Gengenbach: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
For more than four centuries Gengenbach answered to no duke or bishop, only to the emperor: it was a Free Imperial City from 1360 until 1803. What you see today is mostly rebuilt after French troops burned the town in 1689, which is why the old town looks so even, so full of 18th-century houses. Everything is inside the walls and close together. Walk it in the morning, then climb to the chapel in the vineyards.
A short history of Gengenbach
Gengenbach, in the Kinzig valley in the Black Forest, grew up around a Benedictine abbey founded in the 8th century. In 1360 it became a Free Imperial City, a status it held until 1803, when it was annexed to Baden. In 1689, during the Nine Years' War, French soldiers burned almost the entire town, and most of the half-timbered houses seen there today were rebuilt in the 18th century. The town has kept its gates and wall towers. Since the 1990s, every December the 24 windows of the town hall have been turned into a giant Advent calendar, with one window opened each evening.
The ten best sights in Gengenbach
1Town HallIn December its 24 windows open one a day as a giant Advent calendar
2Niggel TowerA carnival museum on its floors and a view over the roofs from the top
3Upper GateOne of the old town gates; walk the lanes between it and the Kinzig gate
4Church of St. MaryThe old abbey church, Romanesque at heart; quiet and cool on a hot day
5EngelgasseThe prettiest lane of half-timbered houses, with flowers on every sill
6St. Jacob's ChapelA chapel among the vines on the Bergle; 20 minutes' climb for the view of the town
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7Haus Löwenberg Museum
Art exhibitions in a baroque townhouse on the main street
8Rafting and Transport MuseumHow the Black Forest floated its timber down to the Rhine
9Black Forest Open-Air MuseumWhole farmhouses to walk through, 35 minutes up the Kinzig valley; plan half a day
10Salmen, OffenburgA former inn and synagogue, now a memorial; check the opening days
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Gengenbach →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Gengenbach:
Free walking tours in Gengenbach
The little imperial city
For more than four centuries Gengenbach answered to no duke or bishop, only to the emperor: it was a Free Imperial City from 1360 until 1803. What you see today is mostly rebuilt after French troops burned the town in 1689, which is why the old town looks so even, so full of 18th-century houses. Everything is inside the walls and close together. Walk it in the morning, then climb to the chapel in the vineyards.
- Town Hall · The classical town hall was finished in the 1780s by the local architect Victor Kretz. Since the 1990s its 24 windows have become the "largest Advent calendar house in the world": each December evening one more window is lit with a picture by a famous illustrator.
- Niggel Tower · The tower was part of the town walls and later served as a prison and watchtower. Today its floors hold a museum of the Swabian-Alemannic carnival, the Fasent, with the carved wooden masks and costumes the town's fools still wear every February.
- Kinzig Gate · Gengenbach kept its gate towers even after it lost its walls' purpose, and the tall gates still mark the ends of the main street. Through them ran the road along the Kinzig valley, the old trade route from the Rhine plain over the Black Forest.
- Benedictine Abbey and St. Mary's · The town grew around a Benedictine abbey founded in the 8th century, one of the oldest in the region. The abbey was dissolved in 1807, and its buildings are now a campus of the Offenburg University of Applied Sciences.
- Rafting and Transport Museum · For centuries Black Forest firs were tied into huge rafts and floated down the Kinzig and the Rhine all the way to Holland. The tall straight trunks were prized there for ship masts and for the piles that hold up the houses of Amsterdam.
- St. Jacob's Chapel · The pilgrimage chapel stands on the Bergle, the vineyard hill right behind the old town. The vines around it grow the Ortenau's Riesling and Pinot, and the path up passes wine terraces with views over the Kinzig valley.
Crafts of the Kinzig valley
Up the Kinzig valley the Black Forest becomes the one on the postcards: huge farmhouses under hipped roofs, clocks, glass and pottery. The road follows the river south-east, and each town along it has kept a craft. This route makes a full day with the open-air museum as its long stop. Go early in summer; the museum car park fills by eleven.
- Zeller Keramik, Zell am Harmersbach · The pottery of Zell has been making tableware for more than two centuries. Its best-known pattern, the cockerel and hen, has been painted on cups and plates since the end of the 19th century and is found in kitchens all over Germany.
- Haslach · Haslach was the home town of Heinrich Hansjakob, a Catholic priest and writer who told the stories of the Kinzig valley's farmers, rafters and craftsmen. His retirement house, the Freihof, is now a museum about him.
- Black Forest Open-Air Museum · The Vogtsbauernhof farmhouse was built in 1612 and still stands where it was built. Since the museum opened in 1964, other old farmhouses from across the Black Forest have been taken apart and rebuilt around it, each with its rooms, mill or sawmill.
- Dorotheenhütte glassworks, Wolfach · Glass has been blown in the Black Forest for centuries, using the wood of the forest to fire the furnaces. At the Dorotheenhütte glassblowers still shape glass by mouth in front of visitors, and there is a museum of glassmaking.
- Triberg Waterfalls · The Gutach falls 163 metres here over seven big steps, which makes them among the highest waterfalls in Germany. Red squirrels are so used to visitors along the path that they come to take nuts from the hand.
- Hohengeroldseck castle ruin · The ruin on its hilltop was the seat of the lords of Geroldseck, who once ruled much of this part of the Black Forest. It was destroyed by French troops in 1689, the same war that burned Gengenbach.
Wine, democracy and the high ridge
West of Gengenbach the hills of the Ortenau are covered with vines, and the town of Offenburg holds a chapter of German history few visitors know. From there the road climbs to the Black Forest High Road, past a ruined abbey and its waterfalls, to a mountain lake. The day goes from Riesling to fir forest in about an hour of driving. Leave the wine tasting for the end, or for a passenger.
- Ortenberg Castle · The medieval castle was destroyed in 1678 and rebuilt in the 1830s and 1840s as a romantic neo-Gothic castle by the architect Friedrich Eisenlohr. It is now a youth hostel, so anyone can walk into the courtyard.
- Salmen, Offenburg · On 12 September 1847 democrats met in the hall of the Salmen inn and proclaimed the "Demands of the People" — freedom of the press, trial by jury, fair taxes — a first programme of the revolution of 1848. From 1875 the hall was the town's synagogue, until it was wrecked in November 1938; it is now a memorial to both stories.
- Ritterhaus Museum, Offenburg · The town museum is housed in a baroque nobleman's house in the old town. Its collections cover Offenburg from the Romans to the revolution of 1848.
- Staufenberg Castle, Durbach · The castle above Durbach belongs to the Margraves of Baden and is a wine estate. Its Klingelberg vineyard gave its name to Klingelberger, the local name for Riesling in the Ortenau.
- Allerheiligen Abbey ruins and falls · A monastery was founded in this lonely valley at the end of the 12th century. It was closed in 1803 and burned after a lightning strike soon after, and the roofless Gothic church still stands. Below it the stream drops through a gorge in a chain of waterfalls.
- Mummelsee · The lake lies at about 1,000 metres below the Hornisgrinde, the highest peak of the northern Black Forest. Its name comes from the Mummeln, water nymphs who in local legend rise from the lake at night.
Getting to Gengenbach and getting around
- Gengenbach Station · On the Black Forest Railway; Offenburg is ten minutes away, the old town a five-minute walk
- Offenburg Station · The nearest fast-train stop, on the main line between Frankfurt and Basel
- Strasbourg Airport · Across the Rhine in France, about 40 minutes by car
Cheap eats in Gengenbach
The Ortenau eats like its neighbour across the Rhine: tarte flambée — thin dough with cream, onions and bacon — is as common here as in Alsace. Add Black Forest ham, smoked and air-dried, on farm bread, and a glass of local Riesling, and you have the classic snack. Cake is serious business in the afternoon. Many bakeries close at midday on Saturday and all of Sunday.
- Kinzig Grill-Haus · Kebab and grill on the main street; a döner about €7-8
- Nikolai's Schwarzwaldbahn-Stüble · Snack bar at the station; sausage and chips about €6-9
- Dreher's Kaffeehaus · Bakery-café; filled roll and coffee about €5-8
- Café König · Cake café on the main street; a slice of Black Forest gateau about €4-5
- Holzofenbäckerei Pfaff · Wood-oven bakery; a loaf about €4-6, rolls under €1
- Klostermühle · Bakery by the abbey; pretzels and rolls €1-3
Museums in Gengenbach
- Niggel Tower carnival museum · Masks and costumes on several floors, with the view at the top
- Rafting and Transport Museum · Small, but explains the valley's timber trade well
- Haus Löwenberg Museum · Changing art shows in an elegant townhouse
- Black Forest Open-Air Museum · Half a day; craft demonstrations most days in season
- Salmen memorial, Offenburg · The 1847 hall and the synagogue story; small exhibition
Nature and day trips near Gengenbach
- St. Jacob's Chapel and the Bergle · Vineyard walk straight from the old town
- Brandeckkopf · Forest walk to a lookout tower, with a hut for lunch
- Allerheiligen Falls · Wooden steps beside the water; slippery when wet
- Mummelsee · A path round the lake in 20 minutes; the Hornisgrinde above it for a longer walk
- Triberg Waterfalls · Entry fee; bring nuts for the squirrels
Things to do in Gengenbach with kids
- Town Hall Advent calendar · In December a window opens every evening at 6 pm, with music
- Waldgaststätte Ponyhof · A forest inn above town with ponies; good end to a walk
- Black Forest Open-Air Museum · Farm animals, a mill and space to run
- Triberg Waterfalls · Squirrels that eat from your hand
- Ortenberg Castle · A real castle with towers to explore the outside of
Where to eat in Gengenbach
- Die Reichsstadt · Fine dining in a hotel on Engelgasse; book ahead
- Winzerstüble · Wine tavern: tarte flambée and local wine
- Hotel Restaurant Sonne · Baden home cooking on the main street
- Mercyscher Hof · Restaurant in an old courtyard house in the old town
- Frei Steinkellerhaus · Hearty food by the Niggel Tower
Frequently asked questions about Gengenbach
What is there to see in Gengenbach?
The top sights in Gengenbach are Town Hall, Niggel Tower and Upper Gate. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Gengenbach?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Gengenbach without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Gengenbach?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Gengenbach, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The little imperial city.
How do you get to Gengenbach and get around?
The main ways are Gengenbach Station, Offenburg Station and Strasbourg Airport. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Gengenbach, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Gengenbach that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Gengenbach for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.