Swabian Alb map

Last Updated on 14/09/2024

On the Swabian Alb map there are cities and sights below Stuttgart (Stuttgart and surroundings have own map) up to Lake Constance.

Maps around:
North – Around Stuttgart places to visit map,
From Ulm to Ellwangen. Albtrauf and Bavarian Swabia
East – Allgäu
South – Lake Constance
West – High Black Forest map
Middle Black Forest Part 1, Part 2,
Nothern Black Forest

Swabian Alb map

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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

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1. Münsingen

Old town, historical railway with steam locomotives (http://www.bahnhof-muensingen.de/).

Valley Lautertal south of the city with the ruins of several castles.

Wimsener Höhle cave with boat rides (Link)
The cave is small – they show 70 meters, but you travel all these meters on a boat through emerald transparent water. There are 10 people in the boat, two on a bench. Sometimes you have to bend over a lot to avoid hitting your head on the ceiling. The cave is actively visited, so it is recommended to book a place in advance. As a rule, the first half of the day is freer.

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2. Lichtenstein

Picturesque Liechtenstein castle on the rock (www.schloss-lichtenstein.de), rope park (www.abenteuerpark-schlosslichtenstein.de).

Bus from Reutlingen

Two caves in the surroundings – Nebelhöhle and the most known in these region Bärenhöhle (www.hoehlenwelten-sonnenbuehl.de).
The visit to the Nebelhöhle is without a guide. There are many stalagmites and columns in the cave, but they are overgrown with moss and darkened by the constant lighting, which diminishes the impression.

Near a small amusement park (www.freizeitpark-traumland.de).

Nebelhöhle

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3. Gönningen

The small town advertises itself as a flower paradise and promises fields of tulips in the spring (visitors noted that there are flowers, but paradise did not happen, because there are not many of them).

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4. Hechingen, Burg Hohenzollern

Old town, oldtimer museum (www.oldtimermuseum-zollernalb.de), reconstructed roman villa (www.villa-rustica.de).

Hohenzollern Castle nearby.

Town

How to get Hohenzollern castle from Stuttgart

By train to Hechingen station (1 hour from Stuttgart), then by bus 2 (twice a day there and twice back, see the timetable on the website of the castle) or on foot. From the station to the very top – 7 km. From the parking lot somewhere in the middle of the mountain there is a minibus to the top.

If the bus schedule does not suit you (and it is not the most convenient), another option is the local bus, which runs much more often, to the suburb of Boll, from there on foot (about 5 km).

Of course, it would be nice to combine this castle with the castle in Sigmaringen, which is 2 hours by train from Stuttgart and 1 hour from Hechingen. But then you have to forget about the direct bus and get on foot. Bus company website: www.hvb-hechingen.de.

Hohenzollern Castle from afar makes an extraordinary impression, like Neuschwanstein Castle, especially from the south side. But, like Neuschwanstein, this is not an ancient castle. It was built in 1850-1867 by king Friedrich Wilhelm 4 in the neo-Gothic style on the ruins of an ancient family castle of the 15th century, from which by the 19th century only the chapel of St. Michael survived.

Interiors began to be decorated only at the beginning of the 20th century and gradually continue to this day. You can only get inside with a guided tour. The tour schedule is posted below. You will not see anything particular valuable and interesting inside. Of some interest is the treasury with the crown of the Prussian kings.

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5. Haigerloch

A small picturesque town in the hills with a church in the form of a small fortress.

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6. Balingen

A city with a historical center and a small fortress (admission is free). There are steam train excursions. (www.eisenbahnfreunde-zollernbahn.de).

Small amusement park Seerosengarten (Link, trampoline, railway model, etc., price-quality look inappropriate).

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7. Albstadt

The city offers various hiking trails, the historical center.

Near the town Straßberg (8) with a beautiful small fortress (privately owned, no visits).

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8. Sigmaringen and the Danube Valley

Sigmaringen is located in the center of the most beautiful part of the Danube valley. The city itself has a very small historical center and another Hohenzollern castle (www.schloss-sigmaringen.de).
The Danube Valley is the ruins of castles, observation platforms on the rocks, a cave in the town of Kolbingen Link.
Tuttlingen – thermal pool, fortress ruins, steam locomotive museum (Link).

More about the section from Sigmaringen to Tuttlingen: Donautal: Danube source, Danube Valley, Sigmaringen

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9. Neuhausen ob Eck

Open air museum (Link).

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10. Meßkirch

Oldtimer museum (Link), small historical center, medieval village Campus Galli – open-air museum (Link).

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11. Bad Schussenried

Small old town (http://www.bad-schussenried.de) with a large baroque monastery, a historic mill, a museum of beer mugs.

Nearby open air museum Kürnbach (www.museumsdorf-kuernbach.de).

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11. Biberach

Old town, thermal pool

To the west is Federsee. A large marshy lake, with a boardwalk walk through the marsh and an open-air museum dedicated to the pile settlements around Lake Constance (UNESCO). Remains of pile settlements have been found in various places around Lake Constance, so there are also several museums. Link

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16. Ochsenhausen

Historic railway (oechsle-bahn.de).

Other post about #Baden-Württemberg
Around Stuttgart places to visit map,
From Ulm to Ellwangen. Albtrauf and Bavarian Swabia
Allgäu
Lake Constance
High Black Forest map
Middle Black Forest Part 1, Part 2,
Nothern Black Forest