Page 310 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Germany

308  SOUTHERN GERM AN Y BADEN-W Ü R T TEMBERG  309

e Heilbronn once renowned the order of Frederick I Barbarossa housed in a Neo-Baroque palace. old centre will yield many
throughout Europe in 1165–75, this was the main Its collection is not limited to the interesting sights, while a climb
Road map C6. * 119,000. £
n Kaiserstraße 17 (07131-56 22 70). for the magnificent and the biggest imperial palace life and work of Schiller, but also to the top of the hill affords a
_ Pferdemarkt (Feb), Neckarfest (Jun). goods produced by (Kaiserpfalz) of the Holy Roman includes many documents splendid view of the town and
its goldsmiths. It Empire. One of the surviving relating to German literature. the Neckar valley, as well as the
Heilbronn’s earliest records date has many great towers offers a spectacular view Other attractions in amazing Innere Brücke, a
from the 8th century, when historic buildings, over the Neckar valley. Marbach include some of 14th-century bridge. From
the town was known as “Heli- mainly churches, Set in a picturesque location, the original half-timbered there visitors can descend
brunna”. By the late 19th such as the late- Bad Wimpfen features many houses and the remains towards the market
century, Heilbronn had become Romanesque church half-timbered houses dating of the town walls and square, stopping on the
Württemberg’s main industrial of St John, which from the 16th–18th centuries. gates in the old town. way to visit Frauenkirche,
centre, with a large port on the dates from around Bad Wimpfen im Tal is built The late-Gothic a Gothic hall-church
river Neckar. Having suffered 1220, but was around the former collegiate Alexanderkirche is also dating from the 14th
major des truction during World Half-timbered houses on the bank of the river Kocher, in subsequently church of St Peter and St Paul. worth a visit. Built in the century. Its front
War II, the town’s surviving Schwäbisch Hall remodelled. The This is a triple-nave basilica with second half of the 12th tower, the work of
buildings include the church of church of St Cross is transept, two eastern towers century by Aberlin Jörg, Ulrich and Matthäus
St Kilian, a Gothic basilica from r Schwäbisch Hall famous not only for being the and cloister, dating from the it features interesting von Ensingen, was
the second half of the 13th cen- Road map C6. * 35,000. £ first Gothic hall-church in 13th–15th centuries. The south network vaulting added later. In the
tury, with a triple-nave hall-choir n Am Markt 9 (0791-751 321). southern Germany, but also façade of the transept and the covered with paintings. market square is the
flanked by two towers. The west- _ Kuchen-und Brunnenfest der the first major work of the portal are richly decorated with Stadtkirche St
ern tower was built in 1508–29. Haller Salzsieder (Whitsun). famous family of architects – carvings, which are probably P Schiller-Geburtshaus Dionysius, the oldest
The magnificent altarpiece is an the Parlers. This triple-nave the work of Erwin von Steinbach, Niklastorstraße 31. church in town, built
original late-Gothic polyptych, Archaeological exca- hall with a hall-choir, one of the builders of Strasbourg Tel (07144) 175 67. Friedrich Schiller in the 13th century
the work of Hans Seyffer (1498). vations in 1939 proved featuring an ambulatory Cathedral. The church interior Open Apr–Sep 9am–5pm; statue in Marbach on the site of an
Near the 15th–16th-century the existence of a Celtic and a ring of side features many original carved Nov–Mar: 10am–4pm. earlier, 8th-century
Rathaus (town hall) is a house settlement on this site as chapels, was built in statues and stalls. Closed 24, 25, 26, 31 Dec. & building. Inside are magnificent
reputed to have been the home early as 500 BC. The town several stages, between E Schiller-Nationalmuseum early-Gothic stained-glass
of Käthchen, a char acter in features a great number 1320 and 1521. Its Schillerhöhe 8–10. Tel (07144) 84 80. windows and late-15th-
Heinrich von Kleist’s play of historic buildings western façade has a u Marbach Open 10am–6pm Tue–Sun. century Gothic furnishings,
Das Käthchen von Heilbronn. from various periods, high triangular top Road map C6. *1,450. £ Closed 24, 25, 26, 31 Dec. & including the choir partition,
Near the rebuilt church of including many half- with blind windows. n Marktstraße 23 (07144-10 22 97) the sacrarium and the font. The
St Peter and St Paul (originally timbered 15th–16th- Inside the church are ∑ schillerstadt-marbach.de . nearby church of St Paul, built
the church of the Teutonic Order) century houses, many valuable historic i Esslingen in the mid-13th century for the
stands the former Teutonic Baroque town houses, relics, such as the This small town would probably Road map C6. *92,000. Dominicans, is the oldest
convent – the Deutschhof. and a Rococo town hall Holy Sepulchre (1400), never merit an entry in any n Marktplatz 2 (0711-396 390). surviving Dominican church in
Heilbronn is also one of and town palace the stalls, which date guidebook were it not for the Germany. In neighbouring
Germany’s largest wine- (Keckenburg). The most from around 1550, fact that in 1759 the great writer Set among vineyards on the Rathausplatz stands the half-
producing towns. interesting building is and the organ Friedrich Schiller was born here. banks of the river Neckar, the timbered old town hall, Altes
the hall-church of St Madonna with Child, gallery (1688). The modest, half-timbered beautiful town of Esslingen is Rathaus, with its beautiful
Michael, whose Gothic in Marktplatz, Other interesting house in which the poet spent famous for its sparkling wines. Renaissance façade, and the
main body was built in Schwäbisch Gmünd structures in the his childhood has survived, and The town’s historic buildings Baroque new town hall.
1427–56. The Romanesque town include the is now a small museum – the were fortunate in surviving Designed as a palace for
tower on the western façade, town fortifications and several Schiller-Geburtshaus. The town intact the ravages of World War Gottlieb von Palm by Gottlieb
however, dates from the half-timbered houses. also possesses a vast museum II. A walk through the winding David Kandlers, the Neues
12th century. The late-Gothic of literature (Schiller- streets and narrow alleys of the Rathaus was built between
hall-choir (1495–1527) is famous Nationalmuseum), which is 1748 and 1751.
for its decorative network vaults. y Bad Wimpfen
Original furnishings include the Road map C6. * 6,676. £
main altar, the stalls and the n Hauptstraße 45 (07063-9 72 00).
Holy Sepulchre. _ Talmarkt (Jun/Jul), Zunftmarkt
(Aug), Weihnachtsmarkt (Dec).
t Schwäbisch ∑ badwimpfen.de
Gmünd The town of Bad Wimpfen was
created out of two settlements,
Road map C6. * 63,400. £ Bad Wimpfen am Berg and Bad
n Marktplatz 37/1 (07171-60 34 Wimpfen im Tal, which remain
250). _ Internationales Schatten- distinct to this day. The settle-
theater Festival (Jun), European ment on top of the hill grew
Church Music (Jul).
around the Hohenstauf family
This town – the birthplace palace, whose chapel and well-
of the architect Peter Parler preserved arcade windows,
Isaak Habrecht’s astronomical clock on and painters Hans Baldung resting on pairs of decorated
Heilbronn town hall Grien and Jörg Ratgeb – was columns, can still be seen. Built at The picturesque houses and chapel of Esslingen’s 14th-century Innere Brücke
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp497–8 and pp522–4

308-309_EW_Germany.indd 308 09/10/17 1:00 pm 308-309_EW_Germany.indd 309 09/10/17 1:00 pm