Romantic Road: From Munich to the Rhine Valley

The square with the New Town Hall is Munich's pulsating heart. The carillon in the town hall attracts thou­sands of visitors. As the inter­sec­tion of the east-west axis between Isartor and Karlstor and the south-north axis between Sendlinger Tor and Schwabing, it is an ideal starting point for sightseeing tours through the Bavarian capital. In the pre-Christmas period the Christmas Market takes place here.

The Gothic cathedral and city parish church “Zu Unserer Lieben Frau” dating back to the 15th century is the landmark of the city. The nave is 109 meters long, 40 meters wide and 37 meters high and is said to accommo­date 20,000 people. The 100 meter high towers with the so called “Welschen Hauben” are based on the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. From the south tower of the Frauenkirche one has a magnif­i­cent view over the city. The footprint in the entrance hall is called the Devil's Step. The devil himself is said to have stood here because he had bet with master builder Jörg von Halspach for his soul. The church regu­larly gives organ concerts, has several choirs and its own cathedral singing school.

The Viktu­al­ienmarkt is the culinary centre of Munich. On 22,000 square metres you will find every­thing from fresh fruit and vegeta­bles and unusual cheeses to exotic spices. There are also snack and coffee stands and a cosy beer garden with a maypole. Munich's star chefs are also taking advantage of the wide range of prod­ucts on offer, and, in addi­tion to gourmets from all over the world, they are also welcome customers at the Viktu­al­ienmarkt.

The land on the Isar is also called “Bavaria's Picture Book Land”. In front of the mighty mountain scenery in the south with its deeply cut valleys, a blooming landscape spreads out with blue lakes, char­ac­teristic places, splashing streams and gentle hills. The main town of Bad Tölz lies on the Isar river. The spa was formed at an iodine spring. The old town around the curved Markts­traße with its magnif­i­cent gabled houses is worth a visit. In the novel “Der Jäger von Fall” (The Hunter of Fall) Ludwig Ganghofer set a literary monu­ment to the inhab­i­tants of the Isarwinkel for their love of their home­land and thus also made the river landscape known trans-regional.

The reser­voir lies on the road from the Achensee to Bad Tölz. It was built in 1959 to protect against floods in the Isar valley. For ecolog­ical reasons, a residual inflow is also guar­an­teed in dry seasons. Electricity is gener­ated with two hydro­electric power plants. Lake Sylvenstein is also a destina­tion for excur­sions and a recre­a­tional area. Sunk in the lake lies the former village of Fall, which was demol­ished before the flood and rebuilt a few dozen metres higher on the road to Vorderriß. At low water levels the walls of Alt-Fall are visible again.

The Walchensee, with a maximum depth of 190 metres, is one of the deepest alpine lakes in the world. Hence its blue-green colour, which contrasts wonderfully with the white lime­stone walls of the Karwendel and Wetter­stein mountains. The most beau­tiful view over the lake is from the Herzog­stand (1761 metres), to which a cable car leads up from the lake. Several circular hiking trails start at the top.

From the Wieskirche the Brettlesweg runs through the Wiesfilz. The board­walk leads through a moist bog with many ponds. After a few minutes you reach the Schönegger Käsealm, where you can buy several dozen kinds of cheese, sausage, fresh hay milk and farm­house bread. Every­thing is from their own produc­tion. Or you can enjoy a Schönegger Brotzeit (snack) at one of the sunny tables. (There and back: 3.4 kilome­ters, 1:30 hour, up and down 52 meters)

The health resort on the northern edge of the Allgäu Alps is crossed by the River Vils and consists of 13 indi­vidual villages. The landmark is the late baroque church of St. Nicholas in Pfronten-Berg. From Pfronten-Steinach a cable car takes you to the Hochalpe (1502 m) and from there a chairlift goes on to the Breit­enberg (1838 m). From there you have a beau­tiful view in all direc­tions.

Hohenschwangau Castle, then also known as Schwanstein Castle, was first mentioned in docu­ments in the 12th century. It was owned by the Knights of Schwangau until the 16th century, after which it changed hands several times and was severely damaged in various wars. In 1832 the later King Maxi­m­ilian II, father of King Ludwig II, acquired it and had it rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style according to orig­inal plans. The Bavarian royal family used Hohenschwangau as a summer and hunting resi­dence. King Ludwig II spent his child­hood here and used it as his summer resi­dence until his death in 1886.

Three miles south of Füssen at the foot of the Alps lies the fairy tale castle Neuschwanstein built by King Ludwig II. One of the most popular tourist destina­tions in Germany, its design was inspired by stage deco­ra­tions used for two Wagner operas, Tannhäuser and Parzival. The King, also known as “Ludwig the Mad”, was offi­cially declared insane before the castle's comple­tion in 1896 and he drowned under myste­r­ious circum­stances in Lake Starnberg in southern Bavaria shortly after being removed from power. Consequently, no one has ever lived in the castle. Tours can be taken through several rooms, including the Throne Room and the Singers' Hall. The best views of the castle can be had from the Marienbrücke (Mary's Bridge).

On the border between Germany and Austria lies the 1,986 meter high Aggenstein. From the Breit­enbergbahn base station you can hike along a scenic trail to the Bad Kissinger hut. The last part to the summit is a secured climb. You can take a break at the Bad Kissinger hut. The ascent to the summit requires sure-foot­ed­ness and concen­tra­tion. At the top you have a pano­ramic view over the Tannheimer mountains. On your way down you pass the Hochalphütte, where you can stop again. (return: 10.7 kilome­ters, 5 hours, up and down: 1172 meters)

The waterfall near Füssen is a unique natural monu­ment of the Bavarian Alps. The water masses of the River Lech, fed from the Alps, plunge over five steps twelve metres into the depth. Below the Lech Falls, the river narrows and enters the Lech Gorge. It is the only one in the entire Bavarian Alpine region through which a larger Alpine river can still flow freely and unim­peded by man. From the Lechfall car park you can take a tour of the royal castles, which leads to Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau through magnif­i­cent landscape. (return: 13 kilome­ters, 6 hours, up and down 522 meters)

In 15 BC, the Romans founded the military camp of Augusta Vindelicorum, which later became Augsburg. Around the same time, the Romans built a military road over the Alps, which ended in the Maxi­m­il­ians­traße. The Via Augusta remained the most important artery between southern Germany and northern Italy until the Late Middle Ages. The street's current appear­ance dates to the Renais­sance and the Baroque periods, during which the splendid guild houses lining the road were built. The road ends at the town hall in front of the Augus­tusbrunnen. This fountain was named after the Roman emperor and founder of Augsburg.

The oldest oper­ating social housing complex in the world was estab­lished in 1521 by Jakob Fugger, a rich merchant from Augsburg. The foun­da­tion's charter, which is still valid today, provided poor, debt-free citi­zens of Augsburg with row housing. Today, 150 needy Catholic citi­zens of Augsburg live in the 140 apart­ments and 67 houses for a yearly rent, excluding util­i­ties, of 0.88 euros. Once a day, they are expected to recite the Lord's Prayer, a creed and a Hail Mary on behalft of the founder and the Fugger family. One of the houses is open to the public and serves as a Fuggerei museum.

The Riegele Brewery was founded in 1884, when Sebas­tian Riegele Sr. bought the “Zum Gold­enen Roß” brewery, which in turn had dated back to 1386. Today, the Riegele Brewery has a pub offering a count­less selec­tion of beers, Riegele beer cocktails and Bavarian special­ties. In the summer months, you can also enjoy the shade of the old trees in the beer garden. At 200,000 hl, the Riegele Brewery is the largest private brewery in Augsburg. If you register in advance, you can even attend one of their eight-hour beer-brewing courses.  

Germany's most famous and popular holiday route offers charming landscapes, historic cities and castles along the way. It starts at the Main river and passes through western Franconia, Bavarian Swabia, and Upper Bavaria before reaching the edge of the Alps in the eastern part of the Allgäu. It covers 413 kilome­ters between the city of Würzburg and Neuschwanstein Castle. Sights along the way include the Würzburg Resi­dence, the medieval towns of Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Dinkelsbühl, the Fuggerei in Augsburg, and the town of Landsberg am Lech, with its historic old town and its Wieskirche.

Iphofen lies at the foot of the Schwanberg surrounded by vine­yards and ancient villages. The first Silvaner vine was planted in the area in 1692. Founded in 751, the enchanting town still features narrow cobbled streets and timber-frame houses (Fachw­erkhäuser) enclosed by a mighty town wall. The numerous wine festivals are held in front of the baroque city hall. Although almost as well-preserved as Rothenburg, Iphofen is less well known and thus less touristy. Many hiking trails lead into the nearby Steigerwald.

This entertaining one-hour tour of old town with Rothenburg ob der Tauber's night-watchman informs about the history of Rothenburg: from its beginn­ings to the mirac­u­lous protec­tion from the bombard­ments during World War II.

A tour of the Franco­nian Open-Air Museum is like a journey through time – through 700 years of Franco­nian everyday history: more than 100 build­ings, farms, craftsmen's houses, mills, brew­eries, sheep farms, an office building, school building and noble castles as well as barns, stables, bakeries and drying houses convey how the rural popu­la­tion of Franconia lived and worked in earlier times. The houses are arranged in six groups, so that one can walk from village to village just like in past times. Guided tours and changing events from bread baking and basket weaving to fencing courses take place.

The town on the Neckar River was a “Free Impe­rial City” during the Holy Roman Empire, a status which put it in a league with many of Germany's most powerful cities, including Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg and Nurem­berg. The city was a major base for the Teutonic Knights from the Middle Ages all the way up to 1805. The famous knight Götz von Berlichingen was held pris­oner in the Bollw­erksturm (Tower of the Bastion) from 1519 to 1522. While that tower still stands today, much of the city's histor­ical archi­tec­ture was destroyed when Heilbronn was carpet bombed by allied bombers in 1944. The town's nickname “Käthchenstadt” derives from a famous play called “Das Käthchen von Heilbronn” (Kate of Heilbronn) by Heinrich von Kleist.

With the mountain railway you can go up to the Königstuhl and enjoy the fantastic views over the city and the Rhine plain up to the Palatinate Forest. The lower cable car, one of the most modern mountain railways in Germany, starts at the Kornmarkt in the old town and goes via the Castle to the Molkenkur. From there, you take one of the oldest electrically oper­ated mountain railways to the Königstuhl.

The baroque Karl Theodor Bridge is one of Germany's oldest bridge build­ings and was first mentioned in 1248. There were many previous wooden build­ings, but they were repeat­edly destroyed by drifting ice floes. It was built in its present form in 1788, but towards the end of the Second World War two pillars were blown up by the Wehrmacht to stop the advancing Allied troops. Already in 1947 the bridge was completely recon­structed. At the southern end of the Old Bridge stands the medieval bridge gate with its 28-metre-high double towers. Orig­inally it was part of the city fortifica­tions. Bridge duty was paid at the gate, in case of danger it could be closed by a trap gate.

The castle ruin high above the old town of Heidelberg is one of the most famous ruins in Germany and the city's landmark. The forti­fied castle from the 13th century was converted into the magnif­i­cent resi­dence of the Palatinate Electors in the Renais­sance. After the destruc­tion of 1689 and 1693 by the French, the castle was restored only hesi­tantly. In 1764, a devastating fire after lightning struck sealed all efforts. The building was abandoned and the ruin was used as a quarry for the new Schwet­zingen Summer Palace and later for the citi­zens of Heidelberg. At the end of the 18th century, the picturesque ruin was discov­ered by literary figures as a symbol of transience. During the Napoleonic Wars it was reinterpreted as a patri­otic monu­ment.

The name comes from a time when all students had to study the seven liberal arts, which were combined under the subject philosophy, before starting their studies. It was prob­ably not so much the scho­lars as the students who discov­ered the path as an ideal place for romantic walks and undis­turbed togeth­er­ness. For the first 700 meters the lower half leads steep and winding through one of the most expen­sive resi­den­tial areas in Heidelberg. Then it cont­inues on nearly even grounds . The Philoso­pher's Garden offers the best view over the Neckar to Heidelberg's old town, the Königstuhl and the castle, but also out into the Rhine plain.

As a free impe­rial city in the Middle Ages, Speyer was one of the most important cities of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. The Emperor's- and St. Mary's-Cathedral is the world's largest preserved Roma­nesque church, – to-day a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Salian King and later Emperor Conrad II initiated the construc­tion in 1025 with the goal of creating the largest church of the Occi­dent. Eight German emperors and kings are buried in the crypt. Just a few minutes from the Cathedral is the Judenhof, the old Jewish quarter of Speyer. Here one can also view the mikvah (the bath­house) and sections of the syna­gogue.

When the abbey was conse­crated in 774, Emperor Charle­magne was person­ally present with his family and court. Later he raised the abbey to one of his most important impe­rial monas­teries. Three build­ings of the formerly large complex remain: a frag­ment of the Nazarius basilica, a section of the monastery wall and the famous Königshalle. When Lorsch Monastery was declared a World Heritage Site in 2014, the monastery areas were linked in terms of landscape archi­tec­ture. An herbal garden was also created – according to the spec­ifica­tions of 1,200-year-old Lorsch pharma­copoeia.

The city on the southern end of the Middle Rhine is also the capital of the Rheingau, one of the most important wine regions in Germany. At the same time, Rüdesheim has become a magnet for corpo­rate outings and coach tours. The count­less wine bars in the Dros­sel­gasse are popu­lated by cheerful drinkers. In the shops of Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas deco­ra­tions and cuckoo clocks can be bought all year round. The Nied­erwald Monu­ment rises high above the city and can be reached by hiking or by cable car. The more than ten-meter-high statue of Germania was erected in 1871 after the war against France and till today it stares threat­en­ingly towards the West.

The castle on an island in the Rhine is like the Marksburg and the castle Boppard one of the few unde­stroyed and hardly changed castles in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. It has been built by Ludwig the Bavarian, who at the beginning of the 13th century was also Count Pala­tine and German Emperor. Since he needed a lot of money for this office, he had a customs duty castle built in the Rhine to profit from the heavy traffic on the river. However, the baroque tower helmet, which today char­ac­ter­izes the appear­ance, dates only from 1714. One hundred years later, on New Year's Eve 1813/14, the castle suddenly became the focus of world history, when the Prus­sian Field Marshal Blücher in a top secret action with 60,000 soldiers, 20,000 horses and as many cannons crossed the Rhine at Kaub to hunt Napoleon Bonaparte's troops.

Already in the medieval ages dwarves, nymphs and mountain spirits were blamed for the dangerous currents and echoes at the 130 meters high Lorelei rock . The beau­tiful maiden however, is an inven­tion of the poet Clemens Brentano. He describes Lore Lay as a girl from Bacharach, who is consid­ered a witch because of her beauty. She is forced to join a monastery, but on her way, out of lovesick­ness she plunged from the rock named after her into the Rhine. Brentano's ballad touched the romantic feeling of his time and trig­gered further Loreley stories. The most famous poem was made by Heinrich Heine, in which Loreley, like an antique siren, capti­vates the Rhine sailors with her song and beauty, which is why they perish in the dangerous current on the rocky reef.

The 320 kilometer long hiking trail follows the Middle Rhine Valley on the Eastern side. It starts in Bonn and after 17 days ends in Rüdesheim. The mark is a blue rectangle with a white “R” styl­ized as a river. From almost every place along the Rhine there are paths leading to the Rheinsteig. The longest and most beau­tiful is the 17th day from St. Goar­shausen to Kaub. Here you can expe­r­i­ence the Middle Rhine Valley in all its splendor. Vine­yards, quiet side valleys and magnif­i­cent view points – espe­cially the Loreley – make the hike unique. (21 kilome­ters, 6:30 hours, up: 753 meters, down: 750 meters)

The best views over the large Rhine loop and the vine­yards of the Boppard Hamm can be admired from the Gedeonseck, to which a chairlift runs from Boppard. There's a nice restau­rant at the top. In the hinter­land begins one of the largest forests of Rhine­land-Palatinate, through which many hiking trails lead. Directly on the steep slope below the Gedeonseck, a via ferrata has been set up that offers hikers who are free from giddi­ness and well-equipped a climbing expe­r­i­ence with a magnif­i­cent view. (There and back: 5 kilome­ters, 2:30 hours, up and down: 260 meters)