© Lonely Planet Publications 391 Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg is one of Germany’s most popular holiday regions, rivalled only by Bavaria in its natural landscapes and range of outdoor activities. Most of the state is covered by the fabled Black Forest (Schwarzwald), a vast nature playground whose peaks, lakes and cuckoo clocks are irresistible to hikers, cyclists, bathers, boaters and punctual people who find quarter-hourly mechanical bird calls charming rather than annoying. One of the country’s most prosperous states, Baden-Württemberg was created in 1951 out of three historic regions: Baden, Württemberg and Hohenzollern. Further back in history, much of its southern reaches were part of Swabia (Schwaben) and many people here still speak Swabian (Schwäbisch), a melodic dialect that other Germans find largely incomprehensible. In the centre, the capital Stuttgart is the home of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, and a wealth of urban pleasures. A bit to the east are Schwäbisch Hall, a medieval gem, and, on the banks BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG of the Danube, the architecturally audacious city of Ulm. The spas of Baden-Baden have been soothing the stresses of modern and ancient life since Roman times. The state is also home to three famous and ancient university cities. In Heidelberg, students still gather in ancient beer halls while Tübingen, with its narrow lanes and hilltop fortress, positively oozes charm. Flowery Freiburg, not far from the Swiss border, makes an ideal base for exploring the Black Forest and the rolling vineyards of Breisach, on the French frontier. Lake Constance (Bodensee), whose southern shore – overlooked by the Alps – is in Switzerland and Austria, is a huge draw, especially in summer. HIGHLIGHTS Art and Automobiles Explore outstanding museums and classy shops in Stuttgart ( p393 ) Snow and Eis Admire the snow-capped Alps and savour ice cream (Eis) with strudel at a lakefront café on Lake Constance ( p452 ) Baden-Baden Stuttgart Warm Watery Indulgence Soak in an ornate 19th-century Baden-Baden spa ( p434 ) Tübingen Back to the Middle Ages Explore the medieval old town and ancient castle in the university city of Tübingen ( p423 ) Höllental Hell’s Valley Hoof it, train it or floor it through the Höllental (Hell’s Valley, p449 ) in Lake Constance the Southern Black Forest POPULATION: 10.7 MILLION AREA: 392 BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG •• Activities lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com STUTTGART •• Orientation 393 0 50 km BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG 0 30 miles To Frankfurt Airport (35km); the EuroAirport (www.euroairport.com), which serves squares on or near Königstrasse include Frankfurt-am-Main (45km) Alzey Würzburg Freiburg as well as the Swiss city of Basel Schlossplatz and Schillerplatz. The three A67 A3 Idar A61 and the French city of Mulhouse; Karlsruhe- sections of the Schlossgarten (a grassy park) Oberstein HESSE Worms Baden-Baden airport (Baden Airpark; www.badenairpark stretch northeastward from Schlossplatz al- RHINELAND- Ochsenfurt BAVARIA PALATINATE .de); Friedrichshafen airport (www.fly-away.de); and most 4km to the Neckar River. The district A62 Mannheim A6 Ludwigshafen Strasbourg airport (www.strasbourg.aeroport.fr) in of Bad Cannstatt straddles the Neckar River A7 Heidelberg France, across the Rhine from the Northern about 3km northeast of the Hauptbahnhof. Neckarsteinach Neckar A81 B19 Black Forest. Steep grades are common on Stuttgart’s Schwetzingen B290 A6 Speyer Rothenburg ob der Tauber Trains, trams and/or buses serve almost hillsides – more than 500 city streets end in River Ansbach River A5 Sinsheim every city, town and mountain village in this Stäffele (staircases). A6 A6 To Nuremberg chapter. Public transport across the Black For- (45km) A65 Heilbronn Crailsheim Schwäbisch est can be pretty slow, and long-distance trips INFORMATION Rhine Hall Dinkelsbühl (such as from Freiburg to Tübingen or Kon- Bookshops Karlsruhe F R A N C E Maulbronn stanz) may require several changes. Wittwer (%250 70; Königstrasse 30) A bookshop with foreign-language and travel sections. Pforzheim Ludwigsburg B19 Rastatt Iffezheim A8 Aalen Karlsruhe-Baden- Mt Merkur Nördlingen (660m) Stuttgart B29 Baden Airport Württemberg Schwäbisch STUTTGART Cultural Centres Baden- Esslingen A7 A5 Baden Sindelfingen Gmünd Deutsch-Amerikanisches Zentrum (German-Ameri- A8 Göppingen Strasbourg Stuttgart %0711 / pop 589,000 can Center; %228 180; www.daz.org; Charlottenplatz Airport Strasbourg Perhaps best known as the headquarters of 17; h2-6pm Tue-Thu) Promotes German-American Airport Oberkirch Tübingen River Freudenstadt relations. River Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, Stuttgart has a Offenburg River Reutlingen Neckar BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG Gengenbach Danube number of first-rate art collections and two Rhine B33 Alpirsbach Ulm A8 museums that are sure to set the pulse of the Internet Access Wolfach Hechingen To Munich Rust Burg Hohenzollern B16 (140km) motor-minded racing. Blessed with an air of Café Naser (in the Hauptbahnhof; per hr €5; h6am- Haslach Ehingen Black Forest A81 relaxed prosperity and a keen sense of style, the 10pm) Up the stairs behind track 4. Kaiserstuhl St Georgen B313 B311 city is one of the greenest in Europe – not only City Call & Internet Center (Eberhardstrasse 14; per (560m) Triberg Colmar Villingen- h Danube Biberach is it well-endowed with parks, but it even has hr €2; 9am-midnight Mon-Sat, 11am-midnight Sun To Munster Breisach Furtwangen Schwenningen River (14km) A7 its own vineyards! The shopping, restaurant, & holidays) Neuf- Freiburg Tuttlingen Brisach B31 Kirchzarten Titisee- Donaueschingen B30 Memmingen cultural and nightlife scenes are all vibrant, Cyber Café (Klett Passage; per hr €2; h9am-11pm) Feldberg Neustadt B32 River (1493m) if upmarket. Level One Cyber Bar (Königstrasse 22; per hr €4.50; B27 Überlingen Höllental Schluchsee B31 Birnau BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG Stuttgart began as a stud farm (‘Stuotgarten’, h9am-midnight Mon-Sat, noon-midnight Sun) A stylish Rhine Bonndorf Singen Mainau Ravensburg A5 B317 N4 Island Salem hence the name) on the Nesenbach Stream internet café in the basement of a cinema. Schaffhausen Radolfzell St B500 Meersburg around AD 950. By 1160 it was a booming Louis Lörrach Schopfheim Reichenau Island Friedrichshafen Euro Rheinfelden Konstanz Lake trade centre, and in the early 14th century it be- Laundry Airport Rhine River Kressbronn Constance To A7 Basel Weil Bregenz came the royal seat of the Württemberg family. SB-Waschsalon Trieb (h5am-midnight) Self-service am Rhein S W I T Z E R L A N D Romanshorn Lindau (2km) Immenstadt After WWII, the city’s architectural treasures laundry in the arcade behind (just south of) the tourist were painstakingly reconstructed. office. Activities Neckartal-Radweg (www.neckartal-radweg.de, in HIKING German) Follows the Neckar River for 357km from ORIENTATION Medical Services Baden-Württemberg is crisscrossed by walk- Villingen-Schwenningen northward (more or less) to The main pedestrian shopping street, König- Ärtzliche Bereitschaft (%262 8012; Böheimstrasse ing and hiking trails too numerous to count, Tübingen, Stuttgart and Heidelberg. strasse, stretches southwest from the well- 37; h7pm-7am, 7am-7pm Sat, Sun & holidays) A doctor’s many of them through forests, along rivers or Rheintal-Weg Goes along the Rhine from Konstanz tended Hauptbahnhof (train station). Public office inside Marien-Hospital, which is 3km southwest of around lakes. Local tourist offices sell maps westward to Basel and then northward via Freiburg (or and can suggest suitable day hikes. Breisach) to Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, Mannheim and beyond. DISCOUNT TICKETS CYCLING Veloroute Rhein Follows the Rhine along all of its left The three-day Stuttcard (€12) gets you free entry to most public museums as well as discounts Baden-Württemberg is a cyclists’ paradise, bank (in France and then Germany) and most of the right on cultural events and leisure activities, including the tourist office’s guided tours. The Stuttcard with thousands of kilometres of paved bike bank from Basel northward to Mannheim (415km). Plus (€17.50) also affords unlimited bus, tram and metro travel within the city, including to and paths. Those with plenty of watery views in- from the airport. clude the following: Getting There & Around If you have a hotel reservation, for €9 you can get a three-day ticket good for unlimited Bodensee-Weg Goes all the way around Lake Constance. Stuttgart airport (www.stuttgart-airport.com), Baden- public transport usage within the city limits (valid for an adult and two children up to age 17). Donautal-Radweg (www.donau-radweg.info, in German) Württemberg’s largest, is a major hub for the A version good for public transport throughout the entire metropolitan area costs €12.30. They Follows the mighty Danube from the unexciting town of discount airline German Wings (www.germanwings are generally available at hotel reception desks. Donaueschingen (65km east of Freiburg) to Ulm (190km .com). Frankfurt airport is about 75km north All four passes can be purchased at the tourist office, including the airport branch. northeast of Donaueschingen), Vienna, Budapest and beyond. of Mannheim. Other useful airports include 394 STUTTGART •• Sights lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com STUTTGART •• Sights 395 0 500 m INFORMATION Königsbau.................................21 B2 Markthalle................................41 B3 STUTTGART 0 0.3 miles American Express Exchange Landtag....................................22 C2 Nirvan.......................................42 B4 r Kriegsberg t 44 S Bureau....................................1