If I told you how many places have the name Reichenbach in Germany you’d know why the town of Reichenbach an der Fils in Baden-Württemberg added the suffix to its name.
By the way, there are currently twelve Reichenbachs in Germany. That’s a whole lot, isn’t it?
Whatever their geography, this Reichenbach an der Fils here is found only about 25km east of the city of Stuttgart or about a 25 minute drive from the Stuttgart Airport (and the town is easily reached on the Ulm-Stuttgart Rail Line).
Just so you know, the area of Reichenbach an der Fils has been inhabited since the Stone Age (12,000-5000 B.C.). That’s long before tarmacs and modern aircraft.
Fourteen thousand years ago, the town wasn’t a densely populated area; and still isn’t — Reichenbach is home to a population just shy of 8,000 people.
Its population has made a remarkable recovery since only 50 people lived, er, survived here after the Thirty Years’ War in the mid-17th century.
So, what’s got a person to do here in Reichenbach?
A visit to the Catholic St. Michael’s Church and the Evangelical Church of St. Mauritius (the tower dates to the 1520’s) would be a good start.
I would also suggest a visit to the historic Rathaus. Yeah, this one came from the 20th century, but the original one from 1590 was replaced after the townsfolk moved the river.
Yeah, you read that correctly — they were so cheeky and moved the riverbed!
Reichenbach’s cultural events and many concerts take place in a former beer cellar. I’d bet that the acoustics are great — my singing, however, is certainly not. ;-)
In order not to be hurt by my bad singing voice in the confines of the beer cellar, you might want to bicycle out into the countryside — going over the Otto-Munz-Brücke (don’t worry about a car getting you — it’s a bike and pedestrian only bridge).
There’s also a swimming pool complex, if you’d just rather relax for the day. And I think this Reichenbach an der Fils is a good place to do it.
