It’s my last town of the week, and I can’t much think of a prettier place to do it than in the town of Schutterwald in the Ortenau, the Upper Rhine Valley, and very close to the Black Forest.
All righty, maybe the fact that Schutterwald is a wine town could have something to do with it.
Please, being this close to France (only one town over, BTW), I have to extoll the virtues of German wine, which are mainly the Riesling variety in this part of, or near, the Black Forest.
That brings me to reason number two of why I’m glad this is my last virtual stop. Steeped in folklore, legend, and scary creatures (of the mytholoical variety, not in reality) the Black Forest is a haven for those who appreciate the natural beauty of the world. Find a hiking trail or bike path to dream the day away.
You could actually dream away a few days since one-third of Schutterwald is totally forested. ;-)
There’s no rest for the weary if you’ve come to Schutterwald on the Kinzigtäler Jakobusweg, a section of the Way Of St. James that passes numerous sights on its way through the Kinzig Valley from Loßburg to Schutterwald to Straßburg, France.
Sit. Have a glass of wine. Then you’ll be all refreshed when you arrive back at St. James Church.
If you stay long enough you might notice something different about the traditional dress of the town’s residents. While Bavaria might have the dirndl and lederhosen, Schutterwalders (the ladies, anyway) have a more colorful scheme going on, while the men’s attire is black & red.
Most noticable is the scarf-like item worn cris-cross over the chest (all decked out in a multitude of colors) and the many folds of the skirt. They’re often handed down from mothers to daughters, made of the finest silk or wool.
Tradition is big here, which is why you’ll always find the Dorffest (Village Festival) held every year at the end of June.
No festival? How about visiting the ruins of Burg Mörburg? I should say where the Mörburg once was, as nothing of this castle (built in 1129) stands after it was destroyed during the dreaded Thirty Years’ War.
I refuse to end my week thinking about destructive wars in German history, so I’ll end it over at the Freibad am See (the lake/outdoor pool in the north of town) — and slash the rest of my time away.
