Baden-Württemberg
Art, Archaeology & History Sites & Museums
From the archaeology of Ice Age caves in the Swabian Alps to the patenting of the automobile in January 1886. From one of the largest Roman cavalry forts north of the Alps to a dynastic family seat at Hohenzollern Castle. Picturesque and historic villages and cities with modern architecture. Baden-Württemberg has some 40,000 of years worth of history and creativity to explore. This is the state of the Black Forest, an iconic area in Germany that has been attracting tourists for centuries. And apparently this is the German state with the most hours of sunshine and the most restaurants awarded Michelin stars.
This page, part of our Germany Travel Guide, provides details of the art, archaeology and history sites, museums and related attractions to visit in the state of Baden-Württemburg. Readers wishing to visit these places will find visitor information, links to official websites as well as other helpful resources. Those who have an account can create their own travel lists and itineraries. To benefit fully from this website’s travel planning features, see the User’s Guide. The information on this page has been put together by various members of the Archaeology Travel team, based on both personal visits and research.
Archaeology & History Sites in Baden-Württemberg
Archäologische Park Ostkastell - Roman Fort
The Archaeological Park of Ostkastell (east castle) has been developed on the site of a Roman fort built on the Limes. The fort was built in 160 AD and covered an area of 1.6 ha, housing a garrison of between 150 and 200 men. The site has been known since the mid 19th century at least, with the first excavations taking place at the end of that century. They continue until very recently. Some of the features of the site have been left exposed, including the foundations of a bath house. The west gate has been reconstructed. Interestingly, the fort was located just beyond the Limes, technically outside the Roman Empire.
Bachritter Castle
Bachritter Castle is a construction of a typical medieval motte and bailey castle. The simple wooden castle is the result of a scientific collaboration between archaeologists, building researchers, architects and traditional craftsmen, using traditional techniques, tools and methods. It was built near the site of a 14th century castle that burned down in 1392. With guided tours on offer, visitors are introduced to the way and quality of life for a minor Upper Swabian nobleman. From late spring right up to Advent, the Friends of Bachritter host regular medieval themed events, including a medieval Advent market.
Ellwangen Abbey / St Vitus Basilica
Ellwangen Abbey was the first Benedictine Monastery in the historic Duchy of Swabia. The monastery was established in 764 CE by two brothers, Herulph and Ariolf. In 814 it became an Imperial Abbey, under the protection of the Holy Roman Empire. Although the abbey was dissolved during the secularisation of 1802, most of the buildings are still in tact but not used for ecclesiastic purposes. Consecrated in 1233, the Late Romanesque St. Vitus Basilica is today the Paris church of Ellwangen.
Ellwangen Castle & Museum
From about 1460 the castle of Zllwangen served as the residence of the Prince-provosts. Although the castle was remodelled in a Baroque style around 1726, visitors to the castle can still see evidence of its earlier architectural grandeur. Today the castle is administrated by the State of Baden-Württemberg, and it hosts a museum with permanent exhibitions that comprise spectacular objects from over 1,200 years of the building’s history and influence in the region.
Hohenzollern Castle
On the edge of the Swabian Alps atop Mount Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern Castle has breathtaking views. The current castle, built in Gothic revival style between 1846 and 1867, is the third castle to have been built here. Since the 11th century this has been the ancestral home of the House of Hohernzollern, specifically the Swabian branch of the family. Besides being able to tour historic rooms, a number of artefacts from the Prussian royal family are on display, including the Crown of Wilhelm II.
Holy Cross Minster
Built between 1315 and 1521 on the site of a Romanesque church, the Gothic Minster in Schwäbisch Gmünd is the oldest hall church in southern Germany. As the first church to have been built by the Parler family it is of significant art historical importance. And is well known for its collection of gargoyles. With over 300 objects spanning a period of 600 years, the church treasury is one of the most extensive in Baden-Württemberg – some of which is on display in the Prediger Museum. A selection of the original stone carvings are on display in the nearby Johanniskirche. After the collapse of the towers in 1497, the bells were reinstalled in an adjacent bell tower.
Johanniskirche
Officially the subsidiary church of St. John the Baptist of the Catholic parish church of the Holy Cross Minster of Schwäbisch Gmünd, this typical basilica is well known for its Neo-Romanesque decoration. It was built in the early 13th century at the height of the power and influence of the Staufen Dynasty, and the tower added sometime later. Gothic and Baroque elements were added in subsequent restoration projects. In 1879 the striking paintings were added to the nave and apse. The interior serves as a lapidarium for the replaced carved stone, including original stone elements and gargoyles from the nearby Minster. The tower can be climbed to enjoy great views over the city.
Limes Watch Tower, Lorch
Just east of Lorch, near the 12th century Lorch monastery, the Upper German Limes meets the Raetian Limes. And at that intersection stands a reconstructed timber watchtower, with a small section of the palisade that would have demarcated the border. This is the spot where a stone tower is supposed to have stood. The reconstruction is not historically accurate, as there is no evidence of wooden towers in this part of the Limes. Nevertheless, it gives some idea of what the watchtowers were like. Visitors are able to climb the tower to the landing. And the view up the Rems Valley is spectacular.
Old Castle, Stuttgart
At the heart of the old city, still commanding an imposing sight, is the Altes Schloss. Originally built for the Duke of Swabia in the mid 10th century, in the 13th century it became the residence of the House of Württemberg. The moated stronghold, walls of which can still be seen in the basement, became a luxury Renaissance castle. With the building of the New Palace in the mid 18th century, the castle was then all but an outbuilding. Today the castle is home to the State Museum of Württemberg, one of the finest history museums in Germany.
Roman Cavalry Fort, Aalen
This cavalry fort, situated along the Rhaetian Limes, was the largest such fort in Europe north of the Alps. The fort was built in the mid 2nd century CE, and abandoned by circa 260 CE. Over 1,000 soldiers of the Ala II Flavia Miliaria were stations here. As part of the defensive system along the northern edge of the Roman Empire in what is upper Germany today, the Rhaetian Limes is a listed UNESCO World Heritage site. Next to the ruins of the fort is one of the biggest Roman museums in Germany.
Schirenhof Fort Bath House
The Schirenhof fort is about 1 km south of the provincial border, overlooking the Rems valley. There is nothing of the architecture to see at the site, but the remains of the bath house to the west, built sometime in the 2nd century AD, have been preserved. By the 3rd century AD the bathhouse was around 800 metres squared. Located in the vicus surrounding the fort, it was used by soldiers from the fort and civilians alike. Artefacts excavated from the bath house in the 1880s, including the relief sculpture of a spring nymph, can be seen on display in the Prediger Museum in Schwäbisch Gmünd.
Synagogue Memorial
A flight of stairs recreates the entrance staircase to the former synagogue of Schwäbisch-Gmünd. Originally a Silverware factory, from 1926 to 1938 the converted building was the centre of the Jewish community in the town. In 1939 the community was forced to sell their synagogue to Sparkasse bank. A new bank was constructed on the site in 1954, and in 2015 the bank sponsored the making of the memorial as a site of remembrance for the extinction of Jewish life in the city. The memorial is an exact replica of the original staircase, and looks to where the synagogue once stood. The names of all the Jewish inhabitants of Schwäbisch-Gmünd between 1926 to 1939, before being deported, exiled or murdered.
Wallfahrtskirche Schönenberg
Visitors to Ellwangen will not miss the striking Baroque church on the 530-metre high Schönenberg, overlooking the town. Since at least the early 1600s the hill was an important pilgrimage site. The first church, which was destroyed when it was struck by lightning in 1709, was built in 1682. The church was rebuilt immediately, and the chapels of the Calvary Hill were added in 1734. Saved from destruction during the period of secularisation in the first decade of the 1800s, Schönenberg Kirche is still a popular local pilgrimage site today.
Winkelturm Feuerbach
Named after the designer, Leo Winkel, the Winkel Tower at Feuerbach station in Stuttgart is one of the last surviving air raid shelters built during WWII. The unusual construction with its pointed roof meant falling bombs would slide off its sides and explode on impact with the ground. The shelter was intended as shelter for 305 people during bombing raids. Often over 400 people crammed into the 11 floors, nine of which are above ground and two underground. Today, the Winkelturm houses an exhibition on air raid protection between 1933 to 1945. Guided tours of this and other WWII and Cold War bunkers in the Stuttgart area by the Schutzbauten Stuttgart Association.
Popular Tours and Activities
Museums & Art Galleries in Baden-Württemberg
Prediger Museum
Founded in 1876, since 1973 the Prediger Museum has been housed in the former Dominican monastery in the historic centre of Schwäbisch Gmünd. Galleries on the first floor host a range of interesting, international temporary exhibitions, while the museum’s permanent exhibition is displayed on the second and third floors. Here visitors can explore the history of Schwäbisch Gmünd from Roman times through the medieval periods to an extensive collection of 19th century art. Highlights include the Staufer Madonna, works by Albrecht Dürer and Hans Baldung Grien, and the church treasures of the Holy Cross Minster.
Art Museum Stuttgart
Inaugurated in 2005, the Kunsmuseum Stuttgart exhibits modern and contemporary art. Built on the site of the Kronprinzenpalais, the distinctive stone cube within a glass cube is only part of a much larger complex of exhibition spaces on Schlossplatz. The museum has a rich programme of temporary exhibitions, as well as showcasing art from its permanent collection. This includes two galleries of important works by the artist Otto Dix. Other important 19th century German artists in the collection include Adolf Hölzel Rebecca Horn, Christian Landenberger and Josephine Meckseper.
Stauffenberg Memorial
In the basement of Stuttgart’s Old Castle is a large, single room housing a memorial museum to Claus von Stauffenberg. With the assistance of his brother Berthold, and others, Stauffenberg attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the so-called ‘Wolf’s Lair’ in Poland. A series of excellent multimedia displays detail the biography of the would be assassin and the drama of the events leading up to and following the assassination attempt of 20 July 1944. Also exhibited are objects that belonged to Stauffenberg, as well as artefacts associated with his remembrance since.
Federsee Museum
The Federsee Museum in Bad Buchau is in an area of moorland where a number of archaeological sites have been identified, some as old as 15,00 years. Another is the UNESCO listed settlement of ‘prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps’. Artefacts from these excavations are on display in the museum. Visitors can also explore the outdoor reconstructions of a Palaeolithic camp, Neolithic and Bronze Age pile dwellings, and the Iron Age village, erected using techniques used in prehistory.
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings Museum
In Unteruhldingen at the edge of Lake Constance are the remains of a prehistoric settlement of ‘pile dwellings, or stilt houses. One of over 100 in the Alpine region that together are a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ‘Pfahlbau Museum’ is a series of reconstructions, based on archaeological evidence, of lakeside Stone and Bronze Age houses. Opened in 1922, this is the oldest archaeological open-air museum in Germany.
Black Forest Open-Air Museum
The Black Forest Open-Air Museum showcases historic vernacular architecture from this iconic area of south-west Germany. Opened to the public in 1963, the collection centres around the Vogtsbauernhof, a typical 17th century farmhouse. Other buildings onsite include domestic dwellings accompanied by a range of gardens and livestock enclosures, storage barns, sawmills, boundary stones, churches, and wayside shrines. The Hermann Schilli house brings the visitor into the recent past with a permanent exhibit of life in the 1980s.
Campus Galli
At Campus Galli in Meßkirch, Baden-Württemberg, experimental archaeologists have helped to recreate an early medieval monastic settlement based on the example of the 9th century Benedictine Plan of Saint Gall or Campus Galli. As far as possible, the buildings have been constructed using techniques and methods that would have been available in the Middle Ages. Launched in 2012, the site remains a work in progress although is open to visitors in the meantime.
Württemberg State Museum
Founded over 150 years ago and with over a million objects in its collection, the Landesmuseum Württemberg is one of Germany’s finest history museums. Although the museum has a worthy collection of artefacts from the Mediterranean and an international collection of industrial objects, the main focus is the story of Württemberg’s past. This story begins over 250,000 years ago with humankind’s oldest sculptural works, and includes Celtic, Roman, Alamanni and Franconian periods, as well as significant pieces from Renaissance Württemberg.
Allgäu-Oberschwaben Wolfegg Farmhouse Museum
Found near Lake Constance in the border triangle of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the Allgäu-Oberschwaben Wolfegg Farmhouse Museum in Baden-Württemberg brings together a range of historic buildings from around the area of Upper Swabia and the Allgäu. The open-air museum launched in 1978 and since then has continued to expand through new acquisitions. Among its displays, which range in date from the 17th to the 20th century, are a fisherman’s house, storage barns, windmill, an apiary, and chicken coop.
Alamanni Museum
The town of Ellwangen an der Jagst was established in the 7th century as an Alemanic settlement. The Alamanni were the first Christians in southern Germany, and with numerous archaeological artefacts from the area the Alamannenmuseum concentrates on the last five hundred or so years of their history. Of particular interest is the rich collection of gold and silver-work. The museum also has an active programme of events that focus on various aspects of Alamanni life.
LimesMuseum Aalen
On the site of the largest cavalry fort north of the Alps in the present-day town of Aalen, is the Limesmuseum. One of the largest Roman museums in Germany. The museum not only displays artefacts excavated from the fort, especially well preserved weaponry, but also artefacts from other nearby excavations of Roman sites. A series of permanent exhibits show what both military and civilian life was like in the area about around the 2nd century CE. The museum hosts regular events, for children and adults.
