Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Buzzy cafes and first-rate museums add to the appeal of this town, known for its rare
black-spotted pigs and the jangling piggy banks of its nationwide building society.
Sights & Activities
NEIGHBOURHOOD
Altstadt
A leisurely Altstadt saunter takes you along narrow alleys, among half-timbered hillside
houses and up slopes overlooking the Kocher River. The islands and riverbank parks are
great for picnics.
Am Markt
springs to life with a farmers market every Wednesday and Saturday morn-
ing. On the square, your gaze is drawn to the baroque-style
Rathaus
, festooned with
coats of arms and cherubs, and to the terracotta-hued
Widmanhaus
at No 4, a remnant of
a 13th-century Franciscan monastery. The centrepiece is the late-Gothic
Kirche St Mi-
chael
.
Note the
Gotischer Fischbrunnen
(1509), next to the tourist office, a large iron tub
once used for storing fish before sale.
Towering above Pfarrgasse is the steep-roofed, 16th-century
Neubau
, built as an arsen-
al and granary and now used as a theatre. Ascend the stone staircase for dreamy views
over red-roofed houses to the former city fortifications, the covered
Roter Steg
bridge
and the
Henkerbrücke
(Hangman's Bridge).
GALLERY
Kunsthalle Würth
(
www.kunst.wuerth.com
;
Lange Strasse 35; 11am-6pm)
The brainchild of industrialist
Reinhold Würth, this contemporary gallery is housed in a striking limestone building that
preserves part of a century-old brewery. Stellar temporary exhibitions have previously
spotlighted the work of artists such as David Hockney, Edvard Munch and Georg Baselitz.
Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum
(adult/student €2.50/1.50; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun)
Down by the river, this well-curated
museum traces Schwäbisch Hall's history with its collection of shooting targets, Roman
figurines, and rarities including an exquisite hand-painted wooden synagogue interior
from 1738 and a 19th-century mouse guillotine.
MUSEUM
Hohenloher Freilandmuseum
MUSEUM
