Castle Road. 3. From Sinsheim to Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Last Updated on 06/04/2023

From this section, the Castle Road leaves the Neckar valley and runs parallel to the A6 autobahn towards Nuremberg. The three main attractions along this stretch are Sinsheim, Schwäbisch Hall and Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Along the way, there are also a few small unknown places worth a visit.

#Castle Road
Autumn in Swabian Tuscany
Part 1 (with map for whole route) Along Neckar from Mannheim to Eberbach.
Part 2 Along Neckar from Zwingenberg to Bad Wimpfen.

Neckarbischofsheim and Heimsheim, which are on the route between Castle Gutenberg and Sinsheim, can be skipped as they are of local importance.

Sinsheim

Sinsheim is interesting primarily not for its city, but for the technics museum and the thermal pool.

The Museum of Technics will take about 3 hours.

Read more about it.

The thermal pool Thermen & Badewelt Sinsheim is now the second main attraction of the city. There are three parts here: saunas, a thermal pool and a sport pool. In the thermal pool, you can drink cocktails at the same time. And in the summer they move the roof, and this is an amazing feeling.

But it has two drawbacks: firstly, children from 5 to 16 years old can get there only on Saturday (for some, this is a dignity) and a high price. If these disadvantages do not suit you, then you should pay attention to other thermal pools in the region: Aquatol (Neckarsulm, more entertaining), Rappsodie (Bad Rappenau, more medicinal), Solebad (Bad Wimpfen, small).

Bad Friedrichshall, Heilbronn

Bad Friedrichshall is a transport node. Of the sights – the salt mine (Salzbergwerk, because of Corona not opened until 2022).

Heilbronn – quite a large industrial city. It was once one of the oldest German cities (first mentioned in 741), a trading port on the river. In 1944, British aircraft destroyed 7,000 residents and 80 percent of buildings. Therefore, there is practically nothing to look at in it now.

From the restored and preserved remnants of history

• the Gothic Town Hall (1417, rebuilt 20 century) with a clock (1580) showing also the days of the week in the form of planets and the months in the form of zodiac signs. Figurs at the clock play every hour (engels, ships), rooster – every 4 hours;
• gothic cathedral of st. Kilian with a tower, considered one of the first Renaissance buildings north of the Alps (16th century), and the restored wooden late Gothic choirs from 1487.

The Neckarsulm, almost merged with Heilbronn, is interesting mainly for the fact that Audi is produced here.

The sights of Bad Friedrichshall and Heilbronn indicated on the official route can be completely neglected. Unless you are interested in Experimenta in Heilbronn – a science museum, very modern and of a high standard.

Weinsberg

But in Weinsberg it is worth stopping by for an hour to see the ruins of a local fortress with curious story.

Weinsberg Fortress – one of the oldest in Germany, was built already in the 10th century. During the struggle between the Hohenstaufens and Welfs (12th century), King Konrad laid siege to the fortress and invited the women to leave it, taking with them the most valuable things. The women left the fortress carrying their husbands. Konrad remained true to his word and spared everyone, and the fortress was named “Women’s Faithfulness” (Weibertreu). In the 16th century, during the peasant war, the fortress was destroyed.

In addition to the ruins of the fortress, the town is distinguished by a large number of roses and vineyards (there is a wine school and wineries). There is a rope park on the hill next to the fortress.

About autumn vineyards routes.

Öhringen, Neuenstein, Waldenburg

Öhringen – a quite nice old town with a 17th century residence, an old church, several half-timbered streets and a fortress wall, in front of which there is a popular park.

At the same time, it cannot be called an obligatory stop on the route. If you decide to stop, then an hour and a half will be enough for everything.

Neuenstein Palace is the former residence of the Counts of Hohenlohe, built in the 16th century on the site of the former castle. From the beginning of the 18th century the counts moved to Öhringen, and the palace was abandoned and used for various purposes. At the beginning of the 20th century it was restored, now there is a museum and an archive. In addition to the valuable things of the family of the Counts of Hohenlohe (and they were very wealthy), in the museum you can see the cuisine of the mid-15th century in original condition.

Waldenburg is a walled town located on the top of a mountain. The fortress was the seat of one of the lines of the family of the Counts of Hohenlohe, then passed to another line. In 1945, the city was almost completely destroyed by the Americans, then rebuilt, so there is no particular point in visiting it. It looks best from below.

Schwäbisch Hall

Schwäbisch Hall is a picturesque half-timbered town. Give at least 3 hours to the city itself. Another 2 hours will take a walk to the Comburg monastery (by car, of course, faster) and another 3 hours – the Wackershofen Open-air Museum.

Read more about Schwäbisch Hall:
part 1 Town,
part 2 Pie and Spring festival,
part 3 Comburg and Wackershofen.

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From Schwäbisch Hall, the road can be laid through Langenburg – with a castle and a museum of vintage cars. There used to be a rope park, but it fell victim to a tree disease.

Next on the map is Kirchberg an der Jagst – a small town with a simple historical center. You can skip it.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Rotenburg, rebuilt after the war, is a favorite tourist destination. It is difficult to say why it gained such popularity, although the less bombed and no less, and in some places more picturesque cities are much less known. Probably the promotion of the Romantic Road helped.

Read about Rothenburg

You need to devote half a day to the city.

About Castle Road:
Part 1 Mannheim – Eberbach
Part 2 Zwingenberg – Bad Wimpfen

Next part 4 Rothenburg ob der Tauber – Bayreuth