Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
From Villingen, buses 7265 and 7270 make regular trips north to Triberg. Frequent
buses (for example, line 1) link Villingen with Schwenningen.
Villingen-Schwenningen is just west of the A81 Stuttgart-Singen motorway and is also
crossed by the B33 to Triberg and the B27 to Rottweil.
Rottweil
0741 / POP 25,660
Baden-Württemberg's oldest town is the strapline of Roman-rooted Rottweil, founded in
AD 73. Yet a torrent of bad press about the woofer with a nasty nip means that most folk
readily associate it with the Rottweiler, which was indeed bred here as a hardy butchers'
dog until recently. Fear not, the Rottweiler locals are much tamer.
The sturdy 13th-century
Schwarzes Tor
is the gateway to Hauptstrasse and the well-
preserved Altstadt, a cluster of red-roofed, pastel-painted houses. Nearby at No 6, the cur-
vaceous
Hübschen Winkel
will make you look twice with its 45-degree kink. Just west
on Münsterplatz, the late Romanesque
Münster-Heiliges-Kreuz
features some striking
Gothic stonework and ribbed vaulting. Equally worth a peek about 1km south is the
Ro-
man bath
(Hölderstrasse; admission free; daylight hrs)
, a 45m-by-42m bathing com-
plex unearthed in 1967.
The
tourist office
( 494 280;
www.rottweil.de
;
Hauptstrasse 21; 9.30am-5.30pm
Mon-Fri, to 12.30pm Sat)
can advise on accommodation, tours and biking the
Neckartal-
Radweg
.
Rottweil is just off the A81 Stuttgart- Singen motorway, Trains run at least hourly to
Villingen (€3, 25 minutes) and Stuttgart (€20.80, 1½ hours).
CELEBRATE THE FIFTH SEASON
Boisterous and totally bonkers, the
Swabian-Alemannic Fasnacht
or
Fasnet
(not to be confused
with Carnival) is a 500-year-old rite to banish winter and indulge in pre-Lenten feasting, parades,
flirting and all-night drinkathons. Starting on Epiphany, festivities reach a crescendo the week be-
fore Ash Wednesday. Dress up to join the party, memorise a few sayings to dodge the witches, and
catch the flying sausages - anything's possible, we swear. For
Fasnacht
at its traditional best, try
the following:
