße then and now, only slightly damaged in the war
Höhere Töchterschule, now the Goethegymnasium and the Bürgerhaus on the corner of Adelhauserstraße and Marienstraße
The Gasthaus zum Rössle and Niemenstraße between Kaiserstraße and the university
Left showing Gasthaus zum Bären, the centre the Oberlindenbrunnen, and the right branching off to Herrenstraße.
Wartime damage. Freiburg was heavily bombed during the war. First, in May 1940, aircraft of the Luftwaffe mistakenly dropped approximately 60 bombs on Freiburg near the train station, killing 57 people. Later on, a raid by more than 300 bombers of the RAF Bomber Command on 27 November 1944 (Operation Tigerfish) destroyed a large portion of the city centre, with the notable exception of the Münster, which was only lightly damaged. After the war, the city was rebuilt on its medieval plan. It was allowed by the British and Americans to be occupied by the French Army in 1945, and Freiburg was soon allotted to the French Zone of Occupation. In December 1945 Freiburg became the seat of government for the German state Badenia, which was merged into Baden-Württemberg in 1952.
Denazification at Freiburger Universität:
The campus then and nowThe rathaus originally housed the entire University of Freiburg. Following the move of the humanities in the former Jesuit College, the building was used only by the natural sciences and medicine before the city acquired the building and converted it in 1892 to the Town Hall. On the right is the Alte Universität in Bertoldstraße
The swastika remains on the grave of Wilhelm von Biberstein, as well as the Nazi legend "And You Have Won in the End."
Konstanz am Bodensee
During the war and today, little changed. Because it almost lies within Switzerland, directly adjacent to the Swiss border, Konstanz was not bombed by the Allied Forces during the Second World War. The city left all its lights on at night, thus fooling the bombers into thinking it was actually part of Switzerland.
The reichsadler has been scrubbed away completely from the main campus of St. Jerome University although the original legend above the entrance, Dem ewigen Deutschtum, is still legible.
The campus then and now
The swastika remains on the grave of Wilhelm von Biberstein, as well as the Nazi legend "And You Have Won in the End."
South of Freiburg's Old Town, on the other side of the Dreisamstadion, is the Mütterbrunnen in the Die Wiehre. Representing the "Aryan and genetically healthy mother," the work of the sculptor Helmuth Hopp based on the sketchwork of Freiburg architect Carl Anton Meckel belongs to the racial theory of "blood and soil, will to expand, population policy, the natural destiny of the woman," the statue now has suffered her nose cut off by members of the local antifa movement.
Konstanz am Bodensee
During the war and today, little changed. Because it almost lies within Switzerland, directly adjacent to the Swiss border, Konstanz was not bombed by the Allied Forces during the Second World War. The city left all its lights on at night, thus fooling the bombers into thinking it was actually part of Switzerland.
Hitler spoke at Karlsruhe a number of times. In 1937 the Heimat Guide to Baden listed the locations of the state's 'memorial sites of the National Socialist uprising'; a brochure issued by the Karlsruhe Tourism Society, Easter 1934 in Karlsruhe, proudly referred to the fact that, under the new regime, 'the state, the communities and the police are [now] purified of enemies of the state.' Five years later in January 1942, the Gestapo in Karlsruhe sent a letter to Baden's district administrators, police presidents and police directors regarding the 'fight against abuses in the tourism places': "In addition to the congestion in the spa and relaxation places ... the behaviour of the visitors has also given rise to complaints. The unbridled conduct of these persons (gluttony, regular drunken excesses, moral laxity) shows that they do not comprehend ... the seriousness of the time. Moreover, the unity of the home front is endangered through the disadvantageous effect on the mood of the working population if this activity is not brought to a stop. ... The chief of the Security Police and the Security Service has therefore ordered that this danger is to be opposed with all [their] energy."
Former site of the Adolf-Hitler-Haus on Ritterstraße 28/30. During the Third Reich this was the Nazi Party headquarters in Karlsruhe, known by locals as the "brown house". Moreover, in this building, a Gestapo was housed. According to research by Jürgen Schuhladen-Krämer, three members of the resistance organization BSW died from torture here. The BSW (Fraternal Cooperation) was an organisation of Soviet POWs and forced labourers, which sought to organise a national armed uprising with other anti-fascist forces. It was here too on 5 February 1945 that the Gestapo served subpoenas to "shift"the remaining thirty Jews and "half-breeds" who were so far spared because of marriages with "Aryans". They were summoned on 9 February 1945 with a few managing to escape by fleeing or illness, or even suicide. The remaining seventeen persons were deported to Theresienstadt on 14 February 1945. After 1945, the American military government established their offices here. A plaque on the façade briefly marks this history.
The Staatliche Kunsthalle in March 1941 showing an exhibition on Art from the Front. With the inauguration of the Gauleiter Robert Wagner in March 1933, the hunt was on to hunt so-called "degenerate art". On March 11, 1933 Lilli Fischel was, since 1927, acting head of the Kunsthalle but because of his Jewish descent, initially put on leave and then fired. Wagner prompted its replacement by Hans Adolf Bühler, a student of Hans Thoma. Buhler also held the post of director of the Academy. He was a member of the "Combat League for German Culture", an association that was already active in the 1920s. Upon Buhler's initiative was the exhibition "Government Art 1918-1933" back in 1933. The aim was to uncover the alleged abuse of taxpayers' money and was one of the first of its kind in Germany. The clean-up campaign fell following artists prey: Max Liebermann, Lovis Corinth, Max Slevogt, Edvard Munch, Carl Hofer, just to name a few. Buhler himself was replaced after one year. In a second wave another series of purges works were made which were then shown at the 1937 "Degenerate Art" exhibition in Munich and then confiscated.On March 9, 1933 Robert Wagner as Reich Commissioner of Baden sent about three thousand men of the SA and SS units to march in front of the Interior Ministry of Baden at the Karlsruhe Badisches Innenministerium at Schlossplatz 19. SA, SS and police units forced the seizure of power in the country within a few days. The Badische home office on Schlossplatz 19 was the authoritative hub for the persecution of the Jews and also a headquarters of the persecution and extermination of the sick, disabled and "asocial". With the "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring" of 14 July 1933, the legal basis for forced sterilisation had been created. Dr. Theodor Pakheiser, the Special Commissioner for Health, ensured that the law was applied. Baden in 1934 exceeded all other countries with about three sterilisation applications for every thousand inhabitants; the "Erbgesundheitsgerichte" approved on average 94% of applications. Between 1934 and 1944, 11,412 people were forcibly sterilised in ten districts of Baden with 1.2 million inhabitants. These killings were organised in Baden by Secretary Dr. Ludwig Sprauer, director of the health department in Baden Ministry of Interior. Sprauer launched the 'Mordaktion' in Baden with a secret circular to the heads of hospitals and nursing homes. Enclosed with the letter dated 29.11.1939 reporting forms, the details of the person's nationality, diagnosis, type of employment and so on, including racial details. Based on this information was decided life and death. Today the site serves as the Hector School of Engineering and Management at the University of Karlsruhe.
Adolf-Hitler-Platz during the war and today. Karlsruhe was the birthplace both of Generalfeldmarschall Walter von Reichenau, born 1884, and of Dr. Hans Frank, born 1900, Reich Minister from 1934 to 1945 and Governor-General of Poland from 1939 to 1945; he was hanged in Nuremberg in 1946.
Hitler gave a speech here on March 3, 1928. In 1944 the Festhalle was destroyed in an air raid and left as a ruin until it was blown up on November 4 1952 to make way for a dispiriting new hall.
The main railway station, from Jewish citizens were sent to their deaths. On October 22, 1940 945 Jews were deported to Gurs. There, about 40 km north of the Spanish border and 60 km from the Atlantic coast, in marshy areas at the foot of the Pyrenees, was the detention centre, which was only a stopover of suffering on the way to Auschwitz for many. On February 14, 1945 seventeen of the last thirty remaining Jews were deported to Theresienstadt. They had thus been spared from deportation through mixed marriages or as "1st degree half-breeds." Among them were the children of Esther and Heino Hirsch, from the family of former national football player Julius Hirsch. Thanks to Józsa Tensi and Leopold Ransenberg, all survived. It was not until the liberation of the concentration camp that they were able, after an eight-day odyssey, to return to Karlsruhe.
On September 27, 1944 200 000 incendiary bombs and hundreds of other bombs fell on the city and destroyed the schloss, now extensively reconstructed.
Hitler travelling through Durlach, a borough of Karlsruhe with a population today of 30,000 on September 14, 1933.
Adolf-Hitler-Straße, now Pfinztalstraße
Adolf-Hitler-Straße looking the other way towards the Turmberg
Hitler had been travelling through Durlach to arrive at the village of Öschelbronn,where, four days earlier on September 14 1933, an ammunition factory exploded with catastrophic force destroying 203 homes from a cause unknown to this day.
HeidelbergSA marching over the alte brücke past Heidelberg schloss from the cigarette card album Kampf um's Dritte Reich (28), and the complex today.
Heidelberg was a stronghold of the Nazis, the strongest party in the elections before 1933 (the NSDAP obtained 30% at the communal elections of 1930). The NSDAP received 45.9% of the votes in the German federal election of March 1933 (the national average was 43.9%). Non-Aryan university staff were discriminated against. By 1939, one-third of the university's teaching staff had been forced out for racial and political reasons. The non-Aryan professors were ejected in 1933, within one month of Hitler's rise to power. The lists of those to be deported were prepared beforehand. In 1934 and 1935, the Reichsarbeitsdienst (State Labour Service) and Heidelberg University students built the huge Thingstätte amphitheatre on the Heiligenberg north of the town (see below), for Nazi Party and ϟϟ events. A few months later, the inauguration of the huge Ehrenfriedhof memorial cemetery completed the second and last NSDAP project in Heidelberg. This cemetery is on the southern side of the old part of town, a little south of the Königstuhl hilltop. During WWII and after, Wehrmacht soldiers were buried there. Memorial stone marking the site of the synagogue in the Lauerstrasse During the Kristallnacht on November 9, 1938, Nazis burned down synagogues at two locations in the city. The next day, they started the systematic deportation of Jews, sending 150 to Dachau concentration camp. On October 22, 1940, during the "Wagner Buerckel event", the Nazis deported 6000 local Jews, including 281 from Heidelberg, to Camp Gurs concentration camp in France. Within a few months, as many as 1000 of them (201 from Heidelberg) died of hunger and disease. Among the deportees from Heidelberg, the poet Alfred Mombert (1872–1942) left the camp in April 1941 thanks to the Swiss poet Hans Reinhart. From 1942, the deportees who had survived internment in Gurs were deported to Eastern Europe, where most of them were murdered. On March 29, 1945, German troops left the city after destroying three arches of the old bridge, Heidelberg's treasured river crossing. They also destroyed the more modern bridge downstream. The U.S. Army (63rd Infantry, 7th Army) entered the town on March 30, 1945. The civilian population surrendered without resistance.
A popular belief is that Heidelberg escaped bombing in WWII because the U.S. Army wanted to use the city as a garrison after the war. As Heidelberg was neither an industrial centre nor a transport hub, it did not present a target of opportunity. Other notable university towns, such as Tübingen and Göttingen, were spared bombing as well. Allied air raids focused extensively on the nearby industrial cities of Mannheim and Ludwigshafen. The U.S. Army may have chosen Heidelberg as a garrison base because of its excellent infrastructure, including the Heidelberg-Mannheim Autobahn which connected to the Mannheim-Darmstadt-Frankfurt Autobahn, and the U.S. Army installations in Mannheim and Frankfurt. The intact rail infrastructure was more important in the late 1940s and early 1950s when most heavy loads were still carried by train, not by lorry. Heidelberg had the untouched Wehrmacht barracks, the "Grossdeutschland Kaserne" which the US Army occupied soon after, renaming it the Campbell Barracks.
Looking towards the other direction from the schlossberg with the wife eight decades later showing little change
The American 289th Engineer Combat Battalion ferrying troops and vehicles over the Neckar River at Heidelberg until pontoon bridges were complete and damaged bridges repaired by the engineers on March 31, 1945
Hitler in front of the Europäischer Hof where he spent the night March 31 1935 before moving on to Stuttgart, and the hotel today.
Just west of Heidelberg, the castle of Schwetzingen can be seen behind the Wehrmacht marching through the town in 1944. Schloss Schwetzingen had been the summer residence of Prince-Elector Carl Theodor (1724–99).
The Thingstätte in Heidelberg was started in 1934 and finished the following year. Situated on the Heiligenberg (Holy Mountain), the amphitheatre covers 25 metres of sloping land and overlooks the city. The mountain is littered with ancient burial grounds and once hosted a Roman temple at the summit dedicated to the god Mercury. Designed by the architect H. Alker, who worked for the Reich Labour Service, the Heidelberg Thingstatte features two hexagonal towers constructed to hold flags, lighting, and sound. On the opening day, 20,000 people turned out to hear Goebbels himself. After the Thingstatte fell out of favour, this site was turned into a public park and remains one to this day.
Just west of Heidelberg, the castle of Schwetzingen can be seen behind the Wehrmacht marching through the town in 1944. Schloss Schwetzingen had been the summer residence of Prince-Elector Carl Theodor (1724–99).
Panzer Kaserne, later home to the American Army as Tompkins Kaserne
Stadt der Auslandsdeutscher (City of the Abroad Germans)
Hitler visiting Stuttgart on April 1, 1938. Both photos show the end of Königstraße looking at Stuttgart Central Station then and now. On that day Hitler took advantage of the rejoicing due to the anschluss when he arrived at 3:00 p.m. on April 1, Hitler arrived in Stuttgart on a special train.
In the City Hall, the Mayor Dr. Stroelin greeted Hitler at a reception held in his honour. Hitler replied to this welcome in a short address, emphasizing that the concept of a Greater Germany was nowhere as lively and vibrant as in Stuttgart, "the city of Germans living abroad." At 9:00 p.m., Hitler delivered another campaign speech at a mass rally in Stuttgart. Following the "party narrative," he again turned to the events in Austria: "We have all forgotten what it means to be compelled to live outside of the German Volksgemeinschaft!"Under the Nazi regime, Stuttgart began the deportation of its Jewish inhabitants in 1939. Around sixty percent of the German Jewish population had fled by the time restrictions on their movement were imposed on 1 October 1941, at which point Jews living in Württemberg were forced to live in 'Jewish apartments' before being 'concentrated' on the former Trade Fair grounds in Killesberg. On 1 December 1941 the first deportation trains were organised to send them to Riga. Only 180 Jews from Württemberg held in concentration camps survived. During the period of Nazi rule, Stuttgart held the "honorary title" Stadt der Auslandsdeutschen (City of the Germans living outside of the Reich).
Doramus (1079) The Complete Hitler
During World War II, the centre of Stuttgart was almost completely destroyed by Allied air raids. Some of the most severe bombing took place in 1944 carried out by British and American bombers. The heaviest raid took place on 12 September 1944 when the British Royal Air Force bombed the old town of Stuttgart dropping over 184,000 bombs including 75 blockbusters. More than 1000 people perished in the resulting firestorm. In total Stuttgart was subjected to 53 bombing raids, resulting in the destruction of 68% of all buildings and the deaths of 4477 people.
Although the attack on the city was to be conducted by the US Seventh Army's 100th Infantry Division, General de Gaulle found this to be unacceptable, as he felt the capture of the region by Free French forces would increase French influence in post-war decisions. He treacherously directed General de Lattre to order the French 5th Armoured Division, 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division and 3rd Algerian Infantry Division to begin their drive on Stuttgart on 18 April 1945. Two days later, the French forces coordinated with the US Seventh Army for the employment of US VI Corps heavy artillery to barrage the city. The French 5th Armoured Division then captured Stuttgart on 21 April 1945, encountering little resistance. The circumstances of what became known as 'The Stuttgart Crisis' provoked political repercussions up to the White House. President Truman was unable to get De Gaulle to withdraw troops from Stuttgart until after the final boundaries of the zones of occupation were established. The French army occupied Stuttgart until they were forced to give it back to the American military occupation zone in 1946.
When French troops occupied Stuttgart – which was meant to form part of the American Zone as the capital of Württemberg – the Americans ordered them to leave. De Gaulle refused, saying he would stay put until the zones were finalised. The French were causing problems in the Levant too, and in an act of bravura against the Italians (who had taken back Haute Savoie and Nice during the war) they occupied the French- speaking Val d'Aosta. The American solution was to offer them some bits of Baden and Württemberg while keeping the lion's share for themselves...French soldiers' behaviour in Stuttgart, where perhaps 3,000 women and eight men were raped, was thought to have added to American fury at their overstepping their lines. [R. F. Keeling (Gruesome Harvest, Chicago 1947, 56–7) gives the official figure as 1,198, but the Germans thought it more like 5,000.]
MacDonogh After the Reich The Brutal History of the Allied Occupation
The French took a terrible toll in their zone, by forced seizure of food and housing, and by physical violence including mass rapes, in Stuttgart and elsewhere. The famine went on for years. The churches flew black flags. The children were too weak to play. The official ration in the French zone in January 1947 was 450 calories per day, half the ration of the Belsen concentration camp, according to the writer and theologian Prince zu Lцwenstein.James Bacque (94) Crimes and Mercies
The Neues Schloss then and now
The Wilhelmspalais during the Third Reich (now serving as the Stadtmuseum) with its Grosser Saal festooned in swastikas in 1940The swastika over the Fruchtsäule in 1935
The Tagblatt-Turm under construction in 1928 and then/now
The current Mercedes-Benz Arena was originally built in 1933 after designs by German architect Paul Bonatz and named the "Adolf-Hitler-Kampfbahn". From 1945 to 1949 it was called Century Stadium and later Kampfbahn and was used by US Troops to play baseball.The name Neckarstadion was used since 1949. It is currently home to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga (and to the Stuttgarter Kickers when they played in the Bundesliga).
The Bismarckturm outside the city
Bad Cannstatt
The Rosensteinbunker outside Stuttgart then and now
HechingenBaden-Württemberg is one of Germany's most popular holiday regions, rivalled only by Bavaria in its natural landscapes and range of outdoor activities. Most of the state is covered by the fabled Black Forest (Schwarzwald), a vast nature playground whose peaks, lakes and cuckoo clocks are irresistible to hikers, cyclists, bathers, boaters and punctual people who find quarter-hourly mechanical bird calls charming rather than annoying. One of the country's most prosperous states, Baden-Württemberg was created in 1951 out of three historic regions: Baden, Württemberg and Hohenzollern. Further back in history, much of its southern reaches were part of Swabia (Schwaben) and many people here still speak Swabian (Schwäbisch), a melodic dialect that other Germans find largely incomprehensible. In the centre, the capital Stuttgart is the home of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, and a wealth of urban pleasures. A bit to the east are Schwäbisch Hall, a medieval gem, and, on the banks of the Danube, the architecturally audacious city of Ulm. The spas of Baden-Baden have been soothing the stresses of modern and ancient life since Roman times. The state is also home to three famous and ancient university cities. In Heidelberg, students still gather in ancient beer halls while Tübingen, with its narrow lanes and hilltop fortress, positively oozes charm. Flowery Freiburg, not far from the Swiss border, makes an ideal base for exploring the Black Forest and the rolling vineyards of Breisach, on the French frontier. Lake Constance (Bodensee), whose southern shore – overlooked by the Alps – is in Switzerland and Austria, is a huge draw, especially in summer. BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG HIGHLIGHTS Art and Automobiles Explore outstanding museums and classy shops in Stuttgart (p393) Snow and Eis Admire the snow-capped Alps and savour ice cream (Eis) with strudel at a lakefront café on Lake Constance (p452) Warm Watery Indulgence Soak in an ornate 19th-century Baden-Baden spa (p434) Back to the Middle Ages Explore the medieval old town and ancient castle in the university city of Tübingen (p423) Hell's Valley Hoof it, train it or floor it through the Höllental (Hell's Valley, p449) in the Southern Black Forest Baden-Baden Höllental Stuttgart Tübingen Lake Constance POPULATION: 10.7 MILLION AREA: 392 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG •• Activities BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG 0 0 Würzburg lonelyplanet.com 50 km 30 miles lonelyplanet.com the EuroAirport (www.euroairport.com), which serves Freiburg as well as the Swiss city of Basel and the French city of Mulhouse; Karlsruhe- Baden-Baden airport (Baden Airpark; www.badenairpark .de); Friedrichshafen airport (www.fly-away.de); and Strasbourg airport (www.strasbourg.aeroport.fr) in France, across the Rhine from the Northern Black Forest. Trains, trams and/or buses serve almost every city, town and mountain village in this chapter. Public transport across the Black For- est can be pretty slow, and long-distance trips (such as from Freiburg to Tübingen or Kon- stanz) may require several changes. STUTTGART %0711 / pop 589,000 Perhaps best known as the headquarters of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, Stuttgart has a number of first-rate art collections and two museums that are sure to set the pulse of the motor-minded racing. Blessed with an air of relaxed prosperity and a keen sense of style, the city is one of the greenest in Europe – not only is it well-endowed with parks, but it even has its own vineyards! The shopping, restaurant, cultural and nightlife scenes are all vibrant, if upmarket. Stuttgart began as a stud farm ('Stuotgarten', hence the name) on the Nesenbach Stream around AD 950. By 1160 it was a booming trade centre, and in the early 14th century it be- came the royal seat of the Württemberg family. After WWII, the city's architectural treasures were painstakingly reconstructed. ORIENTATION The main pedestrian shopping street, König- strasse, stretches southwest from the well- tended Hauptbahnhof (train station). Public DISCOUNT TICKETS STUTTGART •• Orientation 393 squares on or near Königstrasse include Schlossplatz and Schillerplatz. The three sections of the Schlossgarten (a grassy park) stretch northeastward from Schlossplatz al- most 4km to the Neckar River. The district of Bad Cannstatt straddles the Neckar River about 3km northeast of the Hauptbahnhof. Steep grades are common on Stuttgart's hillsides – more than 500 city streets end in Stäffele (staircases). INFORMATION Bookshops Wittwer (%250 70; Königstrasse 30) A bookshop with foreign-language and travel sections. Cultural Centres Deutsch-Amerikanisches Zentrum (German-Ameri- can Center; %228 180; www.daz.org; Charlottenplatz 17; h2-6pm Tue-Thu) Promotes German-American relations. Internet Access Café Naser (in the Hauptbahnhof; per hr €5; h6am- 10pm) Up the stairs behind track 4. City Call & Internet Center (Eberhardstrasse 14; per hr €2; h9am-midnight Mon-Sat, 11am-midnight Sun & holidays) Cyber Café (Klett Passage; per hr €2; h9am-11pm) Level One Cyber Bar (Königstrasse 22; per hr €4.50; h9am-midnight Mon-Sat, noon-midnight Sun) A stylish internet café in the basement of a cinema. Laundry SB-Waschsalon Trieb (h5am-midnight) Self-service laundry in the arcade behind (just south of ) the tourist office. Medical Services Ärtzliche Bereitschaft (%262 8012; Böheimstrasse 37; h7pm-7am, 7am-7pm Sat, Sun & holidays) A doctor's office inside Marien-Hospital, which is 3km southwest of Idar Oberstein RHINELAND- PALATINATE HESSE A62 A6 Ochsenfurt B290 B19 Aalen Schwäbisch Gmünd Ulm BAVARIA A7 Neckar A6 F R A N C E Neckarsteinach Schwetzingen A81 B19 Strasbourg Strasbourg Airport Rust Kaiserstuhl (560m) Airport Colmar To Munster (14km) Neuf- Brisach A5 St Louis Euro Airport Basel Breisach Villingen- Schwenningen Tuttlingen Donaueschingen Biberach B30 Ravensburg A7 Activities HIKING Neckartal-Radweg (www.neckartal-radweg.de, in German) Follows the Neckar River for 357km from Villingen-Schwenningen northward (more or less) to Tübingen, Stuttgart and Heidelberg. Rheintal-Weg Goes along the Rhine from Konstanz westward to Basel and then northward via Freiburg (or Breisach) to Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, Mannheim and beyond. Karlsruhe-Baden- Baden Airport A5 Stuttgart Schopfheim Rheinfelden Weil am Rhein Lörrach Friedrichshafen Iffezheim Karlsruhe Rastatt Pforzheim Mt Merkur (660m) A8 Sindelfingen Nördlingen Triberg Furtwangen Freiburg B31 Kirchzarten St Georgen Feldberg (1493m) Höllental B317 Titisee- Neustadt Schluchsee Bonndorf B32 Memmingen Immenstadt Baden-Württemberg is crisscrossed by walk- ing and hiking trails too numerous to count, many of them through forests, along rivers or around lakes. Local tourist offices sell maps and can suggest suitable day hikes. CYCLING Baden-Württemberg is a cyclists' paradise, with thousands of kilometres of paved bike paths. Those with plenty of watery views in- clude the following: Bodensee-Weg Goes all the way around Lake Constance. Donautal-Radweg (www.donau-radweg.info, in German) Follows the mighty Danube from the unexciting town of Donaueschingen (65km east of Freiburg) to Ulm (190km northeast of Donaueschingen), Vienna, Budapest and beyond. Veloroute Rhein Follows the Rhine along all of its left bank (in France and then Germany) and most of the right bank from Basel northward to Mannheim (415km). Getting There & Around Stuttgart airport (www.stuttgart-airport.com), Baden- Württemberg's largest, is a major hub for the discount airline German Wings (www.germanwings .com). Frankfurt airport is about 75km north of Mannheim. Other useful airports include The three-day Stuttcard (€12) gets you free entry to most public museums as well as discounts on cultural events and leisure activities, including the tourist office's guided tours. The Stuttcard Plus (€17.50) also affords unlimited bus, tram and metro travel within the city, including to and from the airport. If you have a hotel reservation, for €9 you can get a three-day ticket good for unlimited public transport usage within the city limits (valid for an adult and two children up to age 17). A version good for public transport throughout the entire metropolitan area costs €12.30. They are generally available at hotel reception desks. All four passes can be purchased at the tourist office, including the airport branch. B500 Schaffhausen Singen Radolfzell Meersburg Alzey A61 Worms Ludwigshafen A67 Mannheim Heidelberg A3 A65 Heilbronn Maulbronn Schwäbisch Hall Ludwigsburg Crailsheim (45km) Dinkelsbühl Baden- Baden Oberkirch Esslingen Offenburg Gengenbach B33 Alpirsbach Wolfach Haslach Black Forest Freudenstadt A81 Tübingen Hechingen Reutlingen Speyer Rothenburg ob der Tauber Ansbach To Nuremberg B27 N4 B31 Überlingen To Frankfurt Airport (35km); Frankfurt-am-Main (45km) River A5 Sinsheim River Rhine River River River Neckar Danube Rhine River Danube River BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG Mainau Island Reichenau Island Konstanz Birnau Salem Rhine Rhine River S W I T Z E R L A N D Romanshorn Lindau A6 A6 B29 Stuttgart A8 Göppingen Burg Hohenzollern B313 Ehingen B311 B16 A8 To Munich (140km) Württemberg A7 Lake Constance Kressbronn To Bregenz (2km) A7 394 STUTTGART •• Sights lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com INFORMATION American Express Exchange Bureau....................................1 C1 Café Naser Market.............................39 B3 Imbiss zum Brunnenwirt............40 B4 tr r r eS t s r n g n J o b i ll r s S e t ä c i r c 7 Arnulf- Klett- Platz 47 tr s h g r l -S e n b s g dt e i r K an Br e rs tr y- i Stadtgarten Keplerstrasse 35 32 Stadtmitte 50 Stadtmitte 38 Rotebühlplatz 33 51 46 Staatsgalerie 26 To B10 (2km); Neckar River (3km); Mercedes-Benz Museum (4km); D'Besa am Kelterplätzle (6km); Untertürkheim (6km); W r Lautenschlagerstr Königstr t s n e Thouretstr str c t g h r i l e a e r g z Hol e Park & Ride (7km); A8 (10km);A81 (10km); Karlsruhe (88km); Ulm (90km); Konstanz (180km) 42 17 39 49 55 31 Olgaeck hillsides. It's accessible by lift from the Haupt- bahnhof's eastern entrance. Just east of the train station is the Mittlerer Schlossgarten (Middle Palace Garden). Here you'll find meandering walkways, fountains, an excellent beer garden and, weather permit- ting, sunbathing folk watching the world – and the inline skaters – go by. The Unterer Schlossgarten (Lower Palace Garden) stretches several kilometres northeast to the Neckar River, where it links up with the Rosensteinpark, home of the zoo (see p397). To the south is the Oberer Schlossgarten (Upper Palace Garden), ringed by landmark buildings such as the Staatstheater (State Theatre) and the Landtag (State Parliament). To the east of the Staatstheater, just across Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse, is the world- renowned Staatsgalerie (State Gallery; %470 400; www.staatsgalerie-stuttgart.de; Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse 30-32; adult/concession €4.50/3, incl special exhibition €8/6; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun, to 9pm Thu, 10am-midnight 1st Sat of every month), whose collection of 14th- to 20th- century art includes works by masters such as Fra Angelico, Tiepolo, Rembrandt, Rubens, Manet, Monet, Renoir and Cézanne. It occu- pies two adjacent (and connected) buildings: the neoclassical Alte Staatsgalerie (1843) and the Neue Staatsgalerie (1984), whose pink Kriegsberg Vineyards 44 r a the Hauptbahnhof. Staffed when regular medical practices are closed. Katharinen Hospital (%2780; Kriegsbergstrasse 60) The city's largest. Money American Express exchange bureau (Arnulf-Klett-Platz 1; h9.30am-noon & 1-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat) ATMs There are lots along Königstrasse. Reisebank & Western Union (in the Hauptbahnhof behind track 11; h8am-8.30pm, Western Union to 8pm) Currency exchange. Post Post office (inside Königsbau Passagen) A bit northwest of the Schlossplatz. There's also a branch in the Hauptbahnhof, up the stairs behind track 4. Tourist Information 54 30 21 Schlossplatz 24 20 Oberer Schlossgarten 19 11 12 13 Schloss- platz B27 36 Hauptbahnhof 34 Hauptbahnhof 58 59 Mittlerer Schlossgarten To Unterer Schlossgarten (300m); Neckar River (2km); Rosensteinpark (2.5km); Bad Canstatt (2.5km); Wilhelma Zoologisch-botanischer Garten (3km); Neckar-Kapt'n Boat Dock (3km); Campingplatz Stuttgart (3km); Max-Eyth-See (7km); Württemberg Grabkapelle (10km) Schiller- 16 platz 18 Marktplatz 25 45 3 57 14 27 Wilhelm I Karls- 56 Statue Column.................................20 B2 a wonderful panorama of the surrounding 8 53 41 platz 5 Charlottenplatz 2 6 15 4 1 10 9 Klett Passage 28 Akademiegarten 22 23 B14 40 52 Leonhards- platz To Ärtzliche Bereitschaft (1.5km); Österfeld Park & Ride (7km); Stuttgart International Airport (13km) To Degerloch Albstrasse Park & Ride (4km) Charlottenplatz 43 29 Bohnenviertel 37 tubes and green window frames were designed by James Stirling. The focus of Stuttgart's commercial life is the pedestrians-only Königstrasse, a spot- lessly clean and conspicuously well-heeled shopping precinct that stretches for a bit over 1km southwestward from the Hauptbahn- hof. Halfway down (and contiguous with the Oberer Schlossgarten) is the Schlossplatz, Stuttgart's main public square and a showcase for its cultural riches. In the middle stands the König Wilhelm Jubilee Column, flanked by fountains representing the eight rivers of Baden-Württemberg. Dominating the west side of the square is the new Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (%216 2188; www.kunstmuseum-stuttgart.de; Kleiner Schlossplatz 1; adult/student & senior €5/3.50, during special exhibitions around €8/6.50; h10am-6pm Tue, Thu, Sat & Sun, to 9pm Wed & Fri), by day a semireflective glass cube, by night impressively illuminated from within. Opened in 2005, this municipal art museum features 20th-century and contemporary art; highlights include works by Otto Dix, Dieter Roth and Willi Baumeister. Out front stands Alexander Calder's mobile, bought by the city in 1981 for the equiva- lent of about €500,000. Stuttgarters, known for what other Germans might call 'miserli- ness' but which they themselves see as 'thrift', State Tourist Board (www.tourismus-bw.de) Tourist office (%222 80; www.stuttgart-tourist.de; Königstrasse 1a; h9am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat, 11am-6pm Sun & holidays) The staff can help with room bookings. Has a public transport information desk. Welcome Information Center (%0711 2228-0; h8am-8pm) The tourist office branch at Stuttgart Inter- national Airport. Situated in Terminal 3, Level 2 (Arrivals). SIGHTS City Centre High above the huge Hauptbahnhof, the 10- storey Aussichtsplatform ( Viewing Platform; admission free; h10am-9pm Tue-Sun Apr-Sep, 10am-6pm Tue-Sun, to 9pm Thu Oct-Mar) affords a close-up view of the giant Mercedes logo and, through netting, 48 Obertürkheim (8km); Weingut Ruoff (8km) STUTTGART •• Sights lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com STUTTGART •• Tours PEDAL TO THE METAL When Herman the German eases behind the wheel of his jet-black Mercedes, he's revving up for a pleasure as Teutonic as beer and bratwurst: fast driving. In a society famous for its adherence to rules and regulations, and for its passionate environmentalism, the autobahn is one of the few realms where Germans throw all caution to the wind. Where else can you travel at more than 200km (125 miles) per hour with no threat of a fine? Germans argue vehemently to uphold their command of the autobahn. The magazine Firmen Auto has claimed that 'the danger of being overtaken drops sharply at 200km per hour, allowing the driver to concentrate fully on the traffic in front of the vehicle'. The AvD car club argues that 95% of all auto accidents in Germany involve drivers travelling less than 100km per hour. Ironically, however, all but one-quarter of Germany's 11,000km of autobahns – the second- biggest such network after the USA – have restrictions of 130km per hour or less due to endless construction work, noise pollution regulations for built-up areas and traffic jams. But long stretches remain where the only limits are warp drive and a motorist's own nerve. Here, unwitting foreigners are given a rough lesson in autobahn etiquette every time a Mercedes, BMW or Porsche appears out of nowhere in the rear-view mirror, angrily flashing its lights to press its urgent demand: MOVE OVER! initially went ballistic over the cost but are now quite satisfied as the work's value has gone up considerably. Just to the north is the classical, colonnaded Königsbau, which in 2006 was reborn as an up- market shopping mall, the Königsbau Passagen. On the top two floors of the complex's western Stilwerk section are more than a dozen of Ger- many's most stylish interior-design shops. On the north side of the Schlossplatz, ad- jacent to Königstrasse, is the Olgabau, a fine example of 1950s architecture that's home to Dresdner Bank. A bit to the east, topped by a copper cupola, is the Württembergischer Kunst- verein (%223 370; www.wkv-stuttgart.de; Schlossplatz 2; adult/student from €5/3; h11am-6pm Tue-Sun, to 8pm Wed, longer hours for some exhibitions), which puts on temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. Dominating the east side of Schlossplatz is the late-baroque/neoclassical Neues Schloss, once the residence of kings Friedrich I and Wilhelm I and now the home of state gov- ernment ministries. Just south across the Planie is Karlsplatz, where you'll find a statue of Wilhelm looking noble and serious on a bronze steed. A short block south of Schlossplatz, on the other side of the Renaissance Alte Kanzlei (Old Chancellory), is Schillerplatz, named after the poet-dramatist Friedrich Schiller, whose statue stands in the centre. Through the archway just east of the Alte Kanzlei is the Altes Schloss, adorned with a large statue of Eberhard, Württemberg's first duke and founder of Tübingen University. Now the old palace holds the excellent Württembergisches Landesmuseum (%279 3400; Schillerplatz 6; adult/student incl audio guide €3/2; h10am-5pm Tue-Sun), with well- presented exhibitions on themes ranging from the material culture of the ancient Celts to the Württemberg crown jewels. A new section displays colourful glass objects. In the ornate arcaded courtyard, rebuilt after the war, the rams above the clock on the tower lock horns on the hour. In Schillerplatz' southwestern corner – in the Stiftsfruchtkasten, a former wine depot topped by a Bacchus statue – is the Instrumenten Mu- seum (Schillerplatz 1; admission free with Landesmuseum ticket; h10am-5pm Tue-Sun), which displays all sorts of historic musical instruments. Next to it stands the reconstructed Stiftskirche, with its twin 61m- high late-Gothic towers (by law, no Stuttgart building can be built taller). Motorcar Museums Housed in a fantastic futuristic structure that seems destined to become a landmark, the new Mercedes-Benz Museum (%173 0000; www .mercedes-benz.com/museum; Mercedesstrasse 100; adult/ concession €8/4; h9am-6pm Tue-Sun & holidays), opened in 2006, gets rave reviews from locals and visitors alike. A visit begins on the top level and takes you past 180 gleaming vehicles, including various 'firsts' on display in the Legend Rooms. The museum is on the right bank of the Neckar about 4km northeast of the city centre; to get there without wheels take the S1 S-Bahn line to Gottlieb-Daimler- Stadion (€2.20). The Porsche Museum (%911 5685; Porscheplatz 1; admission free; h9am-4pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Sat, Sun & holidays), 6km northwest of the centre in the district of Zuffenhausen, will also soon be transformed by some bold architecture. With its inauguration set for early 2008 (until which time the old premises will re- main open), the new museum – designed to showcase the company's flagship qualities of 'power and passion' – will display 80 vehicles (four times as many as the current exhibition) produced since the company first began mak- ing sports cars in 1948. Call %911 5384 to arrange a factory tour (minimum age: 18). To get to the museum, take the S6 S-Bahn line to Neuwirtshaus (€2.20). Parks Animals and plants from around the world feature at the enormously popular Wilhelma Zoologisch-botanischer Garten (Zoo & Botanical Gardens; %540 20; www.wilhelma.de; Rosensteinpark; adult/student under 28yr €10.80/5.40, after 4pm & in winter €7.40/3.70; h8.15am-nightfall), which is in the Rosensteinpark (contiguous with the Unterer Schlossgarten) about 3km northeast of the centre. Founded in 1839, its kid-friendly attractions include bathing elephants and feeding sea lions and penguins. To get there, take the U14 to Wil- helma or the U13 or buses 52, 55 or 56 to Rosensteinbrücke. On warm summer days, Stuttgarters young and old – including Turkish families with portable barbecue equipment – flock to the Max-Eyth-See, a lake and park right on the Neckar (and on the U14 line) about 7km northeast of the Hauptbahnhof (Eyth rhymes with height). The water is hardly pristine, so swimming is out, but there's a great bike path here – in fact it's part of the Neckartal-Radweg (see p392). Along the river, the steep hills still have some older terraced-style vineyards; many of the little Wengerter Häuschen (tool sheds) that dot the hillside are more than 200 years old and are protected landmarks. TOURS Boat From late April to late October, Neckar-Käpt'n (%5499 7060; www.neckar-kaeptn.de) operates a va- riety of boat excursions on the Neckar River (from €7.40; free on your birthday) departing from its dock at Wilhelma in Bad Cannstatt (on the U14). Walking & Bus The tourist office runs a variety of tours, in- cluding the 11⁄2-hour Stadt-Spaziergang (City Walk; €7; h11am, also 5pm Fri Apr-Oct) and the 21⁄2-hour Stadt-Rundfahrt (City Coach Tour; adult/concession incl ad- mission to TV Tower €17/13.50; h1.30pm daily Apr-Oct, Sat & Sun Nov-Mar). Both are in English and German and begin at the tourist office (p394). Taxi Many people highly recommend taking a 21⁄2- hour taxi tour (in English, French, Spanish or German) with Anselm Vogt-Moykopf (%0172-740 1138; www.stadtrundfahrt-stuttgart.de; for 4 people Mon-Fri €100, Sat, Sun & holidays €125), a knowledgeable and easy-going fellow who really loves the city, its architecture and taking people to beautiful, out-of-the-way spots. FESTIVALS & EVENTS Stuttgart plays host to a number of notable annual events. Sommerfest An open-air festival with live music and food that's held on Schlossplatz, Thursday to Sunday during the second week of August. Weindorf A 10-day event where wine-makers sell the year's vintages from hundreds of booths on Schlossplatz and the Oberer Schlossgarten. Begins on the last weekend in August. STUTTGART'S VINEYARD TRAILS The Stuttgarter Weinwanderweg (www.stuttgarter-weinwanderweg.de, in German) is the name given to two walking trails that head through vineyards so lush and pastoral you'll hardly believe that some of the world's most advanced motorcar factories are just over the hill. One begins 3km dsually featuring typical Swabian dishes like Kartoffelsuppe (potato soup), Gaisburger Marsch (a stew of sliced potatoes, noodles and beef ) and the evil-sounding Schlachtplatte (sauerkraut with pork belly, liver, lard, sausage and smoked meat, served with peas and other vegetables). Some Besenwirtschaften open every year, but most don't. Check Lift Stuttgart or S-Trip, published in the Stuttgarter Zeitung on the last Wednesday of the month during vintage times. Stuttgart-area Besenwirtschaften that operate every year include Weingut Ruoff (%321 224; Uhlbacher Strasse 31, Obertürkheim; h11am-midnight except Sun & holidays mid-Nov–mid- or late Feb), in a fabulous house built in 1550 (take the S1 to Obertürkheim), and D'Besa am Kelterplätzle (%331 149; Strümpfelbacher Strasse 40, Untertürkheim; h11am-midnight Tue-Sat mid-Oct–early Dec & late Jan–mid-Mar), which has a romantic vaulted wine cellar (take the S1 to Untertürckheim). Sun & holidays) This quirky little Bohnenviertel sausage stand, next door to Gaststätte Brun- nenwirt, sells Stuttgart's most famous Curry- wurst (€2.40 to €3.20). Half-grungy, half-chic, this local institution draws an eclectic crowd – from passing vagrants to Mercedes coupé drivers. Calwer-Eck-Bräu (%2224 9440; Calwer Strasse 31; 9am or 10am-1am, to 2am Fri & Sat, from 5pm holidays) This Gemütlich (cosy) brewery-pub, up on the 1st floor, serves Swabian-Bavarian fare, includ- ing Maultaschensuppe (€3.50; ravioli soup), a Stuttgart speciality. On Sunday there's an all-you-can-eat menu for €9.99 until 5pm. Amadeus (%292 678; Charlottenplatz 17; mains €7.80-14.90, salads €4.50-8.80; hnoon-midnight Mon-Fri, 10am-midnight Sat & Sun) In the courtyard of a one-time orphanage, this place serves great Swabian-style food and has Dinkel Acker on tap. Sunday brunch, available till 3pm, costs €13.50. Nirvan (%240 561; Eberhardstrasse 73; mains €3.50- 13.80; h11am-11pm) Dine to the sounds of mel- low Persian music at this basement restaurant, where you'll find delicious Persian dishes (lamb, fish and vegetarian). The lunch menu (€5 to €8.50) is served till 3pm. Weinhaus Stetter (%240 163; Rosenstrasse 32; h3-11pm Mon-Fri, 11am-3pm Sat) This Bohnen- viertel place has solid, good-value regional specialities such as Linsen und Saiten (lentils with sausage) and a great wine selection. The attached Weinhandlung (wine shop) sells 650 different vintages. Palast der Republik (%226 4887; Friedrichstrasse 27; h11am-2am, to 3am Fri & Sat) This grandly named beer bar is actually a kiosk – once a public toilet – with signs reading 'Schwaben Bräu' and 'Palast' outside. A real Stuttgart institu- tion, it is hugely popular with young locals, especially students and counter-culture types, who sit at tables or on the ground sipping their brew. Deli (%236 0200; Geissstrasse 7; mains €6.10-12.90; h10am-apm, to 2am Thu, to 3am Fri & Sat) A chic café- bar with food. Self-caterers can try the food market (Marktplatz; h7.30am-1pm Tue, Thu & Saturday) and the Markthalle (market hall; Dorotheenstrasse 4; h7am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 7am-4pm Sat), which sells picnic fixin's and has Italian and Swabian restaurants. ENTERTAINMENT Details on Stuttgart's exceptionally lively cultural scene can be found in Lift Stuttgart (€1.80), an easy-to-use German-language monthly available at the tourist office or news kiosks. Prinz (www.prinz.de/stuttgart.html) is another listings magazine (€1.30). Events tickets can be purchased at the Kartenvorverkauf desk (%222 8243; inside the tourist office; h9am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm Sat, phone staffed till 6pm Mon-Fri). Cinemas Cinemas that screen undubbed (OmU) films: Ambo (%225 7712; www.kinostar.com, in German; Arnulf-Klett-Platz 3) Facing the Hauptbahnhof. Screens first-run films in four halls. Kommunales Kino (%3058 9160; www.koki -stuttgart.de, in German; Friedrichstrasse 23a) An art cinema in the old Amerika Haus building. Clubs Details on the nightlife and club scene can be found at www.subculture.de (in German). Cannstatter Volkfest Stuttgart's version of Oktoberfest, this huge event is held over three consecutive weekends in Bad Cannstatt from late September to mid-October. Weihnachtsmarkt Germany's largest Christmas market is held in the city centre on Marktplatz, Schillerplatz and Schlossplatz from late November to 23 December. SLEEPING Budget Campingplatz Stuttgart (%556 696; www.campingplatz -stuttgart.de; Mercedesstrasse 40, Bad Cannstatt; per person/ tent/car €6/4/2.50; hyear-round) A riverside camp- ing ground about 4km northeast of the city centre on the right bank of the Neckar. It's about 1km southeast of the Bad Cannstatt S-Bahn station. DJH hostel (%664 7470; www.jugendherberge-stuttgart .de; Haussmannstrasse 27; dm 1st/subsequent night €20.30/ 17.10; h24hr; ni) Totally renovated in 2006, this luxurious, 309-bed hostel is 800m south- east (up the hill) from the Hauptbahnhof. Amenities here include two- or four-bed rooms, all with bathroom, and bicycle park- ing. Reached via a glass-and-steel column with a lift running down the middle, reception is on level 5. Hostel Alex 30 (%838 8950; www.alex30-hostel.de; Al- exanderstrasse 30; dm €19, s €20-29, d €50, with toilet & shower €70, breakfast €6; pn) This privately-run hostel, opened in 2004, has colourful and creatively decorated public areas and 32 rooms outfitted with basic furnishings and high school–style lockers for your stuff. Kitchen facilities are available. Bike rental costs €6 per day. From the Hauptbahnhof, take U5, U6 or U7 to the Olgaeck stop. Museumstube (%296 810; fax 120 4359; www .museumstube.de; Hospitalstrasse 9; d €65, s/d without bath- room €30/45, not incl breakfast; hreception 10am-3pm & 5.30-10pm or 11pm, closed Sun & holidays) A modest, family-run place with 14 spiffy, superclean rooms. Hotel Centro (%585 3315; www.hotelcentro.de in German; Büchsenstrasse 24; s/d from €55/85, without bathroom €35/65) A very central hotel whose 11 rooms are practical and compact, with nature-themed prints on the wall. Midrange Wirt am Berg (%241 865; fax 236 1348; Gaisburgstrasse 12a; s/d from €60/85, s without bathroom €50; pn) A statue of a vintner greets you at this family- run hotel, whose 12 rooms are nicely fur- nished. Situated on a quiet backstreet. The nearest U-Bahn stop is Olgaeck. InterCity Hotel (%225 00; www.intercityhotel.com; Arnulf-Klett-Platz 2; s €77-136, d €77-151, breakfast €12) Hugely convenient if you're arriving by train (it's in the southwest corner of the Haupt- bahnhof), this place has 112 hotel-ish but comfortable rooms. Rates are cheapest on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Hotel Unger (%209 90; www.hotel-unger.de; Kron- enstrasse 17; s/d from €102/125, Fri, Sat & Sun from €79/99; pn) A very central 116-room hotel popular with business travellers. It's known for its gen- erous breakfast buffet featuring smoked fish, served in your room for no extra charge. Two additional floors, including a fitness studio, are being added in 2007. Top End Der Zauberlehrling (%237 7770; www.zauberlehrling.de; Rosenstrasse 38; d €140-280) This ultrachic 'design hotel' has 17 named rooms, each unique and each a feast for the eyes. It has some pretty far-out bathtubs. The name means 'sorcerer's apprentice'. Steigenberger Graf Zeppelin (%204 80; www .stuttgart.steigenberger.de; Arnulf-Klett-Platz 7; s/d from €195/220; pna) Facing the Hauptbahn- hof, this superluxurious, five-star hotel has 189 rooms in a variety of styles: classical, elegant or avant-garde. Amenities include a pool, sauna, fitness studio, bistro, bar and cigar lounge. The restaurant has one Michelin star. EATING & DRINKING There are lots of eateries and pubs – many of them very chic and quite a few with outdoor tables – a few blocks east of the southern end of Königstrasse, along and near Eberhardstrasse. Further east across Hauptstätter Strasse, in the old labourers' quarter Bohnenviertel (between Rosenstrasse and Pfarrstrasse), traditional places with regional specialities predominate. Tiny Geissstrasse, two short blocks west of Eberhardstrasse, has several little café-pubs that spill out onto what's unofficially called Hans-im-Glück Platz – a little square with a fountain depicting the caged German fairy- tale character 'Lucky Hans'. Theodor-Heuss- Strasse, three blocks west of Königstrasse, has lots of trendy Szenekneipen (clubs and bars that cater to style-conscious yuppies). The city's best beer garden is in the Mittlerer Schlossgarten. Imbiss zum Brunnenwirt (%245 021; Leonhardsplatz 25; h11am-2am Mon-Thu, 11am-3am Fri & Sat, 4pm-2am 398 399 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG STUTTGART •• Shopping lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com STUTTGART •• Around Stuttgart Dilayla (%236 9527; Eberhardstrasse 49; admission free; h9pm-4am, to 6am Fri & Sat nights, from 11pm late May-Sep) A laid-back basement music bar with dancing, this dimly lit place has bright orange walls, cosy tables and lots of soft couches for lounging. The soundtrack is mainly from the '70s and '80s. Things get going between mid- night and 1am. Attracts a mixed crowd. Die Röhre (%299 1499; www.die-roehre.com; Willy- Brandt-Strasse 2/1) A hugely popular, industrial- style concert and party venue under the curved ceiling of an aborted vehicle tunnel – a few metres away an identical Röhre (tube) takes cars through the hill. Linked to Willy- Brandt-Strasse by a path through the trees. Zap Club (%235 227; www.zap-club.de, in German; Hauptstätterstrasse 40; admission €4-10; h8pm or 9pm-2am Wed, 9pm-2am Thu, 10pm-4am Fri, 10pm-6am or later Sat) In the cellar of the Schwabenzentrum (around the corner from Josef-Hirn-Platz), this sprawling disco has very modern décor and a cocktail bar. Attracts mainly a younger, 18-to-26 crowd. Over-30s get a discount on Wednesday. Hosts live music about once a week. Gay & Lesbian venues King's Club (%226 4558; www.kingsclub-stuttgart. de, in German; Calwer Strasse 21; admission Fri & Sat €10; h10pm-6am Wed-Sun, to 7am Fri & Sat nights) This gay and lesbian disco has red-carpeted walls, banquettes around the sides and a DJ posi- tioned right in the middle. Heteros are wel- come. Gets going after midnight. Enter from Gymnasiumstrasse. Rock & Jazz Romeo's Kiste (%553 2805; Hauptstätter Strasse 35; h4pm-2am Mon-Thu, to 3am Fri & Sat) This hole-in- the-wall bar, often jam-packed, is the city's leading jazz venue, with concerts nightly ex- cept Sunday, starting at 9.30pm or 10pm. Theaterhaus (%402 0720; www.theaterhaus.com, in German; Siemensstrasse 11) This place, 3km north of the Hauptbahnhof, hosts live rock, jazz and other music genres virtually nightly. Also has theatre and comedy performances. To get there take the U6 to Maybachstrasse. Theatre & Classical Music Staatstheater (%203 2220; www.staatstheater-stuttgart .de; Oberer Schlossgarten 6) The city's premier venue for ballet, opera, theatre and Western classical music. Tickets start at just €8. The Stuttgart Ballet (www.stuttgart-ballet.de) is renowned as one of the best companies in Europe. Variété im Friedrichsbau (%225 7070; www.fried richsbau.de, in German; Friedrichstrasse 24; tickets €19-40) Famous for its excellent variety shows and cabaret productions. To get there take the U9 or U14 to Friedrichsbau/Börse. SHOPPING For outdoor action, there's a flower market (Schillerplatz; h7.30am-1pm Tue, Thu & Sat) and a flea market (Karlsplatz; hto 4pm Sat). Many varieties of wine are produced in the Stuttgart region; most are whites, but locals also go for Trollinger, a full-bodied red made from a variety of grape originally from the South Tirol in Austria. Stuttgarters consume wine at a rate twice the national average, so while Trollinger is readily avail- able here, they're not really exporting a lot. The tourist office has lists of vineyards open for tastings. Stuttgart isn't renowned for bargain shop- ping. Indeed, upmarket stores predominate in the city centre, where options can be found all along Königstrasse. The new Königsbau Passa- gen (see p396) has some classy design shops. GETTING THERE & AWAY Air Stuttgart International Airport (STR; %01805-948 444; www.stuttgart-airport.com), a major hub for German Wings (www.germanwings.com), is 13km south of the city. There are four terminals, all within easy walking distance of each other. Car & Motorcycle The A8 from Munich to Karlsruhe passes by Stuttgart, as does the A81 from Singen (near Lake Constance) to Heilbronn and Mann- heim. Stuttgart is often abbreviated to 'S' on highway signs. Train IC and ICE destinations include Berlin (€112, 51⁄2 hours), Frankfurt (€44.60, 11⁄4 hours) and Munich (€39 to €46, 21⁄4 hours). There are frequent regional services to Tübingen (€10, one hour), Schwäbisch Hall's Hessental sta- tion (€11.70, 69 minutes) and Ulm (€14.70, one hour). GETTING AROUND To/From the Airport S2 and S3 trains take about 30 minutes to get from the airport to the Hauptbahnhof (€2.90). Bicycle Rent a Bike (%4207 0833; www.rentabike-stuttgart.de, in German; adult 6hr/full day €9.50/13, student €6/8) delivers and picks up bikes. Word has it that by 2007 a Hauptbahnhof-based rental service, Call-a- Bike, will begin operating. You can take along your bike free of charge on Stadtbahn lines, except from 6am to 8.30am and 4pm to 6.30pm Monday to Friday. Bikes are allowed on S-Bahn trains (S1 to S6) but you have to buy a Kinderfahrschein (child's ticket) from 6am to 8.30am Monday to Friday. Bikes cannot be taken on buses or the Strassenbahn (tramway). Car & Motorcycle Underground parking in the city centre costs about €2 for the first hour and €1.50 for each subsequent hour. Park-and-ride (P+R) options, available in many Stuttgart suburbs, afford cheap parking plus free transport into the city centre for the driver and all passen- gers; convenient lots include Degerloch Alsb- strasse (on the B27; take the U5 or U6 into town), which is 4km south of the centre; and Österfeld (on the A81; take the S1, S2 or S3 into the centre). Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National and Sixt have offices at the airport (Terminal 2, Level 2). Europcar, Hertz and Avis have offices at the Hauptbahnhof (next to track 16). Public Transport From slowest to fastest, Stuttgart's public trans- port network (www.ssb-ag.de and www.vvs.de, both in Ger- man) consists of a Zahnradbahn (rack railway), buses, the Strassenbahn (tramway), Stadtbahn lines (light rail lines whose names begin with U; underground in the city centre), S-Bahn lines (suburban rail lines named S1 through to S6) and Regionalbahn lines (regional trains whose names begin with R). On Friday and Saturday there are night buses (their names begin with N) with departures from Schloss- platz at 1.11am, 2.22am and 3.33am. For travel within the city, single tick- ets are €1.80, and four-ride tickets (Mehr- fahrtenkarte) cost €6.30. A day pass, good for two zones (including, for instance, the Mercedes-Benz and Porsche Museums), is better value at €5.10 for one person and €8.50 for a group two to five. Taxi To order a taxi call %194 10 or %566 061. AROUND STUTTGART The region around Stuttgart is easily acces- sible by public transport or, better still, by bicycle. Württemberg When Conrad von Württemberg established the Württemberg family dynasty, he built the family castle on this absolutely breathtaking hill southeast of Stuttgart. Covered with vines, it affords sweeping views down into a gor- geous valley. Katherina Pavlovna, daughter of a Russian tsar and wife of King Wilhelm I of Württem- berg (1781–1864), reputedly told her husband that she'd never seen such a beautiful place and hoped to be buried here. When she died, aged just 30, Wilhelm tore down the Württemberg family castle and in its place built a domed, classical-style Russian Orthodox chapel. The Grabkapelle (burial chapel; www.schloesser-und -gaerten.de; adult/concession €1.50/0.70; h10am-noon Wed, 10am-noon & 1-5pm Fri & Sat, 10am-noon & 1-6pm Sun & holidays Mar-1 Nov) is where he was also buried decades later. The grounds outside afford lovely views of the countryside and are a perfect place for a picnic. To get to Württemberg, 10km east of Stuttgart's city centre, take bus 61 from the Obertürkheim station, served by the S1. Ludwigsburg %07141 / pop 88,000 This neat and cultured little place, the child- hood home of the dramatist Friedrich Schiller, is named for Duke Eberhard Ludwig, who built the vast, Versailles-inspired Residenz- schloss (chateau) in the early 1700s. Just a 20-minute train ride north of Stuttgart, Lud- wigsburg – home to Baden-Württemberg's only film academy – is the perfect place to come if you want to 'go for baroque'. ORIENTATION & INFORMATION The Bahnhof, served by S-Bahn trains from Stuttgart, is at the southwestern edge of the town centre. The Residenzschloss, on Schlossstrasse (the B27), is at the northeastern edge of the centre. The broad Marktplatz is more or less in the middle, about 750m north- east of the train station and 400m southwest of the chateau entrance. Ludwigsburg's tourist office (%910 2252; www.ludwigsburg.de; Marktplatz 6; h9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-2pm Sat) has excellent material in English 400 401 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG STUTTGART •• Around Stuttgart lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com NORTHERN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG •• Heidelberg BAROQUE IN BLOOM The Residenzschloss gardens are transformed into an immaculately trimmed festival of flow- ers during the annual Blühendes Barock (www.blueba.de, in German; adult/student €7/3.30; htickets sold 9am-6pm, to 7pm Sat & Sun mid-Mar–early Nov). Included in the ticket price is the kids-oriented Märchengarten (Fairy Tale Garden), a small Japanese garden and an aviary filled with exotic birds. It's a fabulous setting for a picnic! There's an entrance to the gardens on Schorndorfer Strasse (the eastern continuation of Wil- helmstrasse). Blühendes Barock tickets are not sold at the main entrance to the Residenzschloss on Schlossstrasse (the B27). However, combo tickets that include the chateau are on sale at the entrances to the gardens. and can provide details on performing arts festivals, jazz performances, cinema-related events and the baroque Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market). SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES Known as the 'Swabian Versailles', the mag- nificent, early 18th-century Residenzschloss (%182 004; www.schloss-ludwigsburg.de, in German, www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de; Schlossstrasse; tours adult/student to 28yr/family €5/2.50/12.50; h10am- 6pm, last tour at 5pm), with its 18 buildings and 452 rooms, is a symphony of baroque, rococo and Empire decoration. The 90- minute tours (in German with an English text) of the chateau's furnished interior begin every 30 minutes. English-language tours begin at 1.30pm daily; from mid-March to early November there are additional tours held at 11am and 3.15pm on Saturday, Sun- day and holidays. The chateau, refurbished in 2004 in honour of the complex's 300th anniversary, is also home to the Carl Eugen Appartement, an impos- sibly ornate, generously gilded rococo gem, and three new museums (adult/student incl audioguide €5/2.50; h10am-5pm): the Barockgalerie (Baroque Gallery), which showcases baroque paintings from the collections of the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart; the Modemuseum (Fashion Museum), which has a fine collection of original cloth- ing and accessories created between 1750 and 1970; and the Keramikmuseum (Ceramics Museum), with some pretty spectacular por- celain, faïence and majolica. Duke Karl Eugen (oy-gen), a businessman and bon vivant, established a porcelain fac- tory in the castle in 1758. Historic pieces can be seen in the Keramikmuseum, and you can purchase the fine stuff it makes today – by hand, as always – at the Porzellan-Manufaktur (www.porzellan-manufaktur-ludwigsburg.de). A 10-minute walk north of the Residenz- schloss, surrounded by a park, is another early 18th-century Württemberg family pal- ace, the baroque Schloss Favorite (%182 004; 30min tour adult/concession €2.50/1.20; h10am-12.30pm & 1.30-5pm mid-Mar–1 Nov, 10am-12.30pm & 1.30-4pm Tue- Sun 2 Nov–mid-Mar). The scene of Duke Eugen's glittering parties, its furnishings date from the Napoleonic period. About 2km to the northwest on the Schlosspark lake is yet another Württemberg chateau, the rococo Seeschloss Monrepos (%221 060; hwine tasting & sales 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat). Once used as a summer residence, it's still owned by the Württemberg family, which sells the wines it makes – and lets you taste them – on the premises. From mid-March to mid-October you can hire boats (from €8 to €10 per hour) to sail on the adjacent lake. Open-air concerts, just a small part of Lud- wigsburg's rich cultural offerings, are held here in the summer. GETTING THERE & AROUND Stuttgart's S4 and S5 S-Bahn lines go directly to Ludwigsburg's Bahnhof (€2.90), frequently linked to the chateau by buses 421 and 427; buses 422 and 425 go to the Blühendes Ba- rock entrance. On foot, the chateau is about 1km from the train station. If you come by car, there are two large park- ing lots 500m south of the Residenzschloss, just off the B27. From mid-May to late September (and on some days in early May and October), a more relaxing option is to take a boat run by Neckar-Käpt'n (%5499 7060; www.neckar-kaeptn .de) from Bad Cannstatt (Stuttgart, see p397) to Ludwigsburg-Hoheneck (one-way/return €14.60/19.60, two hours). From there, the chateau is either a 20- to 30-minute walk or a short ride on bus 427 (every 10 minutes). NORTHERN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG The northern third of the state has a number of unique and enticing cities. Heidelberg is famed for its mile-long pedestrian precinct, Mannheim for its chessboard street grid, Karlsruhe for its fanlike street layout and Schwäbish Hall for its narrow medieval alley- ways. All have fine museums and a wealth of cultural activities. HEIDELBERG %06221 / pop 143,000 Heidelberg's baroque old town, lively univer- sity atmosphere, excellent pubs and evocative half-ruined castle make it hugely popular with visitors, 3.5 million of whom flock here each year. They are following in the footsteps of the 19th-century romantics, most notably the poet Goethe. Britain's William Turner also loved the city, which inspired him to paint some of his greatest landscapes. Less starry eyed was Mark Twain (www .mark-twain-in-heidelberg.de), who in 1878 began his European travels with a three- month stay in Heidelberg, recounting his bemused observations in A Tramp Abroad. There is speculation that the writer's attrac- tion to the city may have something to do with the fact that the name Heidelberg is derived from Heidelbeerenberg (Huckleberry Hill). Heidelberg, Germany's oldest and most famous university town, has a red-roofed townscape of remarkable architectural unity. It was created in the 18th century after it had been devastated during the Thirty Years' War and then all but destroyed by invading French troops under Louis XIV. Today the city has a student population of 32,000 (including lots of foreign students), heaps of tradition and nightlife that makes it outstanding for a pub crawl. The city also serves as an important NATO headquarters (www.nato.int/lahd). Orientation Heidelberg's Altstadt stretches along the Neckar River from Bismarckplatz east to the Schloss. Europe's longest pedestrian zone, the 1600m-long Haupstrasse – the so-called Royal Mile – runs east-to-west through the middle of the Altstadt, about 200m south of the Neckar. Two bridges link the Altstadt with the Neckar's northern bank: at the western end, north of Bismarckplatz, is Theodor-Heuss- Brücke, while north of the Marktplatz is the Alte Brücke (also known as Karl-Theodor- Brücke). Information There are a number of internet cafés on or near Hauptstrasse, such as in the vicinity of the Jesuitenkirche. Ärztlicher Bereitschaftdienst (%192 92; Alte Eppenheimer Strasse 35; h8pm-7am, 7am-8pm Sat, Sun & holidays, from 1pm on Wed) For medical care when most doctors' offices are closed. Situated one block north of the Hauptbahnhof. A house call is possible if necessary but for less serious cases just drop by. Costs the same as a regular doctor. Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut (%607 30; www .dai-heidelberg.de; Sofienstrasse 12; hlibrary 1-6pm Mon-Fri) Has concerts, films, lectures and occasional exhibits. Heidelberg Card (2/4 days €14/26, 2-day family card €26) Entitles you to unlimited public transport use and free or discounted admission to museums and some cultural events. Available at the tourist office. Internet Lounge (per 5min/hr €0.50/6; h7am- midnight) In the Hauptbahnhof on the way to the tracks, with pricey train station internet access. Main post office (Hugo-Stotz-Strasse 14) To the right as you exit the Hauptbahnhof. Post Office (Sofienstrasse 8-10) Reisebank (h7.30am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Sat, 9am-1pm Sun & holidays) In the Hauptbahnhof building; exchanges currency. Tourist office (%194 33; www.cvb-heidelberg.de, www.heidelberg.de; h9am-7pm Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm Sun & holidays Apr-Oct, 9am-6pm Mon-Sat Nov-Mar) Right outside the Hauptbahnhof. Out front is a hotel reservation board with a free telephone. Sells the Heidelberg Card. Waschsalon (Kettengasse 17; per 7kg €8.50; h10am- 1pm & 2-6pm Mon, Tue, Thu & Fri, 10am-2pm & 3-6pm Wed, 10am-3pm Sat) A laundry where you can DIY or leave your dirty duds and pick them up two hours later. Wetzlar (%241 65; Plöck 79-81) Specialises in foreign- language books. Sights SCHLOSS Dominating the Altstadt from on high, the partly ruined, red-sandstone Schloss (%538 431; adult/student under 28yr admission to courtyard till 5.30pm or 6pm, Deutsches Apothekenmuseum & Grosses Fass €5/1.50, courtyard free from 5.30pm or 6pm till dusk, gardens 402 403 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG NORTHERN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG •• Heidelberg lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com NORTHERN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG •• Heidelberg HEIDELBERG To Bootsverleih Simon (1.8km) To Rhein-Neckar Fahrgastschifffahrt Ferry Dock (300m); Hotel Central (1.8km); Hauptbahnhof (2km); Internet Lounge (2km); Main Post Office (2km); Reisebank (2km); Tourist Office (2km); Botanischer Garten der Universität (3km); Zoo Heidelberg To Philosophenweg (250m) Alte Brücke (Karl-Theodor- Brücke) 200 m 0.1 miles 29 12 Schloss Ticket Office To Königstuhl (1km); Märchenparadies (1.2km) 0 0 To Heiligenberg (1km); Thingstätte (2km) Neckarmünzplatz 8 4 Gate 18 28 24 26 Rathaus 30 5617 (3.3km); DJH Hostel (3.5km); Schloss Schwetzingen (10km); Mannheim (21km) 25 36 s 13 19 Altstadt Marktplatz 21 31 Karlsplatz Heumarkt Korn- markt 33 23 3 Jesuitenviertel 22 9 16 10 32 2 14 Universitäts- platz 11 15 always free; h8am-dusk) is one of Germany's finest Gothic-Renaissance fortresses. Begun in the 13th century, the oldest surviving bits date from 1400. The Renaissance Schlosshof (courtyard) is so elaborately decorated it often elicits a gasp from visitors (see p406). The terrace affords superb views of the town and the Neckar. The only way to see the less-than-scintillating interior is to join a guided tour (adult/concession €4/2; h11.15am, 12.15pm, 2.15pm & 4.15pm daily, also 10.15am Sat & Sun, additional tours at 1.15pm & 3.15pm mid-Apr–mid-Oct). An audioguide of the Schloss costs €4. Off the courtyard is the Deutsches Apoth- ekenmuseum (German Pharmacy Museum; %165 780; h10.15am-6pm), which has well-presented exhib- its on chemistry and pharmacology in centuries past. Signs are in English. The 18th-century Grosses Fass (Great Vat) is said to be capable of holding more than 220,000L. Even the Kleines Fass is not exactly tiny. Behind the castle, the Schlossgarten (castle garden) is a delightful place for a stroll. The Pulver Turm (Gunpowder Tower) was damaged by French forces in 1693. 35 34 To Bismarckplatz (600m); Sofienstrasse Post Office (700m); Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut (750m); Denner Hotel & Café Gekco (800m); Handelshof Supermarket (1.5km); Nachtschicht (1.7km); Ärztlicher Bereitschaftdienst (2km) 27 To Wetzlar (100m) 7 1 20 Schloss Tours Ticket Window Schloss Audioguide Rental Office To get up to the castle you can either take the Bergbahn (funicular railway; www.bergbahn-heid elberg.de; adult/6-14yr one way €3/2, return €5/4; hevery 10min), with its spanking new cars, from the Kornmarkt station on Zwingerstrasse; or walk up the steep, cobbled Burgweg (about 10 min- utes), right next to the Bergbahn station. KÖNIGSTUHL The upper section of the Bergbahn (see above) uses rail cars dating from 1907. From the Schloss, it continues up to the Königstuhl (al- titude 550m – over 400m above the Altstadt), where there's a view and a TV tower. The return fare, with a stop at the Schloss, is adult €8 and child 6 to 14 years €6. Also at the top of the hill is the Märchen- paradies (Fairy-Tale Park; %23 416; www.maerchenparadies .de in 1386 by Count Palatinate Ruprecht I, one of the seven imperial prince-electors. Origi- nally made up of four faculties – philosophy, law, medicine and theology – today it has 18 faculties with more than 30,000 students from 80 nations. Women were first admitted in 1900. The university's facilities are scattered all over town but some of the most historic are on the Altstadt's Universitätsplatz, which is dominated by the 18th-century Alte Universität and the Neue Universität, the old and new uni- versity buildings. From 1778 to 1914, university students convicted of misdeeds (such as singing, wom- anising, drinking or just plain goofing around) were tossed into the Studentenkarzer (Student Jail; %543 554; Augustinergasse 2; adult/concession €2.50/2; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Sep, 10am-4pm Tue-Sat Oct-Mar), around the back side of the Alte Universität building. Sentences were generally a minimum of three days and the detainees were fed only bread and water; delinquents serving longer sentences could interrupt their stay for critical reasons (say, to take exams). In some circles, a stint in the Karzer was considered de rigueur to prove one's manhood (women were never imprisoned here). Detainees passed their time by carving inscriptions and drawing graffiti, which still covers the walls. A ticket to the Studentenkarzer also gets you into the Alte Aula (Old Assembly Hall; Grabengasse 1; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Sep, 10am-4pm Tue-Sat Oct-Mar, except when in use) and an exhibition on the uni- versity's history inside the Alte Universität. A block to the south, the Universitätsbibli- othek (University Library; Plöck 107-109; admission free), built from 1901 to 1905, displays rare books and prints from its superb collections in the upstairs corner Ausstellungsraum (exhibition room; h10am-6pm, closed Sun & holidays). The university's largest campus area is on the north side of the Neckar about 1km due north of the Hauptbahnhof. This is where you'll find the Botanischer Garten der Universität (University Botanical Garden; %545 783; Im Neuenheimer Feld 340; admission free; houtdoor areas open all day, hot- houses 9am-4pm Mon-Thu, 9am-2.30pm Fri, 9am-noon & 1-4pm Sun & holidays), one of Germany's oldest. To get there take tram 4 or 5. The delightful Zoo Heidelberg (%645 50; www .zoo-heidelberg.de; Tiergartenstrasse 3; adult/child 3-18yr €6/3; h9am-7pm Apr-Sep, to 6pm Mar & Oct, to 5pm Nov-Feb), just off the Neckar a bit west of the botanical garden, features animals from five continents. From the Hauptbahnhof or Bis- marckplatz take bus 33. JESUITENKIRCHE Just east of Universitätsplatz is the Jesuitenvi- ertel, an attractive little square dominated by the city's recently renovated former Jesuiten- kirche (Jesuit church), built of red sandstone between 1712 and 1750. On the façade are statues of Christ, Faith (on the rooftop), St Ignatius Loyola and St Francis Xavier. The Schatzkammer (treasury; admission €2; h10am-5pm Tue-Sat, 1-5pm Sun & holidays Jun-Oct, Sat & Sun Nov-May) displays precious religious objects. MARKTPLATZ The Heiliggeistkirche (built 1398–1441), on the old market square, is a superb old Gothic church. From 1706 to 1936 there was a wall between the part used by Protestants and that used by Catholics; today, it's a Protes- tant place of worship. You can climb the 204 steps to the top of the church spire (adult/student 404 405 Neuenheimer Landstr Neckar River f el u e t k a H m n e U L A d a t s N e c a ie b r A e g u t r n Obere Neckarstr Mc r Grosse Haspelgasse Le g ö a Steingasse Dreikönigstr r s n s e N er h e ca n k ey s a eckarstr M antelgasse M s re t U a e e m Hauptstr tr str s Funicular Railway S grim n e r Karlstr tl t i g e l a K s s e M Bauamtsgssse K t A it ä Kettengasse r e Hauptstr ug l m b S d u a e a g st g e g n a w In g g e in s r u d e B er g s a ga s s Grabengasse a ss s e e rstr e g n elz i w P Z Fauler Unterr Fauler Pelz r e r e Theaterstr b Friedrichstr O Neue Schlossstr Plöck e a l n - rt drich-E Fr e Schlossberg BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG NORTHERN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG •• Heidelberg lonelyplanet.com Book accommodation online at lonelyplanet.com l o n e lByopolkaancceotm. cmoomdation online at lonelyplanet.com NORTHERN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG •• Heidelberg MARK TWAIN ON THE SCHLOSS Heidelberg Castle must have been very beautiful before the French battered and bruised and scorched it two hundred years ago. The stone is brown, with a pinkish tint, and does not seem to stain easily. The dainty and elaborate ornamentation upon its two chief fronts is as delicately carved as if it had been intended for the interior of a drawing-room rather than for the outside of a house. Many fruit and flower clusters, human heads and grim projecting lions' heads are still as perfect in every detail as if they were new. But the statues which are ranked between the windows have suffered. These are life-size statues of old-time emperors, electors, and similar grandees, clad in mail and bearing ponderous swords. Some have lost an arm, some a head, and one poor fellow is chopped off at the middle. Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad (1880) €1/0.50; h11am-5pm Mon-Sat, 12.30-5pm Sun & holidays mid-Mar–Oct, 11am-3pm Fri & Sat, 12.30-3pm Sun & holidays Nov–mid-Mar). In the centre of Marktplatz is the Hercules fountain; in medieval times petty criminals were chained to it and left to face the popu- lace. On the south side of the Markt, the lavishly decorated former royal pharmacy has been reborn as a McDonald's. ALTE BRÜCKE On the Altstadt, at the entrance to the bridge side, is a statue of a brass monkey holding a mirror and surrounded by mice: touch the mirror for wealth, the outstretched fingers to ensure you return to Heidelberg and the mice to ensure you have many children. Up on the bridge, through the tower, is the Karl-Theodor- Statue, being renovated as we go to press, which makes reference to the local legend that the prince fathered almost 200 illegitimate children. The bridge's foundation bears some pretty hairy high-water marks. KURPFÄLZISCHES MUSEUM Tucked in behind a courtyard, the excellent Kurpfälzisches Museum (Palatinate Museum; %583 400; Hauptstrasse 97; adult/concession €3/1.80, on Sun €1.80/1.20; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun) focuses on 15th- to 20th- century paintings and sculptures, and Heidel- berg and regional history. Displays include lots of Roman and Merovingian items and a copy of the jawbone of a 600,000-year-old Heidelberg Man (the original is stored across the river at the palaeontology centre). PHILOSOPHENWEG A stroll along the Philosophenweg (Philoso- phers' Walk), on the hillside north of the Neckar River, provides a welcome respite from the tourist hordes. Leading through steep vineyards and orchards, the path offers those great views of the Altstadt and the castle that were such an inspiration to the Ger- man philosopher Hegel. It's a well-known lovers' haunt, and many a young local is said to have lost their heart (and virginity) along the walkway. Atop the Heiligenberg is the Thingstätte, a Nazi-era amphitheatre. There are several ruins and countless other hiking options in the surrounding hills. Tours The tourist office runs English-language guided tours (adult/student €7/5; h10.30am Fri & Sat Apr-Dec) that depart from the Löwenbrunnen (Lions Fountain) at Universtätsplatz. Paddle boats can be hired at Bootsverleih Simon (%411 925; 3-/4-person paddle boat per 30min €6/7; h11am-sundown Apr-Sep), on the north shore of the Neckar by the Theodor-Heuss-Brücke. The following two companies run cruises on the Neckar. Rhein-Neckar Fahrgastschifffahrt (%201 81; www.rnf-schifffahrt.de, in German; adult/child 4-12yr to Neckarsteinach return €10/6; hup to 7 times a day mid-Apr–late Nov) Boats dock on the south bank of the Neckar about midway between the two bridges. It's a nice day trip upriver to Neckarsteinach and its four castles, built by four brothers between 1100 and 1250 as a result of a family feud. Also offers other excursions to towns on the Neckar and Rhine. Solarschiff (%409 284; www.hdsolarschiff.com; adult/child 3-14yr/student €6/3/4; hTue-Sun Mar-Oct) An ultramodern, glass-topped sightseeing boat whose 50-minute excursions begin next to the Alte Brücke. Festivals & Events Heidelberg's most popular annual events in- clude Heidelberger Herbst (on the last Saturday in September), a huge autumn festival during which the entire pedestrian zone is closed off for a wild party; and the thrice-yearly fireworks festivals (usually on the first Saturday in June, first Saturday in September and second Sat- urday in July). For the latter, the best views are from the northern bank of the Neckar, the Philosophenweg and boats floating in the river. The Christmas market (late November to late December), held at five public squares around town (including Universitätsplatz), is a real treat. Sleeping BUDGET Bargains are thin on the ground in Heidelberg. In the high season finding a place to stay can be difficult, so arrive early in the day or book ahead, especially for the hostel. The tourist office charges €3 for a hotel booking. DJH hostel (%412 066; www.jugendherberge.de; Tier- gartenstrasse 5; dm 1st/subsequent night €20.30/17.10; n) Situated near the zoo about 2.5km northwest of the Hauptbahnhof, this lively, noisy estab- lishment has 487 beds, most in rooms with toilet and shower. From the Hauptbahnhof or Bismarckplatz take bus 33. Pension Jeske (%237 33; www.pension-jeske-hei delberg.de; Mittelbadgasse 2; dm not incl breakfast €20-35; hcheck-in 11am-1pm & 5-7pm; n) Large, colour- ful and decorated with flair, the rooms in this 250-year-old house are the antithesis of cookie-cutter, chain-hotel blandness. Dubliner (%873 0751; www.dublinerheidelberg .com; Hauptstrasse 93; d €69-85; pn) In the heart of Heidelberg's nightlife district, this Irish-style pub has eight basic, newly renovated rooms that are both quiet and clean; three have views of the Schloss. Reception is at the bar. MIDRANGE Hotel Zum Pfalzgrafen (%204 89; www.hotel-zum -pfalzgrafen.de; Kettengasse 21; s €69-77, d €89-103; pn) Polished pine floors are a nice touch at this family-run place, which has 24 well-appointed rooms. Hotel Central (%206 41; www.hotel-central-heidelberg .de, in German; Kaiserstrasse 75; s €75-90, d €90-125; n) A decent but unexciting 48-room hotel in a rather dull area near the Hauptbahnhof – very convenient if you're arriving by train. The cheery, well-lit rooms have solid pine fur- niture and dazzling white bathrooms. There's also a nice fitness room. Hotel Goldener Hecht (%536 80; www.hotel-goldener -hecht.de; Steingasse 2; s/d from €66.50/91) Goethe al- most slept here: the hotel would have kept the famous author had the clerk on duty not been quite so uppity. Ever since, guests at this family-run place have received a warm welcome. Some of the 13 rooms, each unique, have views of the Neckar. Hotel Am Kornmarkt (%905 830; hotelamkorn email@example.com; Kornmarkt 7; s/d/q from €75/95/140, s/d without bathroom €45/75) Discreet and understated, this Altstadt favourite has 20 pleasant, well- kept rooms. The pricier rooms have great views of the Kornmarkt, while the cheaper ones afford easy access to the spotless hall showers. Denner Hotel (%604 510; www.denner-hotel.de; Bergheimer Strasse 8; s/d from €82/97, €10 less on Fri, Sat & Sun; hreception 6am-9pm; ni) An almost- boutique hotel where the 19 sleek rooms are decked out in modern wooden furniture and have creatively painted walls; some come with neoclassical balconies overlooking bustling Bismarckplatz. Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten (%241 64; www.4-jahres zeiten.de; Haspelgasse 2; s/d/t/q €69/99/114/155; p) You can hardly get more central than Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten. on the riverfront, the hotel has 22 rooms have blue or red carpets, colourful curtains and white walls. KulturBrauerei Hotel (%502 980; www.heidelberger -kulturbrauerei.de; Leyergasse 6; s/d from €106/116; p) This 34-room boutique-style hotel greets you with harmonious designer styling and modern art. The rooms are very bright and have pastel walls, wood floors and cheerful décor. TOP END Romantik Hotel Zum Ritter St Georg (%1350; www .ritter-heidelberg.de; Hauptstrasse 178; s €90-130, low season €70, d €140-200; p) In an ornate, late Renaissance– style building (1592), this place, right near the Marktplatz, is one of the town's few build- ings to have survived the French attacks of 1693. The 37 rooms, dark and Germanic, are very comfortable but are inevitably a bit of a let-down after the fantastic façade and luxurious lobby. Eating & Drinking The Altstadt is crammed with eateries, includ- ing quite a number on Steingasse (between the Heiliggeistkirche and the Alte Brücke). Quiet a few of Heidelberg's most popular drinking establishments are clustered along Untere Strasse (perpendicular to Steingasse), where bar-hopping is just a matter of walking next door. 406 407 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG NORTHERN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG •• Heidelberg lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com NORTHERN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG •• Around Heidelberg Raja Rani (%653 0893; Friedrichstrasse 15; mains from €2) Fast, cheap Indian food. On weekdays students get a free lassi with any order over €2.50. Mensa Marstall (Neckarstaden) This well-liked student cafeteria is located two blocks north of Universitätsplatz. Vetter im Schöneck (%165 850; Steingasse 9; h11.30am-1am, to 2am Fri & Sat) This place serves its own microbrewed beer, made in huge cop- per vats, and hearty German dishes, including various kinds of sausages (from €5.80). It has a comfy atmosphere and lovely service. Café Gekco (%604 510; Bergheimer Strasse 8; mains €7.40-13.50; h7am or 8am-1am, to 3am Fri & Sat) An informal café-restaurant, half a block west of Bismarckplatz and thus a bit away from the tourists, with wicker chairs, off-beat décor and a palmlike canopy of halogen lights. Has a big selection of breakfasts as well as salads, meat, fish and vegetarian dishes. KulturBrauerei (%502 980; Leyergasse 6; mains €9.50- 19.50; h11am-1am) With rough plank floors, chandeliers and high ceilings, this micro- brewery has the feel of an old-time beer hall. It serves regional German cuisine and has a beer garden when it's warm. Zur Herrenmühle (%602 909; Hauptstrasse 239; mains €8.50-22.50; h6-11pm Mon-Sat) Serves traditional, classic south German food and international cuisine under the ancient wood beams of a 17th-century mill. Rustically elegant. MaxBar (%244 19; Marktplatz 5; h8am-1am, to 2am Fri & Sat) A French-style café with classic views of the Marktplatz. Perfect for a beer or a pastis, it's especially popular on weekend nights. Zum Sepp'l (%230 85; Hauptstrasse 213; hnoon- midnight) One of Heidelberg's most historical student pubs, with frat photos on the dark wood-panelled walls, pilfered signs hanging from the ceiling and heavy wooden tables with names carved into them. Retains the ambience of yesteryear, although these days students are outnumbered by tourists. Destille (%228 08; Untere Strasse 16; hnoon-2am, to 3am Fri & Sat) Known for the tree trunk behind the bar, this mellow and hugely popular pub (no food is served) specialises in drinks such as melon-flavoured schnapps and something called a Warmer Engel (schnapps with Ta- basco sauce). In the afternoon, patrons can avail themselves of chessboards, playing cards and other games. Self-caterers could try Handelshof super- market (Kurfürstenanlage 61; h7am-8pm Mon-Sat), two blocks northeast of the Hauptbahnhof, or there's an outdoor food market (6am-1pm Wed & Sat) on Marktplatz, as there has been for centuries. Entertainment Heidelberg has a lively cultural scene, with plenty of concerts and theatre performances. Meier (€1.80), a monthly events calendar fea- turing clubs, pubs, restaurants and gay and lesbian venues, can be found at the tourist office and newsagents. Tickets and details for concerts and other cultural events are avail- able at Heidelberg Ticket (%582 0000; Theaterstrasse 4; h11am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat). Heiliggeistkirche (Marktplatz) Puts on hour-long concerts (adult/student/senior €10/6/8) of sa- cred organ music every Saturday at 6.15pm. In the warmer months there are 30-minute organ concerts (adult/student €3/2) daily except Saturday at 5.15pm. Gloria und Gloriette (%253 19; www.cinevent.de, in German; Hauptstrasse 146) A cinema that screens undubbed films three times a week. Nachtschicht (%438 550, 438 5522; www.nachtschicht .com, in German; Alte Eppelheimer Strasse 5; h10pm-5am, usually Wed-Sat) Near the Hauptbahnhof, in a ware- house area between Bergheimer Strasse and Alte Eppelheimer Strasse, this is one of the city's largest and most popular discos. It attracts lots of students and admission is often €4.50. Cave54 (%221 58; www.cave54.de, in German; Krämer- gasse 2; admission from €5) Opened in 1954, this place is said to be the oldest student jazz club in Ger- many. Its claim to fame is that Louis Armstrong once played here. It functions as a pub-disco on most nights (10pm to 3am), has concerts (8.30pm to midnight) at least once a week, and has jam sessions every Sunday from 8.30pm. Getting There & Away Heidelberg is 21km southeast of Mannheim and 120km northwest of Stuttgart. Lufthansa's Airport Shuttle (%0621-651 620; www.lufthansa-airportbus.de) links the Crown Plaza Hotel (Kurfürstenanlage 1–3), three blocks southwest of Bismarckplatz, with Frankfurt airport (€18, 11⁄4 hours, almost hourly). The north–south A5 links Heidelberg with both Frankfurt and Karlsruhe. There are at least hourly train services to/ from Baden-Baden (€17, one hour), Frank- furt (€13.40, one hour) and Stuttgart (€21, 40 minutes). (Continued on page 417) (Continued from page 408) Getting Around Bicycles can be hired from Eldorado (%654 4460; www.eldorado-hd.de, in German; Neckarstaden 52; per day €15; h9am-noon & 2-6pm Tue-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat, 2-6pm Sun), three short blocks west of the Alte Brücke. Parking in Heidelberg is an expensive prop- osition. The city's well-marked underground car parks charge around €1.50 per hour and €16 for the whole day. Tram 5 links the Hauptbahnhof with Bis- marckplatz, the main hub for public transport (www.vrn.de, in German). Single tickets cost €2; a 24-hour pass (also valid on Sunday if stamped Saturday) for one/five people costs €5/8. Tick- ets are sold by bus and tram drivers (except on tram line 5) and at ticket machines. Buses 11, 21, 33, 34, 41 and 42, as well as tram 1, run between Bismarckplatz and the Haupt- bahnhof. Buses 11 and 33 go directly from the Hauptbahnhof to Neckarmuntzplatz. Taxis (%302 030) line up outside the Hauptbahnhof. It costs about €12 from the Hauptbahnhof to the Alte Brücke. AROUND HEIDELBERG The apex of German baroque landscaping can be admired at the magnificent Schloss Schwetzingen (%06202-128 828; www.schloesser-und- gaerten.de; adult/concession/family €7/3.50/17.50 Apr-Oct, €5.50/2.70/13.70 Nov-Mar, garden only €4/2/10 Apr-Oct, €2.50/1.20/6.20 Nov-Mar; hchateau tours 10am-4pm Tue- Fri, 11am-5pm Sat, Sun & holidays Apr-Oct, 2pm Fri, 11am, 2pm & 3pm Sat, Sun & holidays Nov-Mar, garden 8am-8pm Apr-Sep, to 6pm Oct & Mar, to 5pm Nov-Feb). When Prince-Elector Carl Theodor (1724–99) inherited the Kurpfalz (Electoral Palatinate) region in the mid-18th century, he made Schwetzingen his summer resi- dence, creating whimsical gardens – inspired by Versailles – that are a jewel. The grounds radiate from a formal French garden and include follies such as Temple Apollos, an au- ditorium built in the columned style of a Greek shrine, and the Moschee (Mosque), which sports minarets and a dome above a rather Germanic baroque entrance. One of the paths crosses the Chinesische Brücke, an arched Chinese bridge. Inside the Jagdschloss (Hunting Palace) is the Rokokotheater (1752), with a deep-set stage that draws on light and a tunnel illusion to enhance its dimensions. The big and little hands of the clock on the façade (1700) were reversed so that horsemen could read the time more easily from a distance. Schloss Schwetzingen is just off the A6 autobahn, 10km west of Heidelberg and 8km south of Mannheim. It's linked to Heidel- berg's Hauptbahnhof by bus 717 (€3.30, 30 minutes, twice an hour) and to Mannheim's Hauptbahnhof by bus 710 (€3.30; 35 minutes, twice an hour). MANNHEIM %0621 / pop 308,300 Just 21km northwest of Heidelberg, the sprawl- ing industrial centre of Mannheim isn't likely to appear on anyone's list of the Top 10 (or even Top 100) German tourist destinations. It offers visitors few specific attractions or things to do but compensates with its big-city sense of fun, lively cultural scene (it's proud of playing host to Germany's only pop music academy) and decent shopping. Mannheim is famous for its quirky – indeed, unique – street layout. Orientation Mannheim's city centre, surrounded by a ring road, is almost round except for a flat stretch along its southwest side. It's sandwiched be- tween the Rhine (to the southwest) and the Neckar (to the northeast), which meet about 5km to the northwest. The Hauptbahnhof is at the southern edge of the centre, near the inter- section of Bismarckstrasse and Kaiserring. The 1.5km-by-1.5km city centre is divided into four quadrants by two perpendicular, largely pedestrianised shopping streets, the more-or-less north–south Breite Strasse and the east–west Planken. Paradeplatz is situated at their intersection. The city centre's chessboard layout is a trip. The streets, laid out on a grid, have no names; instead, each rectilinear city block has an alpha- numeric designation. Starting at the Schloss (at the southern end of Breite Strasse), as you move north the letters go from A up to K west of this artery, and from L to U east of it. The numbers rise from 1 to 7 as you move outwards – either east or west –from Breite Strasse. The result is addresses such as 'Q3, 16' or 'L14, 5' (the latter numeral is the building number) that sound a bit like galactic sectors. Information Chat-Corner Internet café (L14, 16-17; h8am-3am; per hr €3) On the corner of Bismarckstrasse and Kaiserring, a block northeast of the Hauptbahnhof. 408 417 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG NORTHERN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG •• Mannheim B•• Karlsruhe Main post office (O2) Next to Paradeplatz. Post office (Willy Brandt Platz) To the right as you exit the Hauptbahnhof. Tourist office (%101 012, tickets 101 011; www .tourist-mannheim.de; Willy-Brandt-Platz 3; h9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat, to 6pm Sat in Dec) Just outside the Hauptbahnhof. Sells tickets for cultural events. Wäsche Insel (Seckenheimer Strasse 8; laundry per 6kg €6.60; h8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm Sat) Wash your stuff yourself or leave it and pick it up two hours later. Situated four blocks northeast of the Hauptbahnhof behind the Kunsthalle. Sights & Activities The pastel yellow and dark red sandstone Schloss, at the southern end of Breite Strasse, is Germany's largest baroque palace and the focal point of the whole city centre. Soon after its completion in 1777, Elector Carl Theodor moved his court to Munich, ren- dering the complex a bit pointless. Today, most of it serves as a university campus, with hundreds of rather ordinary classrooms and offices. As we go to press, parts of the palace are under renovation, but from 2007 it will again be possible to see the Rittersaal and other sumptuously decorated bits of the interior. Elector Carl Philip is splendidly bur- ied in the crypt of the baroque Schlosskirche, rebuilt after the war, which is on the west side of the Ehrenhof (the courtyard at the base of Breite Strasse). A block north of the northwestern tip of the Schloss is Mannheim's most dazzling piece of architecture, the Jesuitenkirche (A4, 2; www .jesuitenkirchemannheim.de, in German; h9am-6pm), an 18th-century baroque church with a spectacu- lar and recently renovated interior. Five blocks northeast of the Hauptbahn- hof, on the busy Kaiserring at the western end of the Planken, is the elegant, 60m-high Wasserturm (Water Tower), the city's most recognisable landmark. Built in the 1880s, it sits in the middle of pretty Friedrichsplatz, surrounded by manicured lawns, flower beds and two Art Nouveau fountains. A handsome ensemble of red-sandstone buildings, many with arcades, lines the perimeter. On Friedrichsplatz' southern side is the highly acclaimed Kunsthalle (%293 6430; Friedrichs- platz 4; www.kunsthalle-mannheim.de, in German; adult/ student/family €7/5/5; h11am-6pm Tue-Sun), which features modern and contemporary art by masters such as Cézanne, Manet, Klee, Leger, Kandinsky, Max Ernst and Schlemmer. Also worth a look is the Protestant Chris- tuskirche (Werderplatz), a long block northeast of Friedrichsplatz. Topped by a green dome, this neobaroque church has a distinctive outline and is exactly 5m higher than the Wasserturm. Three blocks further to the northeast, along the Neckar, is the lovely Luisenpark (adult/student €4/3; h9am-dusk), a sprawling green belt with hothouses, gardens, a butterfly hall, an aquar- ium and even a Chinese teahouse. The 212m- high Fernmeldeturm (telecommunications tower; %419 290; Hans Reschke Ufer; adult/student €3.50/2.50; h10am- midnight), built in 1975, has a rotating restaurant midway up. To get there take tram 5. Sleeping Mannheim is primarily a business town, a fact reflected in its hotel scene. DJH hostel (%822 718; Rheinpromenade 21; www .jugendherberge-mannheim.de; dm 1st/subsequent night €16.80/13.70; pn) This 109-bed hostel, for which renovations are planned, is only a 15-minute walk south of the Hauptbahnhof towards the Rhine. It's served by bus 7 to Lindenhofplatz. Arabella Pension Garni (%230 50; www.pension -arabella-mannheim.de, in German; M2 12; s €28-35, d €45-55 not incl breakfast; hreception noon-8pm; n) Super- centrally located two blocks north of the Schloss, the 18 rooms here are simply fur- nished but practical and bright. Call ahead if you'll be arriving when reception is closed. Central Hotel (%123 00; www.centralhotelmannheim .de, in German; Kaiserring 26-28; s/d Mon-Fri €86/96, Sat & Sun €65/75; pn) Two blocks north of the Haupt- bahnhof, this 34-room hotel has bright, cheery rooms of a decent size; those in back are quiet- est. Reception is at the stylish café-bar. Maritim Parkhotel (%158 80; www.maritim.de; Fried- richsplatz 2; s/d Mon-Thu & during conventions €146/186, Fri, Sat & Sun €100/133; nas) This luxurious, 173-room hotel, built in 1901, offers all the traditional 1st-class creature comforts plus pool, sauna, steam bath, fitness gadgets and live lobby music in the evenings. It faces the Wasserturm. Eating & Drinking Gasthaus Zentrale (%202 43; N4, 15; daily specials €4.50-7, meat mains €6.30-16.40; h9.30am-1am) This pub-restaurant, three short blocks east of Paradeplatz, is a favourite student hang-out thanks to its reasonably priced food and warm-weather beer garden. Café Klatsch (%156 1033; Hebelstrasse 3; h6pm- 3am Mon-Sat, 4pm-3am Sun & holidays) Facing the Nationaltheater just off Friedrichsring, this sleek bar is Mannheim's best-known gay and lesbian venue. Hetero-friendly, it holds a 'cake and coffee' event every Sunday afternoon. The soundtrack is mellow until 10pm, after which house sets the tone. Self-caterers could try the food market (Markt- platz, block G1; htill 2pm Tue, Thu & Sat) and the Lidl supermarket (Tattersall 6; h8am-8pm Mon-Sat) two blocks northeast of the Hauptbahnhof. There's a Mensa student cafeteria at the northwestern tip of the Schloss. Getting There & Around Mannheim, on the Hamburg–Basel line, is a major rail hub. Destinations include Frank- furt (by RE: €13.40, 70 minutes, hourly; by ICE: €23, 36 minutes, several times an hour), Frankfurt airport (€20, 31 minutes, hourly) and Freiburg (€33 by RE, €39 by ICE, 11⁄2 hours, twice hourly). Various S-Bahn and RE trains link the Hauptbahnhof with Heidelberg (€4.50, 15 minutes). Mannheim is near the junction of the east–west A6 (here oriented north–south), the A67 north to Frankfurt, and the A656 east to Heidelberg. There's free parking about 1km east of the Wasserturm around the Fernmel- deturm (such as along Hans Reschke Ufer and Ludwig Ratzel Strasse). KARLSRUHE %0721 / pop 283,000 Karlsruhe (literally 'Carl's Rest'), just 15km from the northeasternmost tip of France, was dreamt up in 1715 by Margrave Karl Wilhelm of Baden-Durlach as a residential retreat. The city came out of the postwar reconstruction process fairly well, all things considered, and today it's a creative university city with a lively cultural scene. Highlights of a visit include the Schloss, set in a lovely park, and some stellar museums. Karlsruhe is the seat of the Bundesverfas- sungsgericht, the Federal Constitutional Court, which is heavily guarded in a harmonious mod- ern building just southwest of the Schloss. Orientation From the Schloss and its gardens, 32 streets radiate like the spokes of a wheel. Nine of them, forming a quarter-circle, head south and southwest, delineating the fan-shaped city centre. Karlsruhe's focal point is the Marktplatz, which is two blocks south of the Schloss gardens at the intersection of the main east–west shopping street, tram-clogged Kaiserstrasse, and the Karl-Friedrich-Strasse, which goes north–south and links the Schloss with the Hauptbahnhof, 2.5km due south (and then a bit west). The university campus, which extends northward from Kaiserstrasse, begins 500m east of the Marktplatz. Information ATMs There are several along Kaiserstrasse near the Marktplatz. Hauptbahnhof tourist office (Stadt-information; %3720 5383; www.karlsruhe-tourism.de; Bahnhofplatz 6; h9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat). Right across the street from the Hauptbahnhof. The City Tour (€8) is a self- guided audio-visual (PDA) walking tour of the city centre lasting up to four hours. Also sells the Karlsruher Welcome- Card and carries Karlsruhe Extra, a free trilingual listing of concerts, museum exhibitions, cultural events, etc issued twice a year. Internet Cafe (Kronenplatz 28; per hr €1.50; h9am- midnight Mon-Sat, 10am-midnight Sun) Down the block from Kaiserstrasse 95. Karlsruher WelcomeCard (€9.50) Good for two days (three days including a weekend), entitling you to public transport use and reduced-price entry to museums. Marktplatz tourist office (Tourist-information; %3720 5376; Karl-Friedrich-Strasse 9, h9.30am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat) Offers the same services as the Hauptbahnhof tourist office. Sells events tickets and has a public transport information desk. Post office (Poststrasse) Just east of the Hauptbahnhof. Sights SCHLOSS & BADISCHES LANDESMUSEUM Karlsruhe's palace was destroyed in the war but city custodians had enough sense – and money – to rebuild it in the original style, which reflects the transition from baroque to neoclassical. Its dual function as a residence and a retreat is apparent in the layout of the gardens: while the Schlossplatz (to the south towards the Marktplatz) is formal, the huge Schlossgarten north of the palace has a more relaxed English design. In fine weather, the lat- ter – which has a Botanischer Garten and its own miniature train line, the Schlossgartenbahn – is a popular hangout for students from the nearby university (the campus, shaped more or less like two slices of pizza, is just to the southeast). 418 419 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG Book accommodation onlilnoenaet loynpelyapnlaente.tc.com lonelyplanet.com NORTHERN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG •• Kloster Maulbronn NORTHERN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG •• Karlsruhe The Schloss houses the superb collections of the Badisches Landesmuseum (Baden State Mu- seum; %926 6520; www.landesmuseum.de, in German; adult/student €4/3, free after 2pm Fri; h10am-5pm Tue-Thu, 10am-6pm Fri-Sun), which include the dazzling gem-encrusted crown, sceptre and sword of Baden's grand-ducal ruling family; altars, statues and paintings from the Middle Ages (both on the 1st floor), and 'spoils of war' brought back by Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm from his 17th-century campaigns against the Turks. Climbing the tower is the best way to appreciate the town's circular layout. The Museum in der Majolika (%926 6583; www .majolika-karlsruhe.com; Ahaweg 6; adult/concession €2/1; h10am-1pm & 2-5pm Tue-Sun, free after 2pm Fri), which displays 1000 ceramic objects made since 1901 by Karlsruhe's Majolika-Manufactur, is linked to the Schloss by the Blaue Linie, a line of 1645 blue majolica tiles that lead across the Schlossgarten lawns. At the northern end of the Marktplatz is the Museum am Markt (%926 6578; Karl-Friedrich-Strasse 6; adult/concession €2/1; h11am-5pm Tue-Thu, 10am-6pm Fri-Sun, free after 2pm Fri), a branch of the Badisches Landesmuseum that focuses on post-1900 applied arts, including the delicious objects produced by the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements. STAATLICHE KUNSTHALLE Southwest across the garden from the Schloss, and past the Federal Constitutional Court, is the outstanding State Art Gallery (%926 3370; www.kunsthalle-karlsruhe.de, in German; Hans-Thoma-Strasse 2-6; adult/student €6/4; h10am-5pm Tue-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat & Sun). Highlights include works by Ger- man masters of the late Gothic period such as Matthias Grünewald and Lucas Cranach the Elder; and canvases by French innova- tors such as Degas, Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Sisley and Renoir. The modern art section, in the Orangerie, was reopened in 2006 after renovations. ZENTRUM FÜR KUNST UND MEDIENTECHNOLOGIE Locals are immensely proud of the ZKM (Centre for Art and Media; %8100 1200; www.zkm.de; Lorenzstrasse 19; h10am-6pm Wed-Fri, 11am-6pm Sat & Sun), a huge exhibition, research and documentation com- plex that brings together art and emerging electronic media technologies. Housed in the vast halls of a historic munitions factory, it includes several cafés and restaurants. The website has details on special exhibitions, concerts and other events. The Medienmuseum (Media Museum; adult/child 7-18yr/student & senior €5/2/3, free after 2pm Fri) focuses on interactive media art, while the Museum für Neue Kunst (Museum for Contemporary Art; adult/ child 7-18yr/student & senior €5/2/3, incl the Medienmuseum €8/3/5, free after 2pm Fri) hosts first-rate temporary exhibitions of art created after 1960. Next to the ZKM is the Städtische Galerie (%133 4401; www.staedtische-galerie.de, in German; Lorenzstrasse 27; permanent collection adult/student & senior €2.60/1.80), which showcases local art as well as postwar German art. The ZKM is located in the southwest corner of the city centre, a bit over 2km southwest of the Schloss and a similar distance northwest of the Hauptbahnhof; it's served by tram 2. Sleeping DJH hostel (%282 48; www.jugendherberge.de; Moltke-strasse 24; dm 1st/subsequent night €17.90/14.70; n) A few blocks due west of the Schloss, this hostel has 167 beds, most in rooms with shower and toilet. From the train station, take tram 2, 4 or 6 to Europaplatz and then walk five blocks north along Karlstrasse and its continuation. Hotel Avisa (%349 77; www.hotel-avisa.de; Am Stadtgarten 5; s/d from €67/97; pni) Two blocks northeast of the Hauptbahnhof at the south- ern edge of the Stadtgarten-Zoo, this place has 27 hotel-ish but perfectly decent rooms. A solid choice. Eating Karlsruhe has a wide selection of beer gardens and eateries. Café Salomon (%921 2080; Hans-Thoma-Strasse 3; h8.30am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat & Sun) Facing the Staatliche Kunsthalle, this is the best place in town for bagels (€1.40 to €4.20). Krokodil (%1208 4790; Waldstrasse 63; mains €5.90- 12.50; h7.30am-1am, to 3am Fri & Sat) A popular café-restaurant, right at Ludwigsplatz, with soaring ceilings and walls covered with wood panelling, tiles, mirrors and yellow smoke-stained paint. There's a brunch buffet (€10) on Sunday and holidays from 10am to 2pm. Alte Bank (%183 2818; Herrenstrasse 30-32; salads €4.80-8.90, mains around €8.50; h10am-1am) A block south of Kaiserstrasse, this cultured but infor- mal café-restaurant has two rows of columns and chandeliers overhead. Entertainment Club le Carambolage (%373 227; www.club-caram bolage.de, in German; Kaiserstrasse 21; h9pm-4am or later) A hugely popular Musikklub facing the university campus. It has free billiards from 9pm to 11pm. Getting There & Away Destinations well-served by rail include Baden- Baden (€5, more by IC or ICE, 15 to 30 min- utes) and Freiburg (€24 to €29, one hour). Karlsruhe is on the A5 (Frankfurt–Basel) and is the starting point of the A8 to Munich. Getting Around The Hauptbahnhof is linked to the Marktplatz (just two blocks south of the Schloss gardens) by tram and light rail lines 2, 3, S1, S11, S4 and S41. Single tickets cost €2 for an adult and €1 per child between six and 14 years of age; a 24-Stunden-Karte, good for 24 hours, costs €4.20 (€6.50 for up to five people). There are park-and-ride options outside of the city centre; look for 'P+R' signs. KLOSTER MAULBRONN This one-time Cistercian monastery (%07043- 926 610; www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de; adult/concession/ family €5/2.50/12.50; h9am-5.30pm Mar-Oct, 9.30am- 5pm Tue-Sun Nov-Feb), a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1993, is one of the best-preserved medieval monasteries anywhere north of the Alps. Founded by monks from Alsace around 1140, it became a Protestant school in 1556. Famous graduates include the astronomer Johannes Keppler. Features of architectural interest include the monastery church, but it's the insights into the spirit of monastic life, with its mixture of con- templation and labour, that make this place so culturally important and interesting. Maulbronn, in the Salzach Valley, is 30km east of Karlsruhe and 33km northwest of Stuttgart, not far from the Pforzheim Ost exit on the A8. To get there by public transport from Karlsruhe, take the S4 light rail line to Bretten Bahnhof and from there the hourly bus 700 (€4, one hour); from Stuttgart, take the train to Mühlacker and then bus 700. SCHWÄBISCH HALL %0791 / pop 36,000 Home of the Schwäbisch Hall banking and insurance company, this easy-to-like, picture- perfect Swabian river town – which celebrated its 850th anniversary in 2006 – is known for its ancient riverside cityscape, innovative mu- seums and open-air theatre performances. An aimless amble will take you along narrow stone alleys, among half-timbered hillside houses, over covered bridges and up slopes overlooking the tranquil Kocher River. The islands and grassy riverbank parks are perfect for picnics. Orientation & Information The Kocher River runs south-to-north through Schwäbisch Hall, separating the Altstadt, on the right (east) bank, from the Neustadt (New Town), on the left (west) bank. The Altstadt's main commercial street, Neue Strasse, links Am Markt (the Marktplatz) with the river. PTT-Tele-Cafe (Marktstrasse 15; per hr €1.50; h10am- 10pm Tue-Sat, noon-10pm Sun & Mon) Internet access a block north of Am Markt. Tourist office (%751 246; www.schwaebischhall.de; Am Markt 9; h9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat & Sun May-Sep, 9am-5pm Mon-Fri Oct-Apr) On the Altstadt's main square. Sights ALTSTADT Am Markt, which still hosts markets on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, boasts the Rathaus (town hall), reconstructed in ba- roque style after a town fire in 1728 and again after WWII. The centrepiece of the Markt, however, is the late-Gothic Kirche St Michael, begun in 1156 but mainly constructed during the 15th and 16th centuries. Note the classical net vaulting on the ceiling of the choir. The majestic staircase out the front has been used to stage Freilichtspiele (open-air theatre performances; www.freilichtspiele-hall.de, in German) every summer since 1925. Next to the tourist office is the Gotischer Fischbrunnen (1509), a large iron tub once used for storing river fish before sale. Two short blocks south of the church, at the end of Pfarrgasse, is the massive Neubau, a steep-roofed 16th-century structure built as an arsenal and granary and now used as a theatre; walk up the stone staircase on its south side for a wonderful view of the city's red-roofed houses. Looking down toward the river, you can see the former city fortifica- tions, the covered Roter Steg bridge and, at the western end of Neue Strasse, the Henkerbrücke (Hangman's Bridge). 420 421 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG SCHWÄBISCHE ALB Book accommodation onlilnoenaet loynpelyapnlaente.tc.com lonelyplanet.com SCHWÄBISCHE ALB •• Tübingen modern architecture, before heading to Buda- pest and beyond. The Neckar flows through the university city of Tübingen on its way to Stuttgart and Heidelberg, eventually joining the Rhine at Mannheim. TÜBINGEN %07071 / pop 83,000 Tübingen, 40km south of Stuttgart, mixes all the charms of a late-medieval city – such as a hilltop fortress, cobbled alleys and lots of half- timbered houses – with the erudition and mis- chief of a real college town. A seat of higher learning since the university was founded in 1477 by Count Eberhard VI of Württemberg, Tübingen was a favoured haunt of Goethe, who published his first works here; famous graduates include the philosopher Hegel, the lyric poet Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843) and the astronomer Johannes Keppler. Today, Tübingen is a lovely place to relax for a few days, hit some pubs and paddle your way down the Neckar River. If you'd like to hang out in a German university town but are wary of Heidelberg's mass tourism, Tübingen is an excellent choice. Orientation The Neckar River flows through Tübingen from east to west. From Eberhardsbrücke (Neckarbrücke), the city centre's only bridge, Karlstrasse leads south to the Hauptbahnhof (500m). Going north up the hill is Mühl- strasse, to the left (west) of which lies the Altstadt. The main university area is further north (about 1km from the river) along Wil- helmstrasse, the northern continuation of Mühlstrasse. Most of Tübingen's sights are in the Alt- stadt. The northern bank of the Neckar leads steeply up to a ridge, at (or near) the top of which you'll find (from east to west) the Stift- skirche, the pedestrianised Kirchgasse, Am Markt (the Altstadt's main public square) and the Schloss. The northern half of the Altstadt, including most of the shopping (such as on Hirschgasse), is on the slope leading down to the tiny Ammer River. Information ATMs There's one in the Hauptbahnhof, another at the southern end of Eberhardsbrücke and yet another at Am Markt. Frauenbuchladen Thalestris (%265 90; www .frauenbuchladen.net, in German; Bursagasse 2; h10am- 7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat) Stocks books related to women. It's a women's information centre, too, and men aren't allowed inside. Situated right behind the Hölderlinturm, half a block up from the river. N-Telecenter (Wilhelmstrasse 3/1; per hr €2; h8.30am-10.30pm Mon-Sat, 11am-10.30pm Sun) Internet access. Osiander (%920 10; Wilhelmstrasse 12-14) A purveyor of books since 1596. Post office (cnr Hafengasse & Neue Strasse) In the Altstadt. Tourist office (%913 60; www.tuebingen.de; An der Neckarbrücke 1; h9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Sat) At the south end of Eberhardsbrücke. Has a board with hotel details outside and can provide details on hiking options (for example to Bebenhausen or Wurmlingerkapelle). Vu-Tel (Mühlstrasse 14; per hr €2.50; h10am-10pm Mon-Sat, noon-10pm Sun) Two other internet cafés are located on the same block. Waschsalon (Mühlstrasse 18; h7am-10pm Mon-Sat) Self-service laundry. TÜBINGEN AND THE POPE In the late 1960s Tübingen, like university towns around the globe, was swept by a wave of student radicalism. Among those who experienced those tumultuous times was a forty-ish Catholic theology lecturer, known as a church reformer for his role in the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), named Father Joseph Ratzinger. The students were revolting – about that, and perhaps that alone, Ratzinger was in full agree- ment with his liberal rivals within the Church, who saw in the spirit of the times the glowing idealism of youth. Ratzinger, on the other hand, detected in the Marxist-influenced radicals a tendency towards totalitarianism that reminded him of what he had seen growing up in Nazi- era Bavaria. His conclusion was that only unswerving adherence to Church doctrine could save humanity from barbarism. That clear-cut view of Catholicism has been pursued by Ratzinger ever since his time in Tübingen: as a theologian, as Archbishop of Munich, as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and now as Pope Benedict XVI. Housed in seven old buildings down by the river, the outstanding Hällisch-Frankisches Museum (%751 289; Im Keckenhof 6; adult/student €2.50/1.50; h10am-5pm Tue-Sun year-round, until 8pm Fri early Jun–mid-Aug) has well-presented collec- tions covering the history of Schwäbisch Hall and nearby areas. Exhibits include artwork and crafts from the 17th century, painted wooden targets shot through with holes and an extremely rare hand-painted wooden synagogue interior from 1738. KUNSTHALLE WÜRTH Founded in 2001 by the industrialist Rein- hold Würth, this art museum (%946 720; www .kunst.wuerth.com; Lange Strasse 35; adult/student & senior €5/3; h10am-6pm), a block up the hill from the Roter Steg bridge, puts on intriguing tem- porary exhibitions that change every four or five months (it closes for two weeks between exhibits). An audioguide may be available for €4. It is housed in a striking ultramodern building, faced with rough-hewn local stone that preserves part of a century-old brewery, the Sudhaus, where you'll find a brasserie that often hosts live music in the evenings. Sleeping Campingplatz Am Steinbacher See (%2984; www .camping-schwaebisch-hall.de; Mühlsteige 26; tent/adult €5.10/4.80; hyear-round) An idyllic lakeside camp- ing ground with a washer-dryer and communal kitchen. Take bus 4 to Steinbach Mitte. DJH hostel (%410 50; www.jugendherberge.de; Langenfelder Weg 5; dm 1st/subsequent night €17.90/14.70; n) This friendly 133-bed hostel, just 10 min- utes on foot east from Am Markt, has bath- rooms in some rooms. Hotel Garni Sölch (%518 07; www.hotel-soelch.de, in German; Hauffstrasse 14; s/d €43/63, extra for stays of 1 night €5; pn) This hotel, about 20 minutes on foot from the centre, is modern with a rustic-themed interior. Hotel Garni Scholl (%975 50; www.hotel-scholl.de; Klosterstrasse 2-4; s €64-74, d €88-104; n) Behind Kirche St Michael, this family-run hotel has homely, well-designed and fastidiously kept rooms with hardwood floors and marble bathrooms. Hotel Hohenlohe (%758 70; www.hotel-hohenlohe .de in German; Weilertor 14; s €101-132, d €126-184; pais) This extremely comfortable hotel, where many of the 114 rooms afford superb river views, has four saltwater pools, a sauna, a large wellness centre and politically incorrect statuary in the lobby. The rooms have sleek wooden furniture and are deco- rated in warm Mediterranean tones of yellow, orange and pastel green. Eating Eateries can be found on or near Haalstrasse, a bit southwest of Am Markt. There's a brasserie at Kunsthalle Würth (left). Hespelt (%930 220; Am Spitalbach 17; lunch plate from €3.60; h8.30am-6pm Mon-Fri, 8am-12.30pm Sat) This butcher-deli, two blocks northwest of Am Markt, puts together great hot lunches. Weinstube Würth (%6636; Im Weiler 8; mains €5-13; h11pm-midnight Tue-Sun) Across the river from the Altstadt, this veteran serves delicious Swabian and vegetarian specialities, including Mault- aschen, and has a lovely beer garden. Gasthaus Sonne (%970 840; Gelbinger Gasse 2; hclosed 2-5.30pm & Mon) This historic restaurant has been serving local specialities since 1903. Getting There & Around The town is served by two train stations: trains from Stuttgart (€11.70, 11⁄4 hours, hourly) arrive at Hessental, on the right bank about 7km south of the centre and linked to the Altstadt by bus 1; trains from Heilbronn go to the left-bank Bahnhof Schwäbisch Hall, a short walk along Bahnhofstrasse from the centre. Trains and buses run regularly be- tween the two. Outfits hiring out bikes include 2-Rad Zügel (%971 400; Johanniterstrasse 55; per day €10; h9am- 12.30pm & 2-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-2pm Sat), north of the centre on the B19. AROUND SCHWÄBISCH HALL The open-air Hohenloher Freilandmuseum (Farming Museum;%971 010; adult/student €5.50/3.50; h9am-6pm Tue-Sun May-Sep, 10am-5pm Tue-Sun Mar, Apr, Oct & Nov) in Wackershofen, 6km northwest of Schwä- bisch Hall, has ancient farmhouses hosting demonstrations of pre-20th-century farm- ing methods and equipment – we nearly got blisters just watching. From Schwäbisch Hall, it's an easy ride out here on bus 7. SCHWÄBISCHE ALB The hilly area south of Stuttgart and east of the Black Forest, sometimes known in English as the Swabian Alp, is crossed by two major rivers that rise in the Black Forest. The mighty Danube moseys through Ulm, with its daring Sometimes referred to as 'Swabian pockets' or 'German ravioli', Maultaschen are pasta pillows that are traditionally filled with ground meat or sausage, preboiled spinach, bits of damp bread and eggs. Once an efficiency food for the poor, who could wring one more meal out of left- overs by chopping them up and concealing them in a boiled noodle-dough pocket, they are now acknowledged as one of the glories of Swabian cuisine. Maultaschen, if prepared properly (fiendishly difficult to do, according to true connoisseurs), can hold their own in any competition with dim sum, pirogi and ravioli. The origins of Maultaschen are shrouded in steaming broth. According to one legend, they were invented by the Cistercian monks of Maulbronn Monastery – thus the name. Another story making the rounds is that some Swabians figured they could get away with eating meat during Lent by hiding it inside pasta and further camouflaging it with spinach, thus keeping their culinary misdemeanours from the prying eyes of the parish priest (if not from higher authorities). What is clear is that at sporting events, fans wishing to insult their Swabian rivals sometimes call them Maultaschenfresser – uncouth devourers of Maultaschen. An excellent place to sample first-rate Maultaschen – 60 to 70 varieties, some of them seasonal, are available over the course of the year – is Tübingen's Hotel am Schloss restaurant (see p426). Sleeping Neckar Camping Tübingen (%431 45; www.neckarcamp ing.de; Rappenberghalde 61; adult/tent/car €5.30/4.10/2.60; hApr-Oct) A grassy and nicely shaded camp- ing ground on the north bank of the Neckar about 2km west of the Hauptbahnhof. Bus 9 has a stop nearby. DJH hostel (%230 02; www.jugendherberge.de; Gartenstrasse 22/2; dm 1st/subsequent night €20.30/17.10; n) This 159-bed hostel has a pretty loca- tion on the north bank of the Neckar about 300m east of Eberhardbrücke. It's linked to the Hauptbahnhof by bus 22. Viktor-Renner-Haus (%559 020; viktor-renner-haus -email@example.com; Frondsbergstrasse 55; s/d €40/52, s without bathroom €30) A young people's hostel that rents out basic rooms to travellers. It has cooking facilities and you get fridge space. Situated 800m northwest of the city centre up Schnarrenbergstrasse; it's served by buses 5, 13, 14 and 18 to Breiter Weg or Frondsbergstrasse. Hotel Hospiz Tübingen (%9240; www.hotel-hospiz .de; Neckarhalde 2; s €59-76, d €92-110, s/d without bathroom €30.45/72; pn) Just a block up the hill from Am Markt, this friendly hotel – painted a shocking ochre-pink colour – has 50 attrac- tive medium-sized rooms, some with rather odd colour schemes. By car, take Neckarhalde from the B28. Hotel am Schloss (%929 40; www.hotelamschloss .de; Burgsteige 18; s €55-82, d €98-118; pi) Just 50m down the hill from the Schloss, this superbly situated hotel is ensconced in a 16th-century building where Keppler used to drop by for wine. The 33 comfortable rooms have bright, shiny bathrooms, pillows arranged to look like swans and, in many cases (such as room 30), great views. By car, take Neckarhalde from the B28. HotelKroneTübingen(%13310;www.krone-tuebingen .de; Uhlandstrasse 1; s €87-107, d €125-155; pna) A very swish place at the southern end of Eber- hardsbrücke and just two blocks northeast of the Hauptbahnhof. Run by the same fam- ily since 1885, it has 43 elegant, understated rooms, all with superb soundproofing. Eating & Drinking In the northeast corner of the Altstadt, several cafés and ice-cream places cluster along the tiny Ammer River on Beim Nonnenhaus, linked to the Alter Botanischer Garten by a tunnel under Am Stadtgraben. Locals disagree as to which of the two Turk- ish takeaways – at opposite ends of Eberhards- brücke – is better, Kalender (on the north side) or Istanbul (on the south side). A number of popular student bars can be found west of Am Markt along Haaggasse. X (%249 02; Kornhausstrasse 6; snacks under €3; 11am- 1am) The region's best chips/French fries are right here, along with good-value bratwurst and burgers (both from €2.20). Hades (%228 18; Hafengasse 8; h5pm-2am, to 3am Fri & Sat) A Bierlokal (bar-restaurant) whose ed- ible specialities include Flammkuche (€3.60 to €7.50), homemade soups and, each Tuesday, pasta (first/subsequent portions cost just €2/1). It's pronounced ha-dess. Sights & Activities Entered through an ornate Renaissance gate (1606), Schloss Hohentübingen (Burgsteige 11), at the western edge of the Altstadt, affords fine views over the steep, red-tiled rooftops of the Alt- stadt. This mostly 16th-century castle houses various university institutes, including the museum of archaeology & Egyptology (%297 7384; adult/student & senior €4/2; h10am-6pm Wed-Sun, to 5pm Oct-Apr). The gardens around the Schloss afford ample options for romantic strolling. Surrounded by towering half-timbered houses, Am Markt, the Altstadt's main public space, is a much-loved student hang-out; in summer it overflows with geraniums and café tables. Presiding over the hullabaloo is the Rathaus (1433), with a riotous 19th-century baroque façade and, way up top, an astro- nomical clock (1511). The four women of the Neptune Fountain represent the seasons; note that the city council members who approved funds for the fountain modestly placed them- selves in the decorative ironwork. On the northern side of the Markt is the Lammhofpassage, an erstwhile watering hole for many of Tübingen's leading figures; today it's owned by the Protestant church. Walk through the little passageway to see the beer garden and a very original bronze statue, the meaning of which you may end up arguing with your friends about. Walking two blocks east along Kirchgasse will take you to the late-Gothic, late-15th- century Stiftskirche (Am Holzmark), which houses tombs of the Württemberg dukes and has excellent original medieval stained-glass windows. It hosts concerts every Saturday evening. Facing the church's west façade is the Cot- tahaus, one-time home of Johann Friedrich Cotta, who first published the works of both Schiller and Goethe. Goethe, who was known to find inspiration at the local pubs, stayed here for a week in September 1797. One night he apparently staggered home, missed the front door and wrote a technicolour poem on the wall next door. If you look up at the 1st- forner of the city-centre oval. Global Internetcafé (Neue Strasse 86; per hr €2; h10am-11pm Mon-Sat, 11am-10pm Sun & holidays) Herwig (%962 170; Münsterplatz 18) A bookshop with a good selection of travel guides and maps. Intercall (Neue Strasse 101; per hr €2; h9.30am-11pm Mon-Sat, 10am-10pm Sun & holidays) Internet access. Post office (Bahnhofplatz 2) To the left as you exit the Hauptbahnhof. Tourist office (%161 2830; www.tourismus.ulm.de; Stadthaus bldg, Münsterplatz 50; h9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm Sat, 11am-3pm Sun Apr-Oct, 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat Nov-Mar) Sells the Ulm Card. Ulm Card (1/2 days €8/12) Offers discounted museum admission and public transport. Sights MÜNSTER Ulm's outstanding architectural landmark is the towering Münster (Cathedral; Münsterplatz; admis- sion free; h9am-4.45pm Jan & Feb, to 5.45pm Mar & Oct, to 6.45pm Apr-Jun & Sep, to 7.45pm Jul & Aug), celebrated for its 161.53m-high steeple – the tallest in the world. Though the first stone was laid in 1377, it took over 500 years for the structure to be completed. A bronze plaque embedded in the pavement out front shows directions and distances to cities around Europe. Note the hallmarks on each stone, inscribed by cutters who were paid by the block. Only by climbing the tower (adult/student €4/2.50; hlast admission 1hr before closing) – up 768 spiral steps to the 143m-high viewing plat- form – can you fully appreciate the tower's dizzying height. As they climb up, romanti- cally minded local couples have a tradition of kissing at each landing. Up top there are unparalleled views of the Black Forest and the Schwäbische Alb, and on clear days you can even see the Alps. As you enter the church, note the Israelfen- ster, a stained-glass window above the west door that serves as a memorial to Jews killed during the Holocaust. The Gothic- style wooden pulpit canopy, as detailed as fine lace, eliminates echoes during sermons; a tiny spiral staircase leads to a mini-pulpit for the Holy Spirit. On the 15th-century oak choir stalls, the top row depicts figures from the Old Testament, the middle from the New Testament, and the bottom and sides show historical characters, such as the Roman playwright Lucius Seneca and Py- thagoras, who strums a lute. The impressive stained-glass windows in the choir, dating from the 14th and 15th centuries, were removed during WWII. The Münster's regular organ concerts (Sat/Sun €2.50/4.50; hnoon-12.30pm Sat Easter-Christmas, 11.30am most Sun year-round) are a real treat. STADTHAUS The other highlight of Münsterplatz – from a completely different era – is the white-and- glass Stadthaus (1993), designed by the Ameri- can architect Richard Meier. He caused an uproar by erecting a postmodern building next to the city's Gothic gem but the result is both gorgeous and functional. The structure stages art exhibitions and special events, and also houses the tourist office and a café. RATHAUS The 14th-century Rathaus (Town Hall) has an ornately painted Renaissance façade and a gilded astrological clock (1520); bells count off every quarter-hour. Inside you can see a replica of Berblinger's flying machine. In the Marktplatz to the south is the Fisch- kastenbrunnen, a fountain where fishmongers kept their river fish alive on market days. That striking all-glass pyramid behind the Rathaus (28m by 28m at its base and 36m high) is the city's main library, the Zentralbibliothek (2004), designed by Gottfried Böhm. 426 427 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG B l o o o n k e a l c y c p o ml a mn o e d t a . c t i o o n m o n l i n e a t l o n e l y p l a n e t . c o m SCHWÄBISCHE ALB •• Ulm lonelyplanet.com SCHWÄBISCHE ALB •• Ulm ULM A To A7, A8, Legoland (30km); Stuttgart (90km); Tübingen (100km); Munich (140km) 26 0 0 B C INFORMATION Rathaus................................13 B3 Münster Hotel. Radstation...........................32 A3 19 7 2 Bahnhof- platz 8 12 Raben- Altstadt gasse 2 To Eco-Express SB- Waschsalon (800m); Donaustadion Park- and-Ride (1km) Gänstor- brücke P g flug- asse Münster- platz 21 24 23 11 32 30 To Roxy (400m) Children's 25 5 Playground 27 28 13 18 9 20 Markt- 10 platz 31 16 14 1 Augsburger- Tor-Platz To Augsburg (80km); Ravensburg (87km) Neu Ulm (Bavaria) 3 15 22 Zinglerbrücke To Geschwister-Scholl- Jugendherberge (3.5km); Kloster Wiblingen (4km) Fischerviertel 3 17 29 Herd- brücke 6 Hermann- Köhl-Strasse FISCHERVIERTEL & CITY WALL On the first Monday of each July, the mayor swears allegiance to the town's 1397 consti- tution from the 1st-floor loggia of the early 17th-century baroque Schwörhaus (Oath House; Weinhof ), three blocks west of the Rathaus. Just to the southwest is the Fischerviertel, the city's old fishers' and tanners' quarter. This charming area of half-timbered houses is built along the two channels of the tiny Blau River – crossed by a series of footbridges – which are confluent with the Danube nearby. Here you'll find several art galleries, a number of restaurants and the crookedest hotel in the world (see opposite). Along the south side of the Fischerviertel, along the north bank of the Danube, runs the Stadtmauer (city wall), the height of which was reduced in the early 19th century after Napo- leon decided that a heavily fortified Ulm was against his best interests. Note the Metzgerturm (Butcher's Tower), leaning 2m off-centre. East of the Herdbrücke (the bridge leading to Neu Ulm) is a bronze plaque marking the spot where Albrecht Berblinger attempted his flight (his failure was later determined to have been caused by a lack of thermals on that particular day). EINSTEIN FOUNTAIN & MONUMENT About 750m northeast of the Münster in front of the 16th-century Zeughaus (arsenal), at the northern end of Zeughausgasse, stands a fiendishly funny fountain dedicated to Albert Einstein, who was born in Ulm but left aged one year. The nearby health administration building, at Zeughaus 14, bears a single stone attached to the wall with the inscription Ein Stein (One Stone). Over near the Hauptbahnhof, on Bahnhof- strasse, is Max Bill's monument (1979) to the great physicist, a stack of staggered granite pillars on the spot where Einstein's babyhood home once stood. MUSEUMS The Museum Card (€6), which gets you into eight local museums, is sold at the tourist office and participating museums. The Ulmer Museum (%161 4330; www.museum .ulm.de, in German; Marktplatz 9; adult/concession €3/2, free admission to permanent collection Fri; h11am-5pm Tue-Sun, To Wiley Club (2km) 11am-8pm Thu) houses a collection of ancient and modern art, including icons, religious paintings and sculptures. A highlight is the 20th-century Kurt Fried Collection, with works by artists such as Klee, Kandinsky, Picasso, Lichtenstein and Macke. Across the street, a brand new building housing the Sammlung Weishaupt (Neue Strasse), spotlighting modern and pop art, is set to open in the spring of 2007. This impressive structure is the latest in a series of bold and ac- claimed modern buildings that have injected new dynamism into Ulm's Altstadt. The Museum der Brotkultur (Museum of Bread Culture; %699 55; www.museum-brotkultur.de; Salz- stadelgasse 10; adult/student & senior €3/2; 10am-5pm Thu- Tue, 10am-8.30pm Wed) celebrates bread as the staff of life, taking a look at the process of growing grain and making bread over millennia and across cultures. No actual bread is on display because, as a brochure solemnly explains, bread is food and must be respected as such, not collected in museums. KLOSTER WIBLINGEN This one-time Benedictine monastery (%502 8975; www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de; adult/concession/family €3.50/1.70/8.70; h10am-1pm & 2-5pm Tue-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct, 1-5pm Sat, Sun & holidays Nov-Mar), about 4km south of the city centre, was founded in 1093 and rebuilt in the baroque style in the 1700s. Highlights of a visit include the splendid Bibliothekssaal (library hall), a rococo master- piece in pink and green (in 1757 the monastery was in possession of 15,000 volumes, a huge number for the time). The late baroque–early classical Klosterkirche (Monastery Church) and a museum opened in 2006. An audioguide is available. The monastery is linked to Ulm by bus 3 and 8; get off at Pranger. LEGOLAND Legoland Deutschland (%08221-700 700; www .legoland.de; adult/child 3-11 & senior €29/25; h10am-btwn 6pm & 10pm mid-Apr–early Nov) is a Lego-themed amusement park in Günzburg, about 30km northeast of Ulm just off the A8. Bus 850 links Ulm with Günzburg's train station; from there a shuttle goes to the park. Tours The 20m-long MS Donau (%627 51; adult/child €7/4; hMay–mid-Oct) cruises the Danube at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm daily, and also at 5pm on weekends and holidays. The docks are on the Ulm side, just south of the Metzgerturm. Sportiv Touren (%970 9298; www.sportivtouren.de in German; adult/child under 14yr €24/16) runs 21⁄2-hour Kanutouren (canoe tours) from various points on the Danube and Iller Rivers. Sleeping Geschwister-Scholl-Jugendherberge (%384 455; www.jugendherberge.de; Grimmelfinger Weg 45; dm 1st/ subsequent night €17.90/14.70) This 126-bed youth hostel is named after Hans and Sophie Scholl, Ulm-born student activists who were ex- ecuted for the incredibly brave act of dis- tributing anti-Nazi handbills in Munich in 1943. It's situated 3.5km southwest of the Hauptbahnhof on bus lines 4 and 8; get off at Schulzentrum. Münster Hotel (%641 62; www.muenster-hotel.de; Münsterplatz 14; s/d from €40/60, without bathroom €30/55; pn) Friendly and very central, this 20-room hotel offers excellent value for money, with simply furnished, well-maintained rooms. Hotel zum Anker (%632 97; fax 603 1925; Rabengasse 2; s/d from €48/65, without bathroom €35/55; pn) This well-kept family-run hotel is a popular stop for cyclists doing the Danube – on rainy days staff will even dry out your cycling clothes. The 12 rooms are bright and cheerful, if a bit small – not surprising since the building is six centuries old. Hotel am Rathaus & Hotel Reblaus (%968 490; www.rathausulm.de, in German; Kronengasse 10; s/d/q from €57/87/120, s/d without bathroom €45/65; pn) Behind the Rathaus, these family-run twin hotels – the former postwar, the latter built in 1651 – have 33 rustic rooms with lots of character and rather small bathrooms. They have bicycle parking. Hotel Bäumle (%622 87; www.hotel-baeumle.de, in German; Kohlgasse 6; s/d/q from €65/85/120; pn) In a 500-year-old building, this snug 15-room place affords leafy views of the Münster – ask for a room at the back. It was totally renovated in 2006. Hotel Schiefes Haus (%967 930; www.hotelschiefes hausulm.de; Schwörhausgasse 6; s/d €108/140) This ro- mantic half-timbered house (built in 1443) on the Blau River is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the 'most crooked hotel in the world' (the building, that is). Rooms have ancient wood-beam ceilings and floors with a grade of up to 8%; beds have specially-made height adjusters and spirit levels so you won't roll out at night. Discounts are available on some weekends. 428 429 Syrlinstr Karlstr Ensingerstr Zeitblomstr Wilhelmstr Heimstr Neutorstr Graben Frauengraben Rosengasse Olgastr Neuer Münchner Str Büchsengasse Schuhhausgasse Hahnen gasse Sternga nkellergasse Herre sse Salzstadel- gasse Keltergasse Friedrich-Ebert-Str Hafenbad Kohlgasse Greifengasse Platz- gasse Gideon-Bacher- Str Hafengasse Wengengasse Griesbadgasse Bahnhof Her Ulmergasse Samml Pfauengasse ungsgasse Hirschstr str Brückstr Frauenstr Str Neue Grünhofg Blau Lautenberg River Reuttier Str Neue Str Adlerbastei Donaustr berg Henkersgrab Donaustr Bahnhofstr Hä Weinhof Maximilianstr Blau db rucker Radgasse Bockgasse mpfer Kronen- gasse uer Fischer River en Donaustr Insel g str Promenade Stadtma asse Kasernstr gasse Augsburger Str Neue Str Ludwigstr Wilhelm Danube River BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG NORTHERN BLACK FOREST lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com NORTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Baden-Baden Eating & Drinking There are quite a few pubs and restaurants along the two channels of the Blau River, south across Neue Strasse from the Münster. Tagblatt (%746 78; Insel 1, Neu Ulm; h7am-2am Mon-Fri, 5am-2am Sat, Sun & holidays) A bright, cheer- ful place on the banks of the Danube with a beer garden and a wide selection of salads. Weekend breakfasts begin at 5am, perfect after a late-late club crawl. Just across the river from central Ulm. Drei Kannen (%677 17; Hafenbad 31/1; Mon-Sat lunch special €5.50, mains from €8.50; h11am-midnight) A Ger- man and Swabian restaurant whose courtyard beer garden is overlooked by an Italian-style loggia. Serves a strong malty beer – not to everyone's taste – available only here. The Friday speciality is fresh trout; extra Swabian dishes are featured on Thursday. Café im Stadthaus (%600 93; Münsterplatz 50; sal- ads €5.60-8.80; mains €7.50-15.40; h8am-10pm Mon-Sat, 10am-10pm Sun) A modern, airy café-restaurant with great views of the Münster through the bay windows and from the terrace. Barfüsser (%602 1110; Lautenberg 1; mains €6.50- 12.80; h10am-1am, to 2am Thu-Sat) This restaurant- bar is very popular thanks in part to its three kinds of prize-winning beer (microbrewed at its second location in New Ulm). Tuesday is karaoke night (from 10pm). Edible options include salads and vegetarian dishes. Weinkrüger (%649 76; Weinhofberg 7; mains €7.50- 14.90; h11am-midnight, to 1am Fri & Sat) A rustic wine tavern in a five-century-old bathhouse and tannery between the two channels of the Blau River. It has a good selection of traditional Swabian dishes and offers 90 different wines, 16 of them by the glass. Hotel Bäumle (%622 87; www.hotel-baeumle.de, in German; Kohlgasse 6; mains from €8.60; h4pm-midnight Mon-Fri) A rustic Weinstube (wine bar) with loads of 19th-century wood panelling, a ce- ramic stove, good wines and creative Swabian fare. One especially tasty option is the Ulmer Laubfrösche, filled with spinach or Mangold (a kind of beet). Zur Forelle (%639 24; Fischergasse 25; mains €9.50- 21.50; h11am-2.30pm & 5.30pm-midnight) A rustic restaurant, awash with flowers in the spring, whose speciality is trout, kept fresh in a cage under the bridge. In a 15th-century building with low ceilings and a Napoleon-era cannon- ball lodged in the wall outside. It also serves Swabian dishes. Einstein ate here and is said to have gone home relatively satisfied. Entertainment Details on cultural events appear in the free monthly Spazz, available at the tourist office and some cafés. Events tickets are sold by the tourist office. Roxy (%968 620; www.roxy.ulm.de in German; Schill- erstrasse 1) A huge cultural venue, housed in a former industrial plant 1km south of the Hauptbahnhof, with a concert hall, cinema, disco, bar and special-event forum. Take tram line 1 to Ehinger Tor. Wiley Club (%867 04; www.wiley-club.de, in German; Wileystrasse 4, Neu Ulm; h11am-1am, to 2am Fri & Sat) On a former US military base, this one-time canteen has a restaurant, café-bar and stage, and hosts live music and disco events. Situated 2.5km south of the Altstadt; to get there take bus 6 to the Wiley Club stop. Getting There & Away Ulm, about 90km southeast of Stuttgart and 140km west of Munich, is near the intersection of the north–south A7 and the east–west A8. Ulm is well-served by ICE trains; major destinations include Stuttgart (€14.70 to €22, one hour, several hourly) and Munich (€22.10 to €30, 11⁄2 hours, several hourly). Getting Around There's a local transport information counter (%166 2120; www.swu-verkehr.de, in German) in the tourist office. Except in parking garages (per half-hour €0.60), the whole city centre is metered; many areas are limited to one hour. There's a park-and-ride lot at Donaustadion, a stadium 1.5km northeast of the Münster that's on tram line 1. You can hire bikes, including tandems, from Radstation (%150 0231; Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse; h6am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-7pm Sat, Sun & holidays), be- tween the Hauptbahnhof and the bus station. Bike paths go along the Danube. It's easy to order a taxi (%660 66). NORTHERN BLACK FOREST The hills, valleys, rivers and forests of Ger- many's famed Schwarzwald (Black Forest) stretch from the swish spa town of Baden- Baden south to the Swiss border, and from the Rhine – the west bank of which is in the VISITORS PASSES In most Schwarzwald localities your hotel or B&B host will issue you with a Schwarzwald-Gästekarte (Guest Card; formerly known as a Kurkarte) that gets you discounts – or even freebies – on museums, ski lifts, cultural events and attractions. Versions of the card with the Konus symbol (showing a bus, a train and a tram), known as the Konus-Gästekarte, entitle you to free use of trains, trams and buses throughout the Black Forest region, and are intended to encourage holidaymakers to use environmentally friendly public transport even if they arrive in the area by private car. Almost all tourist offices in the Black Forest sell the three-day SchwarzwaldCard (adult/child 4-11yr/family €37/27/113 incl 1 day at Europa-Park €47/37/153), which gets you free admission to about 150 attractions in the Black Forest, including museums, ski lifts, boat trips, spas and swimming pools. Details on both cards are available at www.blackforest-tourism.com. French region of Alsace – east almost to Lake Constance. The northern section, with its hilly but relatively gentle terrain, includes the Kinzig Valley, home to several charming towns. Freudenstadt makes a good base for exploring the area. BADEN-BADEN %07221 / pop 54,000 From Queen Victoria to the Vanderbilts, from Bismarck to Brahms and Berlioz, they all came to Baden-Baden – the royal, the rich, the renowned and the moneyed wannabees – to take the waters or lose their fortunes in the casino. Today Baden-Baden, at the foot of the Black Forest, is the grande dame of German spas, ageing but still elegant. Sophisticated yet relaxed, it offers a belle époque townscape of palatial villas, stately hotels, tree-lined avenues, groomed parks and chic boutiques. Many of the most delightful activities, such as strolling, are freeast (up the hill) from Leopoldsplatz. Weblounge (Eichstrasse 3; per hr €2.40; h10am- midnight Mon-Thu, 10am-10pm Fri-Sun) Internet access in a mellow atmosphere. Sights KURHAUS & CASINO In the heart of Baden-Baden, two blocks southwest of Leopoldsplatz and just west of the Oos River, looms the palatial Kurhaus (%3530; www.kurhaus-baden-baden.de, in German; Kaiserallee 1), set in an impeccably groomed garden. Cor- inthian columns and a frieze of mythical griffins grace the august exterior of the struc- ture, designed by Friedrich Weinbrenner in 1824. An alley of chestnut trees – flanked by two rows of elegant mini-shops – links the Kurhaus with Kaiserallee. Inside – besides lavish festival halls used for balls, conventions, concerts, dance com- petitions and weddings – is the opulent casino (%302 40; www.casino-baden-baden.de; admission €3; h2pm-2am Sun-Thu, 2pm-3am Fri & Sat, baccarat tables open 8pm-5am Fri & Sat), opened in 1838 and reminis- cent of the 19th century or a 1970s James Bond film, depending on your proclivities. Its décor, which seeks to emulate – indeed, outdo – the splendour of France's famed chateaux, such as Versailles, led Marlene Dietrich to 430 431 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG 432 NORTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Black Forest lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com call it 'the most beautiful casino in the world'. After observing the action here, Dostoevsky was inspired to write The Gambler. You need your passport or European na- tional ID card to enter, and cell phones must be switched off. Games include French and American roulette, blackjack and poker (Fri- day and Saturday only). Minimum stakes range from €2 to €50. You do not have to gamble but men must wear a jacket and tie, rentable for €8 and €3 respectively. The rules for women are more relaxed but nothing too sporty (for example shorts) is permitted. But the times they are a-changin', even here: jeans, so long as they are neat, clean and without holes, are now permitted for both sexes. Sports shoes remain forbidden, however. A more casual way to see the interior is to take a guided tour (€4; in German with guides who speak English), offered every half-hour from 9.30am (10am from October to March) until 11.30am daily. In the leafy park just north of the Kurhaus stands the Trinkhalle (Pump Room; Kaiserallee 3), which houses a branch of the tourist office. Here you can amble beneath a 90m-long portico deco- rated with 19th-century frescoes of local leg- ends and myths. Inside you can get a free glass of hot, salty and reputedly curative mineral water from a tap (accessible from 10am to 2am, and until 3am Friday and Saturday) linked to the springs below. The café, which has leather wing chairs and a terrace, is open the same hours and sells plastic cups for €0.20. LICHTENTALER ALLEE This elegant park promenade, planted with vegetation from around the world, follows the flow of the sprightly Oosbach from Goethe- platz, adjacent to the Kurhaus, to Kloster Licht- enthal about 3km south. Even today, it's not hard to imagine the movers and shakers of 19th-century Europe – aristocrats, diplomats, artists and writers – taking leisurely strolls along this fragrant avenue. The gateway to Lichtentaler Allee is formed by the Baden-Baden Theater, a neobaroque con- fection of white-and-red sandstone whose frilly interior looks like a miniature version of the Opéra-Garnier in Paris. Nearby stands the Staatliche Kunsthalle (State Art Gallery; %300 763; Lichtentaler Allee 8a; adult/concession €5/4; h11am-6pm Tue-Sun, 11am-8pm Wed), which features temporary international exhibits, mainly of contemporary art. NORTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Baden-Baden 433 Next door is Museum Frieder Burda (%398 980; www.museum-frieder-burda.de; Lichtentaler Allee 8b; adult/student/family €8/6/18; h11am-6pm Tue-Sun), opened in 2004 in a striking modern building designed by Richard Meier. The collections focuses on modern and contemporary art, particularly from the USA and Germany. A bit further south is the new home of the Stadtmuseum (City History Museum; %932 272; Lichtentaler Allee 10; adult/child €4/2; h10am-6pm Tue- Sun, to 8pm Wed), also opened in 2004, where highlights include historic roulette wheels and other gambling paraphernalia, as well as furnishings, photos and paintings from Baden-Baden's belle époque. About 1km south of here is the Gönneran- lage, a rose garden ablaze with more than 400 varieties that thrive in the local micro- climate, said to be almost Mediterranean. Said to be almost Siberian is the Russische Kirche (Russian Church; 1882; Maria-Victoria-Strasse; admission €0.50; h10am-6pm, may be closed Dec-Jan), just east of here. Built in the Byzantine style, it is topped with a brilliantly golden onion dome. Lichtentaler Allee concludes at the Kloster Lichtenthal, a Cistercian abbey founded in 1245, with an abbey church (hdaily) where generations of the margraves of Baden lie buried. ALTSTADT & PANORAMAS Two blocks northeast of Leopoldsplatz is the Stiftskirche (Marktplatz), whose foundations incorporate part of the ruins of the former Roman baths. Elsewhere, it's a hotchpotch of Romanesque, Gothic and baroque styles. Inside, look for the crucifix by Nicolaus Gerhaert, with a heart-wrenchingly realistic depiction of the suffering Christ. For wonderful views over Baden-Baden, climb up to the terrace of the Renaissance Neues Schloss (Schlossstrasse). Until 1995 the palace was one of the residences of the margravial family of Baden-Baden, but acute cash-flow problems forced them to auction off the fur- nishings and artworks. It's now being turned into a five-star hotel. The terrace is linked to the Marktplatz by a narrow, vine-enveloped and very romantic staircase. Four short blocks east of the church, right underneath the Friedrichsbad complex (p434), are the Römische Badruinen (Roman Bath Ruins; Römerplatz; adult/child under 15yr €2/1; h11am-1pm & 2-5pm mid-Mar–mid-Nov, 2-5pm Fri, Sat & Sun mid-Nov–mid- Mar, 2-5pm 25 Dec–mid-Jan), where, thanks to some BLACK FOREST (SCHWARZWALD) 0 0 Gaggenau Gernsbach B462 20 km 12 miles To Pforzheim (15km) Schwarzwald- Tälerstrasse F R A N C E Strasbourg A5 B294 Hochstrasse Schwarzwald- River K y e i l n l z a River V i Kinzig g Rust Europa Park Endingen Riegel Hausach Gutach B294 Elzach Schonach Schönwald Furtwangen St Märgen Schiltach B3 Oberndorf Shiltach Gutach Rv BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG Rv Rhine Sasbach Kaiserstuhl (560m) Achkarren Breisach Neuf-Brisash To Colmar (20km); Munster (34km) B31 Hartheim Teningen Emmendingen Waldkirch Denzlingen Kandel Breg River Höllental Route r e v i R e D a To Vitra Design Museum (35km); Weil am Rhein (35km); Basel (37km); EuroAirport (37km) Müllheim To Vitra Design Museum (25km); Weil am Rhein (25km); Lörrach (26km); Basel (27km) Feldberg-Ort Falkau Altglashütten B27 Gottenheim A5 (1243m) Gundelfingen Glottertal St Peter Schwarzwald Kirchzarten Panoramastrasse Himmelreich B31 Bärental Villingen- Schwenningen Donaueschingen Bad Dürrheim Bad Krozingen Titisee-Neustadt B315 B3 A81 Rottweil Trossingen Herbolzheim Hagueenau Rastatt Bühl Kehl Lahr Freiburg B500 Schauinsland (1286m) Feldberg (1493m) Breitnau Hinterzarten Titisee Danube Bike Trail B317 B500 Todtnau Schönau Todtmoos Aha Blumberg Wutachschlucht Bonndorf To Karlsruhe-Baden-Baden Airport (20km); Karlsruhe (20km) Offenburg Menzenschwand Schluchsee Seebrugg To Waldshut (20km) Gengenbach Horb B33 Sulz Haslach St Blasien B3 Oberkirch Mummelsee Steinach Wolfach Schluchsee B500 Bad Rippoldsau Bad Rippoldsau- Schapbach Triberg Baden- Baden Hornis- grinde (1164m) Wildbad Griesbach Freudenstadt B294 Alpirsbach Baiersbronn St Georgen n u b To Lake Constance (50km); Konstanz (50km) N4 S W I T Z E R L AN D Book accommodation onlilnoenaet loynpelyapnlaente.tc.com lonelyplanet.com NORTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Freudenstadt NORTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Baden-Baden well-preserved remains, you can get a sense of how the Romans relaxed. For another panoramic vista of Baden- Baden, head to the Rosenneuheitengarten (Rose Novelty Garden; Moltkestrasse; h9am-sundown mid-Apr– early Oct), on the Beutig hilltop 800m southwest of the Kurhaus. Activities SPAS The famed Friedrichsbad (%275 920; www.roemisch -irisches-bad.de; Römerplatz 1; h9am-10pm, last admission 7pm), its focal point an ornate circular pool ringed by columns, looks more like a neo- Renaissance palace than a bathhouse. Built in 1877, it has lots of small pools with water temperatures ranging from 18°C to 36°C. The Roman-Irish Bath (admission €21, incl a soap-and-brush massage €29), three hours of humid bliss, consists of a timed series of hot and cold showers, saunas, steam rooms and baths that leave you feeling scrubbed, lubed and loose as a goose. No clothing is allowed inside so leave your modesty at the reception desk. Most pools and baths are mixed except on Monday and Thursday, when men and women are separate except in the big pool. A towel, shoes, skin creme etc are provided so you can walk in off the street with no special preparation. Chil- dren under 14 are not admitted; children over 14 are admitted with their parents. Owned by the same company, the modern Caracalla-Therme (%275 940; www.caracalla.de; Römer- platz 11; 2/3/4hr €12/14/16; h8am-10pm, last admission 8pm), which opened in 1985 and is named for a Roman emperor, has more than 900 square metres of outdoor and indoor pools, hot and cold water grottoes, various whirlpools, thera- peutic water massages, a surge channel and a range of saunas, including a new log-cabin sauna. Bathing suits (available for purchase) must be worn everywhere except in the up- stairs sauna; towels can be rented. Children are admitted from age three. HIKING Popular hiking destinations include the Altes Schloss, 2.5km north of the centre; Geroldsauer waterfalls, 6km south of Leopoldsplatz; and the Yburg castle ruin, in the wine country south- west of the centre. A Standseilbahn (cable car; %2770; www.stadtwerke -baden-baden.de, in German; adult/child 6-15yr one-way €2/1.30, return €4/2; h10am-10pm Apr-Dec), opened in 1913, whisks you up to the 668m-high summit of Mt Merkur, east of the centre. To get there take bus 204 or 205 from Leopoldsplatz. Sleeping Baden-Baden is choc-a-block with hotels but there aren't many bargains. The tourist office has a room-reservation service; the 10% fee is deducted from the cost of the room. DJH hostel (%522 23; www.jugendherberge-baden -baden.de; Hardbergstrasse 34; dm 1st/subsequent night €17.80/14.70; n) The local hostel, 2.5km north- west of the branch tourist office, has rather outdated facilities. To get there from the Bahn- hof or the town centre, take bus 201 to Grosse Dollenstrasse and walk 750m up the hill from the church with the big green dome. Hôtel-Gästehaus Löhr (%3060; bcs@brandau-catering .de; Lichtentalerstrasse 19; d €55-75, s without bathroom €25- 40) This centrally located, 28-room guesthouse (two blocks south of Leopoldsplatz) is one of the cheapest options in town. Passable if you're on a tight budget. Hotel am Markt (%270 40; www.hotel-am-markt -baden.de; Marktplatz 18; s/d €47/80, without bathroom €30/62; pn) A family-run hotel right next to the Stiftskirche that's got 23 lovingly kept, comfortable rooms with minimalist décor. Overall, excellent value. Rathausglöckel (%906 10; www.rathausgloeckel.de; Steinstrasse 7; d €70-90) Half a block down the hill from the Stiftskirche, this family-run hotel has 11 bright, cheerful rooms, some with rooftop views that are half belle époque, half Mary Poppins. Am Friedrichsbad (%396 340; www.hotel-am -friedrichsbad.de; Gernsbacher Strasse 31; s/d from €89/119; pn) Right across the street from the Fried- richbad complex, this comfortable place, in a classic 1920s building, has 22 large quiet rooms, many decorated with prints and paint- ings of the Jewish ghetto in Prague, the own- er's hometown. Steigenberger Badischer Hof (%9340; www .badischer-hof.steigenberger.com; Lange Strasse 47; s €120-154, d €180-248; pns) A great place for splashing out, with plush, spacious quarters, attentive staff, its own spa and droves of bathrobed guests shuffling to and from the indoor and outdoor thermal baths. In some rooms you can choose between mineral water and tap water in your bathtub. Eating There are a number of restaurants in the pedestrianised zone around Leopoldsplatz. Leo's (%380 81; Luisenstrasse 10; mains €9.50-21.50; h8am-3am) Near Leopoldsplatz, Leo's is a trendy and hugely popular bistro and wine bar that serves up large salads, creative pasta dishes, meat and fish. Rathausglöckel (%906 10; www.rathausgloeckel.de; Steinstrasse 7; mains €15-18; h6-9pm Wed, 11.30am-2pm & 6-9pm Thu-Sun) This rustic restaurant, in a 16th- century building, is a good place to sample local Baden cuisine, including vegetarian op- tions, to the accompaniment of relaxing West- ern classical music. Has salads in summer. La Provence (%216 515; Schlossstrasse 20; mains €13.50- 21.50; hnoon-11pm, to 1am Fri & Sat) In the Neues Schloss' one-time wine cellar, the vaulted ceil- ings, Art Nouveau mirrors and French sense of humour go well with the French and German cuisine (including vegetarian options). Kaiser Früchte (Langestrasse; h9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat) Self-caterers can buy fresh fruits and veggies at this place at the northern end of the pedestrianised zone, facing Lange Strasse 44 (the post office). Entertainment Ensconced in an historic train station, the Festspielhaus (%301 3101; www.festspielhaus.de; Beim Alten Bahnhof 2, Robert-Schumann-Platz) hosts concerts, opera and ballet. The Baden-Badener Philharmonie (%932 791; www.philharmonie.baden-baden.de) often performs in the Kurhaus. Getting There & Away Karlsruhe-Baden-Baden airport (Baden Airpark; www .badenairpark.de), 15km west of town, is linked to London and Dublin by Ryanair. Buses to a variety of Black Forest destina- tions depart from the bus station, situated next to the Bahnhof. Baden-Baden is close to the A5 (Frankfurt– Basel autobahn) and is the northern starting point of the scenic Schwarzwald-Hochstrasse (see p436), also known as the B500. Baden-Baden is on a major north–south rail corridor. Twice-hourly destinations include Freiburg (€15.70 to €24, 45 to 80 minutes) and Karlsruhe (€5, more by IC or ICE, 15 to 30 minutes). Getting Around BUS Local buses, run by Stadtwerke Baden-Baden (%2771; www.stadtwerke-baden-baden.de), cost €1.50 for a one-zone single ticket, and €2 for a two- zone ticket, but the 24-hour pass, valid for three zones, is a better deal at €4.20 (€6.50 for two to five people). Bus 201 (every 10 minutes) and other lines link the Bahnhof with Leopoldsplatz. Bus 205 links the Bahnhof with the airport from Monday to Friday. CAR & MOTORCYCLE Much of the centre is either pedestrianised or blocked off to traffic, so it's best to park and walk. Michaelstunnel, a 2.5km tunnel on the D500, routes traffic away from the town cen- tre, ducking underground just west of the Festspielhaus (at the northern entrance to town) and popping to the surface just south of the Russische Kirche. FREUDENSTADT %07441 / pop 23,000 A good base for exploring the northern Black Forest, this spa town was the brainchild of Duke Friedrich I of Württemberg, who in 1599 decided to build a new capital. Together with his favourite architect, Heinrich Schick- ardt, he scoured Bologna and Rome for inspi- ration and came back with the idea for a town laid out like a spider web. At Freudenstadt's centre is a gigantic market square, Germany's largest, measur- ing 216m by 219m. Friedrich hoped to adorn the square with a palace but this grandiose plan was never realised. The town fell into obscurity after the duke's death in 1610, not rising again until the mid-19th century, when a rail link brought the first waves of tour- ists. The French wreaked havoc here at the end of WWII, but thanks to postwar restora- tion Freudenstadt retains some of its unique, quasi-urban charm. Orientation & Information Freudenstadt's focal point is the Marktplatz, which is on the B28. The town has two train stations: the Stadtbahnhof, centrally located about five minutes' walk north of the Markt- platz, and the Hauptbahnhof, about 2km southeast of the Marktplatz at the end of Bahn- hofstrasse. The central bus station is right out- side the Stadtbahnhof. ATMs There are several on the Marktplatz. Post office (Marktplatz 64) Tourist office (%864 730, hotel reservations 864 733; www.freudenstadt.de; Marktplatz 64; h9am-6pm 434 435 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG Book accommodation online at lonelyplanet.com Book accommodation online at lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com NORTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Freudenstadt NORTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Kinzig Valley TOP FIVE SCENIC DRIVES IN THE BLACK FOREST More than just pretty drives, many of these routes focus on a theme, such as Franco–German friendship, wine growing, clock-making and spas. Details and brochures are available at local tourist offices. Schwarzwald-Hochstrasse (Black Forest Hwy): officially known as the B500, this connects Baden-Baden with Freudenstadt, 60km to the south. The oldest tourist road in the Black Forest, it affords expansive views of the Upper Rhine Valley and, further west, the Vosges Mountains in Alsace (France) and skirts a number of lakes, of which the Mummelsee is the best known. There are plenty of hotels en route and a DJH hostel (%07804-611; www .jugendherberge.de; dm 1st/subsequent night €17.90/14.70; n) in Zuflucht, about 19km north of Freudenstadt. From May to October you can get there by bus twice a day. Schwarzwald-Bäder-Strasse (Black Forest Spa Road): a loop connecting all of the region's spa towns including, of course, Baden-Baden and Freudenstadt. Badische Weinstrasse (Baden Wine Road): an oenologists delight. From Baden-Baden south to Lörrach, this 160km route winds through the red-wine vineyards of Ortenau, the Pinot Noir of Kaiserstuhl and Tuniberg, and the white-wine vines of Markgräflerland. Deutsche Uhrenstrasse (German Clock Road): a 320km-long loop starting in Villingen- Schwenningen that revolves around the story of clock-making in the Black Forest. Stops include Triberg and Furtwangen. Grüne Strasse (Green Road): links the Black Forest with the Rhine Valley and the Vosges Mountains in France. It was developed to highlight and strengthen the cultural links between the two countries. Popular with hikers and cyclists, this 160km route takes you through Kirchzarten, Freiburg, Breisach, Neuf-Brisach, Colmar and Munster. Hotel Adler (%915 20; www.adler-fds.de; Forststrasse 15-17; s/d from €40/66, without bathroom from €33/52; pn) Located midway between the Stadt- bahnhof and Markt, this no-nonsense family- run hotel has 16 cheery and spotless rooms. The restaurant, open from 11.30am to 2pm and 5pm to 10pm daily except Wednesday, has tasty international, German and regional (Badisch and Swabian) cuisine; mains cost €7 to €18. Hotel Schwanen (%915 50; www.schwanen -freudenstadt.de, in German; Forststrasse 6; s/d from €38/78; n) Family-run and friendly, this hotel has 17 rooms that are tidily outfitted with wooden furniture. The daily three-course lunch special costs €8 to €11. Turmbräu (%905 121; www.turmbraeu.de, in German; Marktplatz 64; mains €5.20-14.80; h10am-1am, to 3am Fri & Sat) Right next to the tourist office, this rustic-style microbrewery does double duty as a beer garden and restaurant, and is probably the most happening place in town. Details on events (such as concerts, guest DJs and disco parties, held on Friday and Saturday from 9pm and Sunday from 5pm) appear on the website. Self-caterers could check out the food market (Marktplatz; hFri mornings year-round, Tue morning in warm season). Getting There & Away Trains on the Kinzigtal rail line, which goes to Offenburg, leave hourly from the Haupt- bahnhof. The hourly Murgtalbahn (the S41 suburban rail line) goes to Karlsruhe (€13.40, 11⁄2 hours) from both the Stadtbahnhof and the Hauptbahnhof. Bus 178 makes two trips a day east to Tübingen and west to the train station in Strasbourg, France. Freudenstadt marks the southern end of the Schwarzwald-Hochstrasse (see opposite). It's also a terminus of the Schwarzwald-Tälerstrasse (Black Forest Valley Road, ie the B462), which runs from Rastatt via Alpirsbach. Getting Around Freudenstadt's bus network (%07443-247 340; www.vgf-info.de, in German) consists of five local routes (A, B, C, D and 15); a ticket for travel anywhere within town costs €1.30. Some trains and lots of local and regional buses link the two train stations. The Hauptbahnhof is linked to the Marktplatz by various local and regional buses. There's a bike rental station (%864 732; Lauter- badstrasse 5) in the Kurhaus, 400m south of the tourist office. KINZIG VALLEY The horseshoe-shaped Kinzig Valley begins south of Freudenstadt and follows the little Kinzig River south to Schiltach, then west to Haslach and north to Offenburg. Near Stras- bourg, 95km downriver, the Kinzig is eventu- ally swallowed up by the mighty Rhine. A 2000-year-old trade route through the valley links Strasbourg with Rottweil, where that feared canine breed, the Rottweiler, evolved from Roman cattle dogs. The valley's inhabitants survived for centuries on mining and shipping goods by raft. Getting There & Away BUS Bus 7160 traverses the valley on its route be- tween Offenburg and Triberg. From Monday to Friday, bus 7161 links Freudenstadt with Alpirsbach, Schiltach, Wolfach, Gutach and Hausach. CAR & MOTORCYCLE The B294 follows the Kinzig from Freuden- stadt to Haslach, from where the B33 leads north to Offenburg. If you're going south, you can pick up the B33 to Triberg and beyond in Hausach. TRAIN The hourly Kinzigtal rail line links Freu- denstadt's Hauptbahnhof with Offenburg (on the Karlsruhe–Freiburg line), stopping in the Kinzig Valley villages of Alpirsbach, Schiltach, Wolfach, Hausach, Haslach and Gengenbach. From Hausach, trains go southeast to Triberg, Villingen and Donaueschingen, where you can change for Konstanz. Alpirsbach %07444 / pop 7000 Alpirsbach, 18km or so south of Freudenstadt, has a small medieval centre, but the main attraction is the 11th-century Klosterkirche St Benedict (%951 6281; www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de; Freudenstädterstrasse; adult/student €3/2.30; h10am- 5.30pm mid-Apr–1 Nov, 10am-4.30pm mid-Mar–mid-Apr, 1.30-3.30pm Wed, Sat & Sun 2 Nov–mid-Mar), once the centrepiece of a Benedictine monastery. Ro- manesque in style, its has a red-sandstone Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat, Sun & holidays May-Oct; 10am- 5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat, 11am-1pm Sun & holidays Nov-Apr) Has an internet terminal (per 5/60min €0.50/6) Hotel reservations are free. Sights & Activities The Marktplatz is too huge to really feel like a square, especially since it's chopped into three parts by a T-junction of heavily trafficked roads. Along the perimeter are Italianate ar- cades providing weatherproof access to dozens of shops. In its southwestern corner, the Marktplatz is anchored by the Protestant Stadtkirche (h10am-5pm), built in 1608, whose two naves are at right angles to each other – yes, another unusual design by the geometrically minded duke. It's a potpourri of styles, with Gothic windows, Renaissance portals and baroque towers. Of note inside is a stone Cluniac-style baptismal font (early 12th century) with intri- cate animal ornamentations, a wall-mounted Ulm-school Gothic crucifix (c 1470) and a painted wooden lectern (from 1140) that looks like it's being carried on the shoulders of the four Evangelists. Near the church is a children's playground. Kids may also enjoy the Panorama-Bad (%921 300; www.panorama-bad.de, in German; Ludwig-Jahn-Strasse 60; adult/child 6-17yr all day €8/6.50, incl sauna €13/10; h9am-10pm Mon-Sat, 9am-8pm Sun & holidays), a huge complex of indoor and outdoor swimming pools at the northern edge of town. Biking options include cycling down the Kin- zigtal or the Murgtal – both valleys have bike paths – and returning to Freudenstadt by train. Maps with details on the area's myriad hiking options are available at the tourist office. Sleeping & Eating Outside the tourist office there's a hotel board with a free phone. Camping Langenwald (%2862; www.camping -langenwald.de; Strasburger Strasse 167; person/tent/car €5.50/4/3; hEaster-1 Nov) This excellent camping ground, about 3km west of town along the B28, even has a heated outdoor swimming pool. It's served by bus 12 to Kniebis. DJH hostel (%7720; www.jugendherberge.de; Eugen-Nägele-Strasse 69; dm 1st/subsequent nights €18.30/15.10; n) Freudenstadt's 130-bed hos- tel is located about 1km northeast of the Stadtbahnhof at the end of Gottlieb-Daimler- Strasse. The nearest bus stop is Berufsschule, served by lines that include bus 15 from the Hauptbahnhof. 436 437 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG NORTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Kinzig Valley lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com SOUTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Freiburg façade and an almost unadorned interior with a flat, wood-beam ceiling. The Gothic cloister dates from 1480, and the museum showcases bits and bobs from the 16th century, acci- dentally discovered in 1958, that illustrate everyday monastic life. The complex plays host to concerts on Saturday at either 5pm or 8.30pm. The town is best known around the Schwarzwald area for the locally brewed Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu. Guided tours of the brewery museum (€6; htours at 2.30pm), next to the Klosterkirche, are in German, though guides may speak English. The tourist office (%951 6281; www.alpirsbach .de; Hauptstrasse 20) is next to the train station, inside Haus des Gastes, a multipurpose events venue. It can supply maps detailing the area's many hiking options and, for cyclists, infor- mation on the Kinzigtalradweg from Offenburg to Lossburg. The 122-bed DJH hostel (%2477; www.jugend herberge.de; Reinerzauer Steige 80; dm 1st/subsequent night €18.30/15.10; n) is located above the town, about 1.5km north (up the hill) from the train station. Schiltach %07836 / pop 4100 If you like half-timbered houses, you'll love Schiltach, about 18km south of Alpirsbach at the confluence of the Kinzig and Schiltach Rivers. Set amid forests, this picture-perfect village is at its most scenic along the Schiltach River and around the triangular Marktplatz, built on a pretty steep slope. Take a closer look at the step-gabled Rathaus, built in the late 1500s; the murals, painted in 1942, illustrate the town's history. The tourist office (%5850; www.schiltach.de; Hauptstrasse 5; h9am-noon & 2-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-noon Sat May-Sep, 9am-noon & 2-5pm Mon-Thu & Fri morning Oct-Apr), across the Schiltach River from the Marktplatz, can help find accommodation. Various hiking options appear on an enamel sign across the street from the tourist office. There's an ATM just below the Marktplatz. Gutach pop 4500 A 4km detour south of the Kinzig Valley along the B33 (which follows the Gutach River) is one of the Black Forest's biggest tourist draws, the Schwarzwald Freilicht Mu- seum (Black Forest Open-Air Museum; %07831-935 60; www.vogtsbauernhof.org, in German; adult/child 6-17yr/ student/family €5/2.50/3/11; h9am-6pm early Apr-early Nov, to 8pm Aug). It's centred on the Vogtbauernhof, a traditional farming hamlet that has stood in the valley since 1570. Other farmhouses – along with a bakery, sawmill, chapel and granary – have been moved here from their original locations around the region. The complex is not entirely kitsch-free but the houses are authentically furnished and the craftspeople inside know what they're doing. Haslach %07832 / pop 6900 Back in the Kinzig Valley, Haslach prospered from silver mines in the Middle Ages but when these shut down it became a simple market town. These days it has a pretty Altstadt with some half-timbered houses, but the most in- teresting building is the 17th-century former Capuchin monastery, which now houses the Schwarzwälder Trachtenmuseum (Museum of Black Forest Costumes; %706 172; www.trachtenmuseum-haslach .de.vu, in German; Im Alten Kapuzinerkloster; admission €2; h9am-5pm Tue-Sat, 10am-5pm Sun & holidays Apr–mid- Oct, 9am-noon & 1-5pm Tue-Fri mid-Oct–Dec & Feb-Mar). Among the featured traditional women's headdresses is the Bollenhut, a straw bon- net festooned with woollen pompons – red for unmarried women, black for married. Originally from Gutach, it's now a symbol of the entire Black Forest. And there's the Schäppel, a fragile-looking crown made from hundreds of beads that can weigh as much as 5kg. Around the Schwarzwald, traditional costumes are still worn on important holidays, during religious processions and, occasion- ally, at wedding ceremonies. The tourist office (%706 170; www.haslach.de, in German; h8am-noon & 1.30-5pm Mon, 9am-5pm Tue-Sat, 10am-5pm Sun & holidays Apr–mid-Oct, 8am-noon & 1-5pm Mon-Fri mid-Oct–Mar) is in the same building as the museum. Gengenbach %07803 / pop 11,000 This romantic village, about 11km south of Offenburg, has remained relatively unspoiled by mass tourism. You can stroll through its narrow lanes, past handsome patrician town- houses with crimson geraniums spilling out of flower boxes, and wander down to the Stadt- kirche, with its lovely baroque tower, or to the Rathaus (1780s), about midway between the town's two tower-topped gates. On the triangular Marktplatz you'll find a fountain with a statue of a knight, a symbol of the village's medieval status as a Free Imperial City. Masks and costumes worn during Fasend (the local version of Carnival, held over six days about seven weeks before Easter) can be admired on the seven floors of the Narrenmuseum (%5749; Niggelturm, Hauptstrasse; admission €2; h2-5pm Wed & Sat, 10am-noon & 2-5pm Sun Apr-Oct). The tourist office (%930 143; www.stadt-gegenbach .de, in German; Im Winzerhof; h9am-12.30pm & 1.30-5pm Mon-Fri Sep-Jun, no midday closure Jul & Aug, also open 10am- noon Sat May-Oct), in the courtyard across from Hauptstrasse 21, rents out bicycles – three- speed bikes cost €5.50 a day; mountain bikes are €9.50 a day. There are several places to eat and drink in the courtyard around the tourist office. SOUTHERN BLACK FOREST Many of the Schwarzwald's most impressive sights are in the triangle delimited by the lively university city of Freiburg, 15km east of the Rhine in the southwest; Triberg, cuckoo-clock capital, in the north; and the charming river- valley city of St Blasien in the southeast. Getting Around Various public-transport groupings offer ex- tensive, reasonably priced bus and rail links to towns and villages throughout the southern Black Forest. See p444 for details. You can plan your journey with the help of www.efa-bw.de. FREIBURG %0761 / pop 213,000 Freiburg, western gateway to the Southern Black Forest, has the happy-go-lucky attitude of a thriving university community. Framed by the velvety hills of the Black Forest, it is endowed with a wealth of historical attrac- tions, led by the superb Münster. Add to this a lively cultural scene and an excellent range of restaurants, bars and clubs, and it's easy to understand why Freiburg is such a ter- rific place to visit and to base yourself while exploring the Schwarzwald. Orientation The Altstadt's focal point, situated two blocks southwest of the Münster, is the intersection of Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse, the centre's main north– south artery, with east–west Bertoldstrasse. About 600m west is the Hauptbahnhof and the adjacent bus station, which define the western edge of the Altstadt. The Dreisam River runs along the Altstadt's southern edge. Information Buchhandlung Rombach (%4500 2400; Bertoldstrasse 10) A huge bookshop with English titles. Herder (%282 820; Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse 180; h9.30am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-6pm Sat) Stocks a good assortment of foreign-language books and maps. Police station (Rotteckring) Post office (Eisenbahnstrasse 58-62) Shake-n-Surf (Bismarckallee 5; per hr €3; h10am- 10pm) Cheery internet access and fruit shakes next to the Hauptbahnhof, on the ground floor of the InterCity Hotel. Tee-Online (Grünwälderstrasse 19; per hr €3.50; h11am-9pm Mon-Thu, 11am-8pm Fri & Sat, 11am-7pm Sun) Internet access. Tourist office (%388 1885/6; www.freiburg.de, www .baden24.de; Rotteckring 14; h9.30am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-5pm Sat & 10am-noon Sun & holidays Jun-Sep, 9.30am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-2.30pm Sat, 10am-noon Sun & holidays Oct-May) Friendly and well stocked, this place sells 1:50,000-scale cycling maps (€4.50 to €10) and the useful booklet Freiburg – Official Guide (€4). The Hotelinformation kiosk out front indicates room availability. Wasch & Fun Laundry (Egonstrasse 25; h9am-10pm Mon-Sat) Wash & Tours (Salzstrasse 22; per hr €3, laundry per machine €4; h9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat) Why didn't someone think of this before – a self-service laundry that's also an internet café?! Duds hit suds in the cellar while upstairs electrons zip to the far corners of the globe. Laundry customers get 10 free online minutes. Sights MÜNSTER Freiburg's townscape is dominated by its marvellous Münster, begun in 1200 and now (as then) surrounded by the city's bustling market square. Its main portal is adorned with a wealth of sculptures depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments – look for allegori- cal figures such as Voluptuousness (the one with snakes on her back) and Satan himself. Nearby are medieval wall markings used to make sure that merchandise (eg loaves of bread) were of the requisite size. The sturdy tower, square at the base, be- comes an octagon higher up and is crowned by a filigreed 116m-high spire. An ascent of the tower (adult/student €1.50/1; h9.30am-5pm Mon-Sat, 438 439 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG 440 SOUTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Freiburg lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com SOUTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Freiburg 441 FREIBURG 0 0 200 m 0.1 miles a merchants' hall built in 1530. The coats of arms on the oriels and the four figures above the balcony represent members of the House of Habsburg and indicate Freiburg's allegiance. The sculptor Christian Wentzinger built himself a baroque townhouse a bit east of the Kaufhaus in 1761. Inside is a wonderful stair- case with a wrought-iron railing which guides the eye to the elaborate ceiling fresco. Nowa- days, the building is occupied by the Museum für Stadtgeschichte (Municipal History Museum; %201 2515; Münsterplatz 30; adult/concession €2/1; h10am-5pm Tue-Sun), where you can learn all about Freiburg's eventful past. Admission to this museum also covers entrance to the Augustinermuseum (%201 2531; Augustinerplatz 1; adult/concession €2/1; h10am-5pm Tue-Sun). Housed in a former monastery, its extensive collection of medieval art includes paintings by Baldung, Matthias Grünewald and Cranach, while its collection of stained glass from the Middle Ages to the present ranks as one of the most important in Germany. The Museumticket (€4), valid for one day, gets you into all five of Freiburg's munici- pal museums (www.museen.freiburg.de, in German). new buildings. The Kollegiengebäude I has Art Nouveau elements, while the Alte Universitäts- bibliothek (Old University Library) is reso- lutely neo-Gothic. A bit north is the chestnut-shaded Rathaus- platz, with another fountain that's a popular gathering place. On its western side stands the red sandstone Neues Rathaus (New City Hall), a symmetrical structure composed of two Renaissance town houses flanking a newer, arcaded section that leads to a cobblestone courtyard. The little tower contains a carillon, played at noon daily. Linked to the Neues Rathaus by an over-the- street pedestrian bridge is the Altes Rathaus (Old City Hall; 1559), also the result of merging sev- eral smaller buildings and a good example of successful postwar reconstruction. Freiburg's oldest town hall, the Gerichtslaube (13th century), is a bit west along Turmstrasse. The northern side of Rathausplatz is taken up by the medieval Martinskirche, once part of a Franciscan monastery. Severely damaged in WWII, it was rebuilt in the ascetic style typi- cal of this mendicant order. Virtually across the street on Franziskanergasse stands its architectural antithesis, the extravagant Haus zum Walfisch (House of the Whale), whose gilded late-Gothic oriel is garnished with two gargoyles. This building served as a tempo- rary refuge for the philosopher Erasmus von Rotterdam after his expulsion from Basel in 1529. Further west, in a delightful little park across the street from the tourist office, issure to look down at the pave- ment for the cheerful mosaics found in front of many shops. A diamond marks a jewellery shop, a cow is for a butcher, a pretzel for a baker, and so on. Be careful not to step into the Bächle, the permanently flowing rivulets that run along many footpaths. Originally part of an elaborate system to deliver nonpotable water, these literal 'tourist traps' now provide welcome relief for hot feet on sweltering summer days. It's said that if you fall into one you'll marry a Freiburger or a Freiburgerin. All around Freiburg (as in many other German cities and towns), square brass plaques bearing names and dates, embedded in the sidewalk, indicate houses where Jews lived before being deported to concentration camps. walking tours (adult/child 12-18yr €7/6; h10.30am Mon- Fri & 10am Sat Apr-Oct, 10am Sat & 10.30am Sun Nov-Mar) of the Altstadt and the Münster in German and English. Velotaxi (%0172-768 4370; hmid-Apr–Oct) charges €6.50 for a 20-minute, two-person tour of the Altstadt in a rain-protected pedicab. Order by phone or look for one at Rathausplatz or Münsterplatz. Sleeping The tourist office can help with a hotel booking for €3. Hirzberg Camping (%350 54; www.freiburg-camping .de; Kartäuserstrasse 99; adult/site €5.50/3; hyear-round; i) A lovely camping ground at the base of a forested slope 1.5km east of the Schwabentor. Has cooking and laundry facilities and rents out tents, caravans and bikes. Take tram 1 to Stadthalle, walk north and cross the river. DJH hostel (%676 56; www.jugendherberge-freiburg.de; Kartäuserstrasse 151; dm 1st/subsequent night €20.30/17.10; in) Freiburg's 394-bed hostel, often brim- ming with German students, is 3km east of the Schwabentor along the Dreisam. It's a good idea to phone ahead for reservations. To get there take tram 1 to Römerhof and follow the signs down Fritz-Geiges-Strasse and across the river – it's an 800m walk. Hotel Dionysos (%293 53; www.hoteldionysos.de, in German; Hirschstrasse 2, Günterstal; d with shower €45, s/d with washbasin €28/40) Situated 3km south of the Altstadt, in the idyllic streamside village of Günterstal, this friendly family-run hotel has a guesthouse atmosphere, basic spotless rooms and a Greek restaurant. It's an easy ride from town on tram line 4. Hotel Schemmer (%207 490; www.hotel-schemmer .de, in German; Eschholzstrasse 63; s/d from €39/62, without bathroom €34/51) On a nondescript street 800m southwest of the Hauptbahnhof, this 18-room pension-style place is a good budget option. There's free parking across the street. By car, get off the B31 at Eschholzstrasse. Gasthaus Deutscher Kaiser (%749 10; www.hotel -deutscher-kaiser.com in German; Günterstalstrasse 38; s/d €50/70, without bathroom €45/60; p) This old-time family-run hotel, a 1.5km walk south of Mar- tinstor and across the street from the Max Planck Institut, has 15 simple but spacious rooms. Hotel Schwarzwälder Hof (%380 30; www.schwarz waelder-hof.eu; Herrenstrasse 43; s/d/5-person ste from €55/89/150, s/d without bathroom from €38/65) A circu- lar staircase with a wrought-iron railing leads from the lobby, entered via tiny Münzgasse, to the 45 rooms, which are simply furnished and very white; some have charming views of the old town. Hotel Minerva (%386 490; www.minerva-freiburg .de, in German; Poststrasse 8; s €75-90, d €105-115; pn) In an Art Nouveau–influenced building just a five-minute walk from the train station and the city centre. The 26 comfortable rooms are sleek and modern, with a different colour scheme on each floor. Amenities include a sauna. City-Hotel (%388 070; www.cityhotel-freiburg.de; Weberstrasse 3; s/d from €85/114; pn) This sleek place is a good showcase for the charms of practical, modern German design. The 42 rooms are large, clean and orderly. Stadthotel Kolping (%319 30; www.stadthotel-kolp ing.de; Karlstrasse 7; s €72-82, d €114-124; pn) Just north of the Altstadt, this four-star place has 94 comfortable rooms furnished in a business- like style. Extras include a spacious lobby and two different massage studios; a fitness room is planned. Hotel Oberkirch (%202 6868; www.hotel-oberkirch .de; Münsterplatz 22 & Schusterstrasse 11; s €92-115, d €115- 156; p) Facing the Münster – you can't get any more central than this. The tasteful rooms have flowery wallpaper and the latest mod- cons; some also come with half-canopies over the beds. Small singles start at €62. Hotel zum Roten Bären (%387 870; www.roter -baeren.de; Oberlinden 12; s/d from €105/145; p) Just inside the Schwabentor, this place dates back to 1120 and claims to be the oldest guesthouse in Germany. But though the cellar is medieval, the 25 rooms have sleek wooden furnishings. The back rooms look out on a quiet garden. Eating & Drinking As a university town, Freiburg has all sorts of cheap eats options, quite a few of them around Martinstor (for example on Univer- sitätsstrasse and Gartenstrasse) and, several blocks east, along Konviktstrasse. Mensa cafeterias (h11.30am-2pm & 5.20-7.30pm Mon-Fri) Stefan-Meier-Strasse 28 (on the campus at the north- ern end of Hebelstrasse; hmay be closed for dinner during holiday periods); Rempartstrasse 18 (halso 11.30am-1.30pm Sat) If you can produce student ID, a world of salad buffets and other filling fodder will open before you at these locations. Markthalle (Martinsgasse 235 & Grünewalderstrasse 4; h8am-7pm) A food court whose Mexican, Ital- ian, Indian, Korean and French counters offer fast, tasty lunches. Martin's Bräu (%387 0018; Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse 237; mains €5.10-15.10; h11am-midnight, to 2am Fri & Sat) Down the alley from Martinstor, this rustic cellar microbrewery has a good selection of home-brewed beers, some of them seasonal, and serves up hearty Baden-style specialities – some porcine, others bovine and yet others with Spätzle. Warm dishes are available until 11.30pm. Restaurant Pars (%712 21; cnr Turnseestrasse & Tal- strasse; mains €5.35-11.30; h11am-10pm) A favourite with locals who live and work nearby, this place serves delicious and reasonably priced Persian dishes, including lots of vegetarian op- tions, to the accompaniment of mellow Persian music. It's situated across the Dreisam from the Altstadt, 600m south of Martinstor. Hausbrauerei Feierling (%243 480; Gerberau 46; mains €6-12; h11am-midnight, to 1am Fri & Sat) A styl- ish microbrewery with Freiburg's best beer garden. Serves up some good vegetarian op- tions and absolutely enormous schnitzels with salad and Brägele (chipped potatoes). If you drink one too many, be extra careful not to fall in the adjacent stream or you may become dinner for the open-jawed Krokodil. Englers Weinkrügle (%383 115; Konviktstrasse 12; mains €7.60-13.50; h11am-2pm & 5.30-9.30pm Tue-Sun) A warm, woody Baden-style Weinstube with wisteria growing out front and traditional regional specialities on the menu. Weinstub Oberkirch (%202 6868; Münsterplatz 22; hmain meals served noon-2pm & 6.30-10pm Mon-Sat) Fac- ing the Münster, this traditional restaurant, with its dark wood-panelled walls, is known among locals for its highly professional service and excellent Black Forest trout (€17). Serves light meals all day long (8am to 12.30am). Kolben-Kaffee-Akademie (%387 0013; Kaiser- Joseph-Strasse 233; large coffee €1.60; h8am-7pm Mon- Fri, 8am-5pm Sat & 10am-5pm Sun) An old-fashioned stand-up coffee house with fresh pastries and sandwiches. Schlappen (%334 94; Löwenstrasse 2; h11am-1am Mon-Thu, 11am-3am Fri & Sat, 3pm-1am Sun & holidays) With its jazz-themed back room, its poster- plastered walls and its mirrored urinal, this is one of Freiburg's most popular and relaxed pubs. Light meals (such as Flammkuche) are on offer and you can try 10 different types of absinthe (€3). Eis Mariotti (%707 5061; Kronenstrasse 9; h10am- 11pm late Feb–mid-Oct) An unpretentious, reason- ably priced place considered by many to be Freiburg's best homemade ice-cream parlour. Situated 600m southwest of Martinstor. Self-caterers can pick up picnic fixin's at the following places: City-Supermarkt (Eisenbahnstrasse 39; h7.30am- 8pm Mon-Sat) Gruninger (Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse 201; h8.30am-7pm Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm Sat) An award-winning meat shop with lots of Black Forest specialities available in a bun. Münsterplatz food market (huntil 1pm Mon-Fri, to 1.30pm Sat) Local farmers come to sell local produce. Stalls are particularly numerous and varied on Saturday. On a per-calorie basis, the least expensive meals in town are the various versions of wurst-in-a-bun (€2), topped with fried onions (a Freiburg tradition), sold here. Rücker Käse und Wein (Münzgasse 1; h9am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat) For wine and cheese. Entertainment Get the free listings monthly, Freiburg Aktuell, at hotels and the tourist office. BZ-Kartenservice (%01805-55 66 56; www.badische -zeitung.de, in German; Bertoldstrasse 7; h9am-7pm Mon- Fri, 9am-4pm Sat) Click on 'Termine' for events tickets. Jazzhaus (%349 73; www.jazzhaus.de; Schnewlin- strasse 1) Under the arches of an old brick wine 442 443 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG SOUTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Around Freiburg lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com SOUTHERN BLACK FOREST •• West of Freiburg cellar, this first-rate venue hosts jazz rock, pop, blues, hip-hop and world music concerts (€10 to €30) at 8pm at least three nights a week (less frequently from June to August; see the website for details). It becomes a disco (admission about €6) from 11pm to 3am or 4am on Friday and Saturday nights, and is popular with people of all ages. Konzerthaus (%388 1552; www.konzerthaus.freiburg .de, in German; Konrad-Adenauer-Platz 1) A hulking modern concert hall that doubles as a con- vention and cultural events centre. Don't miss the tornado sculptures out front. Getting There & Around AIR Freiburg shares an airport, EuroAirport (www .euroairport.com), with Basel (Switzerland) and Mulhouse (France). Destinations include London and Luton with EasyJet. BUS The Airport Bus (%500 500; www.freiburger-reisedienst .de, in German) goes from Freiburg's bus station to EuroAirport (€16, 55 minutes, every hour or two). SüdbadenBus and RVF (%01805-77 99 66; www .suedbadenbus.de, www.rvf.de, both in German) offer ex- tensive, reasonably priced bus and rail links to towns and villages throughout the southern Black Forest. Single tickets for one/two/three zones cost €2/3.40/4.80 (half that for children age six to 14); a Regio24 ticket, good for 24 hours, costs €4.80/9.60/9.60 for one person and €7.20/14.40/14.40 for two to five people. If you'll be using lots of public transport it's worth picking up one of the detailed Fahrplan timetables (€1). From Freiburg, bus 1066 travels once a day Monday to Friday to Haslach, Hausach and Schiltach (21⁄4 hours) in the Kinzig Valley. See the various town listings in the Southern Black Forest section for other bus options to/from Freiburg. Bus and tram travel within Freiburg (www .vag-freiburg.de) is charged at the one-zone rate. Buy tickets from the red vending ma- chines or from the driver and be sure to vali- date upon boarding. CAR & MOTORCYCLE The Frankfurt–Basel A5 passes just west of Freiburg. The scenic B31 leads east through the Höllental to Lake Constance. The B294 goes north into the Black Forest. Car-hire agencies include Europcar (%515 100; Löracherstrasse 10) and Avis (%197 19; St-Georgener- Strasse 7). About 1.5km south of Martinstor, around the Max Planck Institut (Günterstalstrasse 73), there's unmetered parking on some of the side streets (eg Türkenlouisstrasse) – to get there from the Altstadt drive south on Günterstalstrasse (the southern continuation of Kaiser-Joseph- Strasse). TRAIN Freiburg is on a major north–south rail corridor so there are frequent departures for destinations such as Basel (€12.80 to €19.80, 50 to 80 min- utes) and Baden-Baden (€15.70 to €24, 45 to 80 minutes). Freiburg is also the western terminus of the Höllentalbahn to Donaueschingen via Titisee-Neustadt (€4.80, 38 minutes, twice an hour). There's a local connection to Breisach (€4.80, 27 minutes, at least hourly). BICYCLE Bike paths run along both banks of the Dreisam River, leading westward to Breisach and then into France. Mobile (%292 7998; www.mobile-freiburg.com, in German; Wenzingerstrasse 15; 3hr/day/week €5/12.50/50, under 17yr half price; h24hr), in a round, glass-enclosed pavilion just over the bridge from the Haupt- bahnhof, rents bikes and sells cycling maps (€6.80). AROUND FREIBURG Schauinsland Year-round,ss, Dutch and so on. A short stroll is like a quick trip around Europe – if we left the half-scale model of Rome's Colosseum at 2pm and now it's 2.05pm this must be Mykonos! Keen to brush up on German architectural styles? Just head to 'Germany', where you'll find it all, from Gothic red brick and cute half-timber to curvaceous baroque. This place even has a big mouse walking around – sound familiar? OK, so he's got small ears and is called Euro- maus, but still... 444 445 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG Book accommodation online at lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com SOUTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Northeast of Freiburg lonelyplanet.com SOUTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Northeast of Freiburg Shuttle buses (hourly in the morning) link the Ringsheim train station, on the Freiburg– Offenburg line, with the park. By car, take the A5 to Herbolzheim (exit 58). Vitra Design Museum The Vitra Design Museum (%07621-702 3200; www .design-museum.de; Charles-Eames-Strasse 1; adult/concession €7.50/6; h10am-6pm, to 8pm Wed), 50km south of Freiburg in Weil am Rhein (just across the Rhine from Basel, Switzerland, and St-Louis, France), hosts thought-provoking temporary exhibitions of contemporary design. The mu- seum's striking modern building – all angles and curves – was designed by Frank Gehry. Nearby buildings – on the campus of the Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra – by architects such as Tadao Ando, Nicholas Grimshaw, Zaha Hadid and Alvaro Siza, can be visited on a two-hour architectural tour (admission €9, incl the museum €13; hnoon & 2pm). Taking the tour is the only way to see 100 chairs from Vitra's collection. To get there by car, get off the A5 at Weil am Rhein (exit 69). By public transport, take bus 55 from Basel's Badischer Bahnhof, linked to Freiburg (€10 or €17, 35 or 63 minutes, hourly in each price category). You can also walk (it takes about 15 minutes) from the Weil am Rhein train station, an easy trip from Freiburg (€9.10, 50 minutes, hourly). NORTHEAST OF FREIBURG St Peter %07660 / pop 2500 The folk of the bucolic village of St Peter, on the southern slopes of Mt Kandel (1243m), are deeply committed to their ancient tradi- tions and customs. On religious holidays and Sunday mornings you can see the villagers, from young boys and girls to grey-haired pensioners, proudly sporting their colourful, handmade Trachten (folkloric costumes). The most outstanding local landmark is the former Benedictine abbey, a rococo jewel designed in the 1720s by the masterful Peter Thumb of Vorarlberg. Many of the period's top artists collaborated on the sumptuous interior decoration of the twin-towered red-sandstone church (hopen daily), including Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer, who carved the gilded statues of various Zähringer dukes af- fixed to the pillars. Guided tours (€4; in Ger- man) take you inside the monastery complex, including the rococo library. Secularised in 1806, the complex served as a Catholic semi- nary from 1842 to 2006 and is now a Catholic- run spiritual centre. The tourist office (%910 224; www.st-peter -schwarzwald.de, in German; Klosterhof 11; h9am-noon & 2-5pm Mon-Fri Easter-Oct, 10am-noon Sat Jul & Aug, 9am-noon Mon-Fri, 2-5pm during school holidays Nov-Easter) is under the archway leading to the Klosterhof (the abbey courtyard) and the church. A nearby information panel shows room availability. By public transport, the best way to get from Freiburg to St Peter is to take the train to Kirchzarten (13 minutes, two or three an hour) and then bus 7216 (24 minutes, two or three an hour); a few buses on the 7216 run begin at Freiburg's bus station. St Peter is on the Schwarzwald Panorama- strasse (Black Forest Panorama Road; www.schwarzwald -panoramastrasse.de), a 50km-long scenic route from Waldkirch (26km northeast of Freiburg) to Hinterzarten (5km west of Titisee) with dreamy mountain views. Triberg %07722 / pop 5400 Wedged into a narrow valley and framed by three mountains (hence the name), Triberg is the undisputed capital of cuckoo-clock coun- try. Numerous shops sell the rustic but annoy- ing timepieces – one place (at Hauptstrasse 79) is proud of having over a thousand cuckoo clocks on hand, all locally made except for a few from Switzerland. The latest commercial quartz models are equipped with a sensor that puts the cuckoo to sleep when the lights in the room are off. Two local structures claim the title of the weltgröste Kuckucksuhr (world's largest cuckoo clock), giving rise to the 'War of the Cuckoos', with Triberg in one corner and Schonach in the other. In fact, both places look pretty much like the same village, except perhaps to those who live there. Attractions unconnected to timekeeping include Germany's highest waterfall and an excellent museum of local culture. ORIENTATION & INFORMATION Triberg's main drag is the B500 – known in town as Hauptstrasse and Wallfahrtstrasse – which runs more-or-less parallel to the Gutach River except around the waterfall, where it does some fancy switchbacks. The town's focal point is the Marktplatz, a steep 1.2km uphill from the Bahnhof, which is at Hauptstrasse's northeastern (lower) end, not far from where the B500 meets the B33. The Triberg area markets itself as Ferienland (Holidayland; www.dasferienland.de) to visitors. Post office On Marktplatz next to the Rathaus. Tourist office (%866 490; www.triberg.de, in German; Wahlfahrtstrasse 4; h10am-5pm) On the B500, 50m uphill from the river, inside the Schwarzwald-Museum. SIGHTS For a well-presented overview of the Triberg region's history and customs, head for the Schwarzwald-Museum (%4434; www.schwarzwald museum.de; Wallfahrtstrasse 4; adult/child 5-13yr/child 14- 17yr/family €4.50/2.50/3/10; h10am-5pm). Exhibits include a clockmaker's shop, a mock mineral mine, mechanical musical instruments and some outrageous hats, must-have accesso- ries for the well-dressed local Fraülein of the 1850s. Yosemite Falls they ain't but Germany's tallest Wasserfälle (waterfalls) do exude their own wild romanticism. Fed by the Gutach River, they plunge 163m in seven cascades bordered by mossy rocks. Energy has been generated here since 1884, when the eleva- tion differential was first harnessed to power the town's electric street lamps. There are five access points to the lushly wooded gorge (%2724; adult/child 8-16yr/family €2/0.70/4.50), and one of them is just down the hill from the Schwarzwald-Museum. It's annoying to have to pay to experience nature but in this case the fee is worth it. The gorge is officially open (depending on the weather) from March or April to October or early November, and from 25 to 30 December. The rest of the time there's no fee but you enter at your own risk because of the snow and ice. The Naturerlebnispark (admission free), almost across the street from the Schwarzwald- Museum, is a children's playground with imaginative, mostly wooden constructions. Triberg's underdog World's Biggest Cuckoo Clock, complete with oversized gear-driven innards, can be found about 1km further up the hill in Schonach, inside a snug little house (%4689; www.dold-urlaub.de; Untertalstrasse 28; admission €1, h9am-noon & 1-6pm). Its commer- cially savvy rival (%962 20; www.uhren-park.de; Schonachbach 27; admission €1.50; h9am-6pm Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm Sun Easter-Oct), listed in Guinness, is at the other end of town, integrated into a large clock shop on the B33 between Triberg and Hornberg. SLEEPING & EATING DJH hostel (%4110; www.jugendherberge-triberg.de; Rohrbacher Strasse 35; dm 1st/subsequent night €17.90/14.70; n) Triberg's 125-bed hostel is on a scenic ridge on the southeastern edge of town. It's a steep 45-minute (3km) walk from the Hauptbahnhof but you can take any bus to the Marktplatz, from where it's just 1200m uphill. Hotel Central (%4360; hotel-central-triberg@online .de; Hauptstrasse 64; s/d/tr from €30/55/70; p) Facing the Rathaus, this 14-room hotel has a late-'70s vibe and smallish rooms with all the amenities tightly packed in. There's an elevator from the bank's fore-lobby. Parkhotel Wehrle (%860 20; www.parkhotel-wehrle .de; Hauptstrasse 51; s €74-84, d €109-129; pis) A haven of style in Triberg's sea of exuberant kitsch – even well-travelled Ernest Heming- way, in Triberg to check out the local trout streams, was enchanted by his stay here. The 50 rooms have classic décor, including touches such as bevelled glass, and sexy trans- parent shower stalls. The main building, just down the hill from the Rathaus, will turn 400 in 2008. A new pool and 'wellness clinic' are set to open in 2007. In the kitchen, the chef works his magic with creativity and panache; mains cost €16 to €22. GETTING THERE & AWAY The Schwarzwaldbahn railway line goes southeast to Villingen (25 minutes) and Kon- stanz (€19.10, 11⁄2 hours) to the northwest Offenburg (€9.10, 45 minutes, hourly) is on the Frankfurt–Freiburg line. DEMOCRACY, PEACE & CUCKOO CLOCKS In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. Harry Lime (played by Orson Welles) in The Third Man Welles apparently ad-libbed the scene that produced this famous quote in the classic 1949 film. In fact, cuckoo clocks, as we know them, originated in Germany's Black Forest sometime in the 1700s. 446 447 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG B l o o o n k e a l c y c p o ml a mn o e d t a . c t i o o n m o n l i n e a t l o n e l y p l a n e t . c o m SOUTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Southeast of Freiburg SOUTHERN BLACK FOREST •• Northeast of Freiburg lonelyplanet.com Bus 7160 travels north through the Gutach and Kinzig valleys to Offenburg; bus 7265 heads south to Villingen via St Georgen (one hour). GETTING AROUND There's a bus service between the Bahnhof and the Marktplatz, and on to the nearby town of Schonach, about once an hour (€1.65). Villingen-Schwenningen %Villingen 07721, Schwenningen 07720 / pop 82,000 When Villingen and Schwenningen (VS for short) were joined in 1972, the union couldn't have been more unlikely. Villingen is a spa town with a medieval layout; Schwenningen is a clock-making centre less than a century old. What's worse, Villingen used to belong to the Grand Duchy of Baden, while Schwen- ningen – more or less where the Neckar River begins – was part of the duchy of Württemberg, conflicting allegiances that apparently can't be reconciled. From the tourist's point of view, Villingen definitely has more to offer, though Schwennin- gen has a couple of museums devoted to clock- making. ORIENTATION & INFORMATION Villingen's Altstadt, surrounded by a ring road, is crisscrossed by two wide and mostly pedestrianised main streets: north–south Obere Strasse and its continuation, Niedere Strasse, and east–west Bickenstrasse and its continuation, Rietstrasse. The Bahnhof and the regional bus station are just east of the ring on Bahnhofstrasse. Schwenningen's centre is about 5km east of Villingen's Altstadt. Post office (Bahnhofstrasse 6, Villingen) Schwenningen tourist office (in the Bahnhof; h9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat) Villingen tourist office (%822 340; www.tourismus -vs.de, www.villingen-schwenningen.de, in German; Rietgasse 2, ie Rietstrasse 35; h9am-5pm Mon-Sat, 11am-5pm Sat) In the Franziskaner Museum. SIGHTS The focal point of Villingen's Altstadt, still protected by ramparts and three towers, is the mostly Gothic Münster (Münsterplatz). Situated a block north of Rietstrasse, it has a striking pair of disparate spires, one overlaid with coloured tiles, the other thin and spiky. The west and south portals are Romanesque and both have modern bronze haut-relief doors showing dramatic Biblical scenes. Inside, the nave is ba- roque. Old-style buildings around Münsterplatz include the Altes Rathaus (old town hall). The Franziskaner Museum (%822 351; Rietgasse 2; adult/concession €3/2; h1-5pm Tue-Sat, 11am-5pm Sun & holidays), just inside the Riettor (a city gate), is housed in a former Franciscan monastery. The collections illuminate the town's art and culture through the centuries. Tickets to cul- tural events are sold at the desk next to the café. Enter via Rietstrasse 35. Also run by the museum is Magdalenenberg (%822 351; Rietgasse 2; adult/concession €3/2; h1-5pm Tue-Sat, 11am-5pm Sun & holidays), an in situ Celtic burial chamber in Villingen's southwestern outskirts, 30 minutes on foot from the centre. Schwenningen's main draw is the extremely well-presented Uhrenindustriemuseum (Clock In- dustry Museum; %380 44; www.uhrenindustriemuseum .de; Bürkstrasse 39, Schwenningen; adult/concession €3/2; h10am-noon & 2-6pm Tue-Sun), situated in an old clock factory four blocks northwest of Schwenningen's Bahnhof. At the eastern edge of Schwenningen, the Internationales Luftfahrt-Museum (%663 02; Spittelbronner Weg 78, Schwenningen; h9am-7pm Mar-Oct, 9am-5pm Nov-Feb), at the airfield, displays 50 old aircraft ranging from biplanes to MiGs. It's served by buses 8 and 8a. Villingen-Schwenningen is the southern ter- minus of the Neckartal-Radweg (see p392), one of Baden-Württemberg's premier bike trails. SLEEPING & EATING There are several food shops and inexpen- sive eateries along Niedere Strasse and Obere Strasse. DJH hostel (%541 49; www.jugendherberge.de; St- Georgener Strasse 36; dm 1st/subsequent night €18.30/15.10; n) This 128-bed hostel is at the northwestern edge of town. Take bus 3 or 4 to Triberger Strasse. Hotel Bären (%206 9690; www.hotel-baeren.biz; Bärengasse 2, Villingen; s/d from €52/80; pn) This friendly and central Villingen hotel, recently renovated, has 16 spacious rooms with high- quality modern furnishings. Vitala (Obere Strasse 11; h9am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 8am- 2pm or 6pm Sat) is an organic grocery, and there's also a Plus supermarket (Obere Strasse 16) for picnic supplies. GETTING THERE & AROUND Villingen's Bahnhof is on the scenic Schwarz- waldbahn railway line from Konstanz and Donaueschingen to Triberg (25 minutes) and Offenburg. Schwenningen's Bahnhof is on the secondary line to Rottweil, where you can change for Stuttgart. To get to Freiburg change in Donaueschingen. From Villingen, bus 7265 makes regular trips north to Triberg via St Georgen. Villingen-Schwenningen is just west of the Stuttgart–Singen A81 and is also crossed by the B33 to Triberg and the B27 to Rottweil. Frequent buses (for example lines 1 and 1S) link Villingen with Schwenningen. Bikes can be hired from Hermann Fleig (%24 687; Rietgasse 5, Villingen), near the tourist office. SOUTHEAST OF FREIBURG Höllental Jagged, near-vertical rock faces, alternating with tree-covered hillsides, dwarf everything beneath them along the wildly romantic Höl- lental (Hell's Valley). It begins about 15km east of Freiburg and stretches along (and above) the serpentine B31 and the tracks of the Höllentalbahn, which passes through nine tunnels on its way from Freiburg to Donau- eschingen. The best way to experience the gorge is on foot – a trail goes all the way from Freiburg to Titisee. Fans of wordplay will note that the Höl- lental's western gateway is the village of Him- melreich (Kingdom of Heaven), from where the valley continues east to Hinterzarten, 5km west of Titisee. Somewhere in the middle, not far from a death-defying hairpin curve, is a rest stop called Teufelsschwänzli ('devil's tail' in the local dialect). At the Hirschsprung (Stag's Leap), the nar- rowest point of the valley, a male deer being pursued by hunters is said to have saved itself by leaping across the abyss. The stag there now – a statue – looks a bit hesitant, as if he's having second thoughts about trying anything fancy. The canyon is so deep here that the bot- tom is in deep shade until e of the largest libraries anywhere. The so-called Reichenauer School produced stunning illuminated manuscripts and vivid frescoes. Today, three surviving churches provide silent testimony to the Golden Age of Reich- enau, and it is thanks to them that the island was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2000. About two-thirds of the island is taken up by vegetable cultivation. A 2km-long tree-lined causeway connects the mainland with the island, which is served by bus 7372 from Konstanz (most runs begin at Wollmatingen-Urisberg). The Konstanz– Schaffhausen and Konstanz–Radolfzell ferries stop off at Reichenau. MEERSBURG %07532 / pop 5500 Meersburg is a postcard-perfect romantic vil- lage, scenically perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking Lake Constance and surrounded by vineyards and orchards. Its historic Ober- stadt (Upper Town) has a labyrinth of nar- row, pedestrian-only lanes that are lined with half-timbered houses and stately baroque buildings; some have their construction dates carved into their lintels. Two castles lord over the bustling Unterstadt (Lower Town) and its seafront promenade, where the touristic over- load is even more pronounced than up top. Orientation & Information Walking downhill from the church, across the street from the tourist office, will take you to the Marktplatz, the heart of the Oberstadt. Go through the Rathaus arch and you're at the castles. Steigstrasse will take you down to the Unterstadt and the harbour. Post office (Am Bleicheplatz) Across the intersection from the church. Schickeria (%6887; Stettener Strasse 3; per hr €4; hnoon-midnight) Internet access. Tourist office (%431 110; Kirchstrasse 4; www .meersburg.de; h9am-12.30pm & 2-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat May-Sep, 9am-noon & 2-4.30pm Mon-Fri Oct-Apr) Housed in a one-time Dominican monastery. Internet access costs €3 per
Many industries, including DEHOMAG, a predecessor of IBM, were relocated to Hechingen from damaged areas of Germany, such as Berlin. Parts of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society were also relocated there. In April 1945, American troops entered Hechingen and took over the atomic research laboratory and nuclear reactor. Many of the physicists were interned in Farm Hall in England and tried over the following years. Many of the scientists went on to have successful postwar careers for instance; on 15 November 1945 the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that Otto Hahn had been awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his discovery of the fission of heavy atomic nuclei."
Adolf-Hitler-Platz, now ObertorplatzLocated 37 miles south of Stuttgart, during the start of Nazi rule most of the businesses in Hechingen were in Jewish hands and were closed or 'aryanised'. Much of the architecture of the city was destroyed or damaged by Nazi attempts to build air raid shelters in public buildings. Here is St. Johnnes Kirche, from an 1880 engraving and today.
Many industries, including DEHOMAG, a predecessor of IBM, were relocated to Hechingen from damaged areas of Germany, such as Berlin. Parts of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society were also relocated there. In April 1945, American troops entered Hechingen and took over the atomic research laboratory and nuclear reactor. Many of the physicists were interned in Farm Hall in England and tried over the following years. Many of the scientists went on to have successful postwar careers for instance; on 15 November 1945 the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that Otto Hahn had been awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his discovery of the fission of heavy atomic nuclei."
The town has completely restored its nineteenth-century synagogue, shown here in 1937 and today.
|The town hall sporting swastikas and today
Richard Drauz, who had been born into a respected Heilbronn family, became Heilbronn's NSDAP Kreisleiter (District Leader) in 1932 . He was also elected to the Reichstag from 1933 on and pushed hard for the Gleichschaltung of the Heilbronn clubs and press in Nazi Germany.
On July 28, 1935, the port was opened in a canal off the Neckar, and 1936 saw the Autobahn between Heilbronn and Stuttgart completed. Economy and infrastructure were booming in Württemberg, and Heilbronn was at the logistic centre of it all. As the result of a district reform on October 1, 1938, Heilbronn became the seat of the newly created Heilbronn County and regained independent city status. At the same time the previously independent communities of Böckingen, Sontheim, and Neckargartach were annexed, and with 72,000 residents Heilbronn then was the second largest city in Württemberg. The port turned into an important transfer station on the Neckar and one of the ten largest interior ports in the country. On November 10, 1938, the Heilbronn synagogue was destroyed during the Kristallnacht. Soon thereafter the Jewish community was all but eliminated. Starting in 1942 during World War II, the salt mines in and around Heilbronn were used to store art and artefacts from Germany, France, and Italy. Similarly, important producers of the war industry were moved into the mine shafts. The expansion of the shafts was undertaken by labour brigades of the concentration camp branches in Kochendorf and Neckargartach. From Heilbronn all the way to Neckarelz numerous subterraneous complexes, some of them gigantic, were constructed; on November 20, 1942, the Heilbronn Bureau of Labour had 8,000 forced labourers registered in its district.
In 1940 allied air raids began, and the city and its surrounding area were hit about 20 times with minor damage. On September 10, 1944, a raid by the allies targeted the city specifically, in particular the Böckingen train transfer station. As a result of 1,168 bombs dropped that day, 281 residents died. The city was carpet-bombed from the southern quarter all the way to the Kilianskirche in the centre of town. The church was burnt out. The catastrophe for Heilbronn was the bombing raid on December 4, 1944. During that raid the city centre was completely destroyed and the surrounding boroughs heavily damaged. Within one half hour 6,500 residents perished, most incinerated beyond recognition. Of those, 5,000 were later buried in mass graves in the Ehrenfriedhof (cemetery of honour) in the valley of the Köpfer creek close to the city. A memorial continues to be held annually in memory of those that died that day. As a result of the war Heilbronn's population shrank to 46,350. After a ten-day battle, with the allies advancing over the strategically important Neckar crossings, the war ended for the destroyed city, and it was occupied by the U.S. Army on April 12, 1945. Local NSDAP leader Drauz became a fugitive because of executions of American prisoners of war he had ordered in March 1945. He was eventually arrested, tried, and hanged by the Allies in Landsberg on December 4, 1946.