Generally the rule of thumb is that if you find a town in parts of Baden-Württemberg that end in -ingen that you’d be on the Swabian Alb. Not true in the case of Oberderdingen (oh, that’s hard to roll off the tongue, isn’t it); but, it’s still a delightful historical town.
And, it’s a wine drinking town. Before you’ve gone off to hit the sauce there’s quite a bit to see. Oh, I’m sorry — we wine drinkers are a bit more, er, refined so I promise I won’t refer to it as hitting the sauce anymore. ;-)
What you might notice first about Oberderdingen is the early 16th century farmhouse that’s called the Kelter. It was even used as an office for the old Herrenalb Monastery.
There’s an old guard gate house and a Hexenturm (Witches Tower) that was once part of the old town’s fortification wall, known as a Stadtmauer. All these medieval sites within town still give Oberderdingen a Middle Ages feel; which I consider a good thing.
Only a few more sites to see that will keep you indoors. There’s an amazingly gorgeous (stunning, fabulous, grand) Grave Church in the village of Sickingen that shouldn’t be missed. With all those adjectives to describe it — don’t you think you SHOULD see it? Another church that should be seen is St. Magdalena.
There used to be an old synagogue here in Oberderdingen. A Jewish community was here from back to around 1548 and lasted until 1940. But, the old 17th century cemetery still remains.
Now head off into the fabulous Kraichgau countryside — one of my favorites — and see Oberderdingen’s Rose Garden with over seventy varieties of them.
If you want some outdoor water sports then you need to go play at lake Bernhardsweiher. Go sit by the water and enjoy that glass of wine — just don’t let the kids think it’s grapejuice! ;-)
