I could very well sit here and write all about where the town of Bad Schussenried is. Yet you’re going to pass over the fact that it’s on the River Schussen between Ulm and Lake Constance as soon as I tell you it’s on the Swabian Spa Route.
Oh, and it’s on the Upper Swabian Baroque Route, too. OK, I passed over that fact the first time, going right to the spa part.
I went right for the gusto with the spa. Hey, I’ve earned it. I just love getting all massaged, steamed, and mudded up. We work hard for our money, so it sure is nice to be pampered, isn’t it?
There was one place that could (and did) lure me away from a magnificent spa experience. If you’ve read enough pages here at MyGermanCity.com you’ll know that it had to do with beer.
That’s right, folks, Bad Schussenried has itself a Beer Stein Museum, called the Bierkrugmuseum. This is more than a museum of beer glasses; its got info on 500 years of Germany’s drinking.
Churches and monasteries are also a long part of Germany’s history; and one of the most beautiful is the Monastery Schussenried. You wouldn’t recognize it as a medieval cloister (late 12th century), as it looks more Baroque than anything after getting an 18th century facelift.
Its Monastery Museum has 800 years of religious books, Baroque paintings, and reliquaries. It is also the site of many cultural exhibitions, open all-year round and offering guided tours.
FYI, make sure you see the Pilgrimage Museum in the village of Steinhausen. It’ll explain a good deal more about the travels of the devout and pious.
The monastery is just one of the reasons Bad Schussenried is on the Upper Swabian Baroque Route. Another is the Upper Swabian Village Museum Kürnbach with 32 buildings (all historical) that tell the tale of everyday life in Upper Swabia.
Come see the workshops of a violin maker, a butcher, and other crafts that seem to have gone by the wayside.
Then again, the Baroque is just a mere tiny bump in Bad Schussenried’s history. The town’s been inhabited since the Stone Age. If you prefer the Middle Ages, you’ll like the 15th century Church of Sts. Sebastian, Blasius, and Agatha.
If you like castles, you’ve got the Hervetsweiler Castle, the Kürnbach Castle, and the Otterswang ruins to see.
Any other time I’d be up for visiting any (and every castle) along the way, but this time I have a mud wrap with my name on it. ;-)
