OK, if you fashion yourself a history buff, there isn’t too much out there that you enjoy better than to sit down with a cup of coffee and discuss the Romans, medieval castles, and even war and politics of yesteryear, right?
Then it’ll utterly impress you to know that a 300,000 (yeah, that’s 6-figures) year old skull was found in the town of Reilingen in 1978. How could it not; that’s time measured in millennia, not centuries.
Thankfully, you have the Bertha Benz Memorial Route, the Baden Asparagus Route, and the Spargel- und Tabaklehrpfad (Asparagus & Tobacco Trail) to distract you. ;-)
The Baden Asparagus Route is a wonderful scenic route centered around the King’s Veggie, finding its way on to a plate near you.
Along the Asparagus & Tobacco Trail, you’ll walk along 5 stations detailing the history of the crops. It starts over by the cemetery, BTW.
For a natural history “tour” follow the Reilinger Eck. Twenty-one stations give you info on the forest itself, its history, and all the plants & animals found within it.
Another route that brings you through Reilingen is the Way of St. James. Pilgrims on this devotional route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain like to get their “passports” stamped — which they’ll happily do for you at the Rathaus.
I don’t know if you’ll be lucky enough to find a 300,000 year old skull along the Nature Trail Reilingen as they did back in the ’70s. But, you could try. If not, just enjoy the walk around one of the nearby lakes.
For a more “modern” history of Reilingen, I’d suggest a visit to the Local History Museum. Which just so happens to be housed in Reilingen’s oldest building: the Zum Löwen, a historic inn from 1435. Today’s building, however, didn’t come along until the 17th century because the French destroyed the original one.
The inn isn’t the only framework house in town, there are a good number of them so keep your camera handy.
And towns this old usually have a long tradition of festivals and fairs, do they not? Um, yes they do. Just like Reilingen’s Spring Festival (which coincides with the Asparagus Festival), the Maypole Festival on April 30th, the Street Festival on the 2nd Saturday of September, the Easter Market, and the Advent Market (one the 2nd weekend of Advent).
While history that spans back 300,000 years might shock you, you can get a grasp on a good time. Can’t you?
