For some people trekking off to the big city is just fine and dandy. And I wouldn’t dream of taking away anything from Germany’s big cities. However, the nuts and bolts of Germany lies in its small towns and villages — places like Pleidelsheim.
Which, by the way, is located just 21km north of Stuttgart.
Ahh, all the easier to get here, huh? And if you think because of its small size (just 10 square kilometers) that you won’t be here long; you got another thing coming.
You could spend all day just staring at the Romanesque Mauritiuskirche, from the 1300s — whose medieval defense tower has survived many centuries.
The church is but one stop along Pleidelsheim’s “History Tour” that’ll take you along some 20 other hot spots. Actually, I kinda went out of order — the tour starts at the Alte Rathaus (Old Town Hall), built back in 1613. Right outside is the Pigeon Monument, one of six monuments and fountains.
From there you can choose to do the whole tour, or pick what you want to see. I wouldn’t, however, skip over the Schorndorfer Court; a building from the 15th century.
Nor would I skip out before seeing the Hasenhof (built 1452), Friedhofstürmle, and Lutheran Parsonage (built 1625) — all the while passing along the Dorfmauer, or village wall.
I like the huge half-timbered house at Hindenburg Platz 2, and the Gasthaus Ochsen (built 1611). These framework buildings give Pleidelsheim an Old World feel, with modern conveniences, of course.
There are just about as many festivals going on in Pleidelsheim as there are “historical monuments.” The Krämermarkt is a Springtime event, held right before Easter; while the Maypole events go off on the last weekend of April.
The Waldfest (Forest Festival) goes off on Whit Weekend (think Pentecost), and on Ascension Day there’s the Fisherman’s Festival. On even-numbered years, Pleidelsheim holds the Marktplatz Festival (in September), while the Straßenfest goes off in July of odd-numbered years.
The Christmas Market is one of the best, an event visited by Santa himself — and offering the chance to climb the Mauritiuskirche’s famed tower.
Maybe a walk around either the Nature Reserve Altneckar or Nature Reserve Eastheath Wiesenthal will calm the mind to keep all this straight. And the views are just as wonderful as the one from atop the church’s tower.
Yeah, I might love Germany’s big cities; but my heart belongs to towns like Pleidelsheim. Doesn’t yours? :-)
