Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Haslach
07832 / POP 6980
Back in the Kinzig Valley, Haslach's 17th-century former Capuchin monastery lodges the
Schwarzwälder Trachtenmuseum
(Black Forest Costume Museum; Im Alten Kapuzin-
erkloster; adult/concession €2/1.50; 10am-12.30pm & 1.30-5pm Tue-Sun)
, showcas-
ing flamboyant costumes and outrageous hats, the must-have accessories for the well-
dressed Fräulein of the 1850s. Look out for the Black Forest
Bollenhut
, a straw bonnet
topped with pompons (red for unmarried women, black for married) and the
Schäppel
, a
fragile-looking crown made from hundreds of beads and weighing up to 5kg.
Gengenbach
07803 / POP 11,020
If ever a Black Forest town could be described as chocolate box, it would surely be Gen-
genbach, with its scrumptious Altstadt of half-timbered town houses framed by vineyards
and orchards. It's fitting, then, that director Tim Burton made this the home of gluttonous
Augustus Gloop in the 2005 blockbuster
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
(though less
so that he called it Düsseldorf).
Sights & Activities
The best way to discover Gengenbach's historic centre is with a saunter through its nar-
row backstreets, such as the gently curving
Engelgasse
, off Hauptstrasse, lined with lis-
ted half-timbered houses draped in vines and bedecked with scarlet geraniums.
Between the town's two tower-topped gates sits the triangular
Marktplatz
, dominated by
the
Rathaus
, an 18th-century, pink-and-cream confection. The fountain bears a statue of
a knight, a symbol of Gengenbach's medieval status as a Free Imperial City.
Amble east along Klosterstrasse to spy the former
Benedictine monastery
. Opposite, the
stuck-in-time
Holzofen-Bäckerei Klostermühle
(Klosterstrasse 7; 7am-6pm Mon-
Fri, to noon Sat)
fills the lanes with wafts of freshly baked bread from its wood-fired
oven. Buy a loaf to munch in the calm
Kräutergarten
(Herb Garden; Benedikt-von-
Nursia-Strasse)
or stroll east to the flowery park.
The tourist office has info on the hour-long
Weinpfad
, a wine trail beginning in the
Altstadt that threads through terraced vineyards to the Jakobskapelle, a 13th- century
chapel commanding views that reach as far as Strasbourg on clear days. The free, lantern-
