Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Naturpark Schönbuch
For back-to-nature hiking and cycling, make for this 156-sq-km nature reserve
( www.naturpark-schoenbuch.de ) , 8km north of Tübingen. With a bit of luck you might
catch a glimpse of black woodpeckers and yellow-bellied toads.
The nature reserve's beech and oak woods fringe the village of Bebenhausen and its
well-preserved Cistercian Abbey ( www.kloster-bebenhausen.de ; adult/concession €4.50/
2.30; guided tours hourly 11am-5pm Tue-Sun) . Founded in 1183 by Count Rudolph
von Tübingen, the complex became a royal hunting retreat post-Reformation. A visit takes
in the frescoed summer refectory , the Gothic abbey church and intricate star vaulting
and half-timbered facades in the cloister .
Bebenhausen, 3km north of Tübingen, is the gateway to Naturpark Schönbuch. Buses
run at least twice hourly (€2.20, 15 minutes).
Burg Hohenzollern
Rising dramatically from an exposed crag, its medieval battlements and silver turrets often
veiled in mist, Burg Hohenzollern ( www.burg-hohenzollern.com ; tour adult/concession
€10/8, grounds admission without tour adult/concession €5/4; tour 10am-5.30pm, to
4.30pm Nov-mid-Mar) is impressive from a distance but up close it looks more contrived.
Dating to 1867, this neo-Gothic castle is the ancestral seat of the Hohenzollern family, the
first and last monarchical rulers of the short-lived second German empire (1871-1918).
History fans should take a 35-minute German-language tour , which takes in towers,
overblown salons replete with stained glass and frescoes, and the dazzling Schatzkammer
(treasury). The grounds command tremendous views over the Swabian Alps.
Frequent trains link Tübingen, 28km distant, with Hechingen (€4.40, 25 minutes, one or
two per hour), about 4km northwest of the castle.
Schwäbisch Hall
0791 / POP 37,140
Out on its rural lonesome near the Bavarian border, Schwäbisch Hall is an unsung gem.
This medieval time-capsule of higgledy-piggledy lanes, soaring half-timbered houses built
high on the riches of salt, and covered bridges that criss-cross the Kocher River is story-
book stuff.
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