Reutlingen, nestled at the foot of the northwestern hills of the Swabian Jura, is a lovable historic town and a springboard for people exploring the mountains. The main sights are in the compact pedestrian zone, where you will pass old gate towers, a medieval half-timbered hospital from the 13th century and the Gothic Marienkirche, which is covered with a golden angel.
Much of the medieval city was destroyed by fire in 1726, but the rebuilding earned Reutlingen its place in the record books when it gave us the Spreuerhofstraße. It is the narrowest street in the world, only 31 inches high at the most crowded spot.
Let’s explore the best things to do in Rovtlingen:
1. Mariankirka
Mariankirche was built between 1247 and 1343 and is one of the most beautiful Gothic churches in Württemberg.
Standing near the west portal, you will need to tilt your head back to identify the golden statue of an angel at the top of the 71-foot-tall tower.
This 140cm statue has been in place since the church was completed in 1343, with only minor disturbances all this time.
Come also to the eastern side of the Weibermarkt to check out the performance of the tracking instruments on the front of the choir, which dates to the second half of the 13th century.
Enter the decorative baptismal font, sculpted in sandstone in 1499 and with reliefs in its niches depicting the baptism of Jesus and the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church.
2. Tubinger Tor
One of only two of the seven gates of the city of Roitlingen that survived until the 21st century, the Tübinger Tor is from 1235 and received its current design as early as 1330 when it was reinforced with a wooden roof.
This tower was where one of Roitlingen’s four night watchmen surveyed the city.
Their role was less in identifying enemies approaching the city than in identifying fire when the city fell victim to a series of fires, including that devastating fire in 1726. The name of course comes from the town of Tübingen, about 15 miles west of Rotterdam.
On the top floor framed the tree of the tower is a conference hall for special events.
3. I will dream
Part of Ravtlingen as the Marienkirche or Tübinger Tor, Achalm is a mountain 707 meters high at the foot of the Swabian Jura.
The rounded summit, surrounded by forest, is a facility on the eastern horizon of the city, and at the summit are faint traces of a medieval castle from the 1000s.
The trip of crushing the calves to the summit is not easy, but after the conquest of Achlam, you will encounter a spectacular view of Roitlingen and the Swabian Jura.
That stronghold at its head was abandoned as early as the 14th century, and its walls were demolished after the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th century and used as building material in the city.
In 1838 the remaining material was used to build an 18-meter-long observation tower, which can still be climbed.
4. Pomology
The name of this park is a reminder of its original purpose: Pomology was established in 1860 for a research institute on pomology (fruit research). The garden was a practical training ground for the institute’s students, and although the institute is not long ago, Pomology is still laden with more than 65 types of fruit trees.
These were redesigned in 2014 and numbered 52 types of apple trees, six pear varieties, three types of plums, three types of cherries and two different walnut trees.
Away from the orchards, the park was redesigned in 1984 for the Ruitlingen State Garden Exhibition and has a rose garden, water features and intertwined lawns with walking trails.
5. Spreuerhofstraße
Reitlingen has the narrowest street in the world.
At the exit of the main road from Spegershofstraße, Spreuerhofstraße is about 50 meters away and has a fork in the middle of the road along with two parallel branches.
The average width is only 40 centimeters, and the narrowest point is in house number 9, where for 3.9 meters the gap widens to a width of only 31 centimeters, slightly higher than the height of the A4 sheet. The street was created following that fire in 1726, which claimed 80% of the buildings in Rutlingen, and among the famous figures who crossed the gap is former Chinese President Hu Jintao.
6. Hold Ofer Peped
You can leave the city streets behind for a few minutes and follow the idyllic route of the Hachaz River, a small tributary of a woodpecker that flows south to the center of Reitlingen.
The trail starts right in front of the Rathaus and then guides you for about one kilometer to the corner of Lindachstraße and Lederstraße.
In the Middle Ages many of the properties by the water belonged to professions such as tanning, as the name Lederstraße (Skin Street) implies.
On the trail there are nine information boards, pointing to the fish, plants, geology, waterfowl and historic industry on the waterfront of the river.
7. Reutlinger Heimatmuseum
The museum’s local history of the city is located in the Königsbronner Klosterhof, one of the oldest secular buildings in Reutlingen.
The lower stone floor dates to 1278, while the wooden frame on the upper floors dates from 1537. The museum’s artefacts were first assembled in the 1980s, and the exhibition tells you everything you need to know about Roitlingen over the centuries.
The 1500s were particularly interesting, and there is information about the time of the prominent reformer Matthias Albert in Mariankirche.
Between the 1500s and 1700s 12 of the Roitlingen craft guilds lasted in the city, and there is an exhibition on their activities on the first floor.
The basement, meanwhile, contains a shelter for World War II airstrikes, and tells the story of life in Rautlingen under the Nazis, while outside a garden is surrounded by a wall with an epidemic that includes fragments from the city’s old walls.
8. Marketplace
While touring Reitlingen, you are sure to encounter the Market Square, central to everyday life since 1180 when the city gained market privileges.
After the square today you can find cafes, a bakery, an ice cream parlor and it has some monuments that need attention.
In the upper corner is the Spitalhof, a former 13th-century hospital.
On summer nights, the hotel’s courtyard becomes an open – air cinema.
In front is meanwhile the Maximilianbrunnen, with a statue from 1570 in honor of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II. Another thing to keep in mind is the cobbled contours of the old town hall, commemorating the building lost in the fire in 1726. And finally, there is no better time to be in Martplatz than on Tuesday, Thursday (summer only) or Saturday mornings when the market’s 80 stalls sell their wares.
9. Urban Art Museum
One building that went through the fire of 1726 completely undamaged is the delightful Spendhaus from 1518. Until the 1800s, this tall half-timbered building was a warehouse for donated agricultural goods, and since 1989 has housed the Ruitlingingen Municipal Art Museum.
The exhibition is intended primarily for local art from the 1900s and 2000s.
Two of Roitlingen’s most prominent artists of the time are Wilhelm Laga (1868-1930) and HAP Grieshaber (1909-1981), both with woodcuts, bringing modern sensibilities to traditional technique.
Grieshaber’s printing press can be found in the vaulted basement of the building, and temporary galleries are held in the galleries downstairs.
10. Grantor
On the north side of the Altstadt is another of the old towers of the city, built of stone and with a half-timbered upper floor.
What is interesting about Gartentor is that despite the name it was not actually a gate until 1700 when a portal opened beneath it.
Before that the tower was closed to traffic, and there was no way to even cross the canal that would surround the old city.
His main role was as an additional vantage point for the Roitlingen tormer.
The tower also served as a prison throughout the days of Roitlingen as an imperial city, until the founding of the Kingdom of Württemberg in the early 19th century.
11. Uracher Waterfall
The first of several equal places on a short drive from Roitlingen is a magical waterfall outside Bad Urach.
You can start by following the route of the Bruhlbach spring, which rises from a depth of 37 meters and flows a short way to the top of the waterfall.
Here it empties down a 50-meter-high mossy tufa cliff, in one column or several channels, depending on the volume of water.
When the snow melts on the Swabian Jura the volume can reach up to 420 liters per second, and less than 70 in mid-summer.
12. Schloss Lichtenstein
On a rocky slope at the northwestern tip of the Swabian Jura sits a castle of legendary resurrection built for Wilhelm, Duke of Orach.
Schloss Lichtenstein may look like it is medieval, but designed in the fashionable gothic revival style of the early 1940s.
Its owner, Wilhelm was the son of the Duke of Württemberg, and a romantic and historian, decided he wanted to live in a medieval castle like the one in his favorite novel, Liechtenstein by Wilhelm Hauff. The castle was built and designed in just two years and can only be accessed through a wooden bridge.
The inner walls are decorated with murals, and you can also browse the Count’s historical canons collection.
13. Governor
If you are in Rutlingen for more than a day or two, you must obtain a loaf of bread from a bakery.
There is no chance that you will be able to miss them because they have a star shape with eight points.
No one is really sure why bread has this shape: one theory says it mimics the shape of Achlem, another that the eight dots represent each of the medieval guilds, and perhaps the most likely explanation is that it mimics the star of Bethlehem.
This is because a governorate (literally, governor day) falls on the first Thursday after the revelation.
And on this day people play dice games together, and the winner gets to eat parts of the governor.
And as for the taste, it’s usually salty, but there are also sweet versions with a coating.
14. Ruitlinger Windorf
For 11 days in the second half of August a wine fair is held at the foot of the Marienkirche.
At Reutlinger Winddorf you will meet men and women dressed in traditional Swabian attire, and you can try some regional specialties like Maultasche (whole pasta) and Spätzle, which are egg noodles, usually with lentils and sausage, sauerkraut or beef. stew.
There is jazz music, alphorons, accordion orchestras and a barrel rolling competition.
But of course the wine occupies the center of the stage, and in 13 stalls and two tents you can taste the best wines of the region.
There are more than 150, many made with the dominant red Trellinger grape, but also the German classic, Riesling.
15. Christmas Market
For a month from the end of November the pedestrian street of Roitlingen is swept away with seasonal joy.
The streets around the Marienkirche are characterized by small huts selling all kinds of handmade items and typical Christmas treats.
The streets sparkle with light decorations, and if you come with children they have a lot to get up to.
The town is setting up a skating rink, a petting zoo, a children’s bakery and a Mongolian yurt where legends are read.
Parents can indulge in a glass of Gluhwein, while a classic delicacy to taste in Swabia at Christmas is Hutzelbrot, baked with dried fruit and nuts.
Where to stay: The best hotels in Reutlingen, Germany
Guarantee the lowest price.
