There are a lot of things to do in the nearby city of Karlsruhe, but if you have a day to explore its surrounding towns I’d suggest you make it over the Rhine to the small town of Jockgrim, located just 15km northwest.
I promise it won’t take you long to explore Jockgrim (which is part of a collective municipality of the same name) since it isn’t even thirteen square kilometers.
Jockgrim’s small size didn’t stop the town from becoming one of the biggest producers of bricks in the world. There is a Ziegeleimuseum or Roof Tile Museum here (open Sundays 2pm – 4pm) that details most of the industry’s history, and the one company that changed the industry forever.
Over at the Evangelical Church is the grave chapel of Mister Ludowici, the man responsible for the real success of the roof tile and brick work.
The Kugelhaus, BTW, is a 2-person ball shaped house that was the brainchild of Mr. Ludowici. And his art collection is worth looking at too.
What other sites does Jockgrim hold in store? Well, at Ziegelbergstrasse 2 there’s a Baroque shrine from 1746. You can’t miss it, it’s yellow.
Over at Ludwigstr. 19 is the 18th century St. Dionysius Church, whose tower can be seen so far in the distance from all of the town’s rolling hills and fields.
Also found along Ludwigstr., which is part of the original walled city and why it has a Stadttor (City Gate), if you will, are many half-timbered houses from the 16th to 19th centuries.
They just don’t build them like that anymore.
Sorry, no lamenting — I still need to tell you about the Schweinheimer Kirchel, a small chapel from 1051 A.D.
You might’ve noticed that I haven’t mentioned a castle yet. And I won’t, since the 14th century Burg Jockgrim is long gone.
What’s left for us is to pray that the roof tile industry stays alive.