Castles. Medieval churches. A nature park. Wine. Hmm, these are pretty good things; best part is you don’t have to choose just one. You’ll find them all in the town of Ammerbuch.
So, first one — castles. Schloss Hohenentringen now doubles as a local restaurant, but before it catered to the John Q. Public; it catered to the German aristocracy. There’s been a castle on this spot since at least the 12th century, but the pretty white Schloss you see today didn’t come along until around the 15th or 16th century.
That’s long after Burg Müneck was destroyed in the 14th century. The ruins of this early 12th century castle are lucky enough to sit in a nature protected area. There is even less that remains of Burg Kräheneck, a castle built around the year 1037.
Then there are Ammerbuch’s churches. There are six local districts of Ammerbuch, but there are seven historical churches. The youngest of them wasn’t built until 1575 (the Evangelical City Church), the oldest being St. Stephanus in 1191. Don’t be confused though, there are two churches dedicated to St. Michael.
OK, now we got the Schönbuch Nature Park, a forested area southwest of Stuttgart. It’s a pretty large area (for us Germans!) with approx. 156 square kilometers or 97 square miles, but even in the Ammerbuch neck of the woods (pardon the pun) you’ll find plenty of walking and hiking trails.
Many Stone and Bronze Age artifacts (including tools and huts) have been found in the Schönbuch and in the area of Ammerbuch. Stone Age graves dating back over 6000 years, as well as a Celtic cemetery (approx 500 B.C.) were also found in the Schönbuch.
That leaves us just wine, the drink of the Gods! Viticulture is huge to the local economy (and surrounding area) for centuries and you’re sure to enjoy a good bottle of Riesling while you’re here.
Oh, go ahead and splurge — have two bottles! ;-)
