Last Updated on 10/09/2024
Sights of the North Black Forest on the map. There are mainly resort and semi-resort towns with thermal pools, relatively low (compared to the High Black Forest), but rather steep hills.
Adjacent maps:
Around Stuttgart places to visit map
Kraichgau
Alsace. Northern Alsace
Middle Black Forest. Part 1
Alsace attractions from Selestat to Colmar and Eguisheim
Strasbourg (Strassburg). What to see
Everything important that you can see in the region – with notes and links.
1 – top
2 – very good, although not so well known
3 – good for a short vacation or a layover. Several medium-level interesting places
4 – local or specific, not for everyone
Marks without brackets – I was there (there are links to the posts). With brackets – I wasn’t there. Of course, the notes are subjective.
North Black Forest
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1-2. Albtal: Ettlingen, Waldbronn, Karlsbad, Marxzell, Frauenalb, Bad Herrenalb
Ettlingen – Half-timbered town with a small river, baroque palace with a museum (the most interesting thing is probably the chapel, which can be visited with a guided tour), the Lauerturm (you can walk a little along the walls).
From Ettlingen there is a fairly regular steam train through the valley to Bad Herrenalb. Link
In Karlsbad – Rhododendron park Jansen (http://rhododendronpark-jansen.de/) and thermal pool Albtherme.
Waldbronn – thermal pool and ice rink.
Marxzell small museum of oldtimer. Link
Frauenalb monastery ruins. Link
Bad Herrenalb thermal pool, small tile museum
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2. Pforzheim
Pforzheim is famous for its gold mining. The city itself is not of particular interest, as it was badly damaged during the war. See the Jewelery Museum (Schmuckmuseum, Link), visit Wildpark and rope park.
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3. Neuenbürg
In Neuenbürg there are mine (www.frischglueck.de), castles ruins.
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4. Enztal: Bad Wildbad, Enzklösterle
Bad Wildbad has two thermal pools (one specializes in saunas, the other in swimming), the Sommerbergbahn funicular and the Baumwimpelpfad forest observation deck. Link
Numerous mountain bikers also climb up.
Further along the Enzklösterle gorge, where all sorts of entertainment like a 1.5-kilometer toboggan run, a rope park, etc. Krippena 2000 – a collection of carved nativity scenes. Link
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5. Bad Liebenzell
Paracelsus Therme thermal pool, marzipan factory, Polarion skating rink.
Alpaca farm. Link
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Klosterruine in Hirsau
Between Bad Liebenzell and Calw are the Hirsau monastery ruins with a museum of medieval art. Link
Radroute entlang des Nagoldtals
A bike tour in the Black Forest is an attractive idea in summer, as the deep valleys and forests promise shade. However, deep valleys also mean narrow valleys, so there is no room for a bike path and you have to cycle uphill. The map below has such a section between Hirsau and Bad Liebenzell and the climb to the mine in Neubulach.
The side canyons have the same problems: they are too narrow, so cyclists have to either go up and down forest roads or ride on the roadway, which I would not recommend (narrow and busy).
On the map, the main route is marked in blue: this is either cycle paths or quiet roads. The orange section leads through a low-traffic part of the city. The red sections are the roadway. The green route to the mine leads through the forest and steeply uphill.
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6. Calw
Half-timbered town, tannery museum, museum of H. Hesse.
The pretty half-timbered town is located on two levels on the hillside: at the top there is a representative part with a square, church and town hall, and at the bottom there is the shopping area where the locals bustle. In total, there are around 200 houses in the town dating from the late 17th century that are listed buildings.
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7. Teinachertal: Teinach-Zavelstein, Neubulach
Teinach-Zavelstein and Neubulach are small picturesque villages.
In Teinach-Zavelstein thermal pool, castle ruins and a million blooming crocuses in March
About Teinach-Zavelstein in crocus season
In Neubulach there is a mine (http://www.bergwerk-neubulach.de/) and therapeutic galleries.
In the Middle Ages, the mine was used to extract silver, malachite and azurite (for the production of blue dye). At that time, only a few centimetres of rock could be dug in a day. Currently, only the upper galleries are shown: it is a long corridor and several side passages. The tour is not too long, safe for children and quite informative, although not as intense as the Alsace mine.
White spots on the stones signaled to the residents that there might be silver in the rocks and they could try digging. Blue spots are azurite. Azurite and malachite are copper ores.
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8. Murgtal: Gaggenau, Gernsbach, Forbach
Thermal pool and Unimog Museum in Gaggenau.
Old town of Gernsbach.
Hiking trails along the Murg River and the surrounding mountains.
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9. Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden is interesting primarily for walks in the surrounding mountains and rocks.
The city center itself is very small. There is some resort architecture and a couple of pedestrian streets on the steep slope. The center itself looks somewhat abandoned, as does the lower palace of the 15th-17th centuries and the park around it.
The resort park, on the contrary, is not bad.
There are in Baden-Baden:
several small parks,
a funicular,
wooded hills, rocks and the ruins of Hohenbaden Castle (photos further)
several museums, including modern art, Faberge,
a thermal pool,
and parking problems.
It is quite difficult to drive around the city itself, since it is a narrow valley below, the development goes along the slopes and there are very narrow and steep streets everywhere, partially blocked. Expensive, but without the nerves to park at the Kurpark.
Definitely worth a visit to the Rose Park.
About Rose Park in Baden-Baden
A little piece of the old town.
This is what Hohenbaden Castle and the rocks look like from below, from the lower palace. As you can see, there is no point in going all route to ruins (you don’t see anything special, just a forest).
And this is what the lower palace looks like from above (in the lower left corner). The owners did not suffer from modesty – the castle is quite large, but its current condition is sad. Not so long ago, the palace was sold to investors to turn it into a luxury hotel, but the investors were not up to the task. Therefore, the future of the palace is uncertain.
Hohenbaden castle (Link) was built at the beginning of the 12th century. The Margraves of Limburg who settled here began to be called von Baden and actively improved living conditions. The Gothic lower part was added to the main tower. In 1400 a very large hall with vaults was built. This was the brief golden age of the hundred-room castle. Because the castle was located at a considerable height, it was difficult to climb there and provide services to all hundred rooms. Therefore, it made perfect sense that the margraves moved into the city and left the luxurious castle to the widows. Without proper supervision, the castle burned down in the 16th century.
The ruins are worth a visit for their size alone. Only the skeleton of the building remains, but you can climb to the top. The most important things to see are the city, the surrounding hills and the Rhine Valley. A path leads from the castle to the rocks of Battertfelsen.
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Views of the city, the Black Forest and the cliffs, which are not that far from the castle.
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10. Rastatt
Baroque city with the corresponding residence and the interesting Favoriten Schloss palace with a porcelain collection. Link
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