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Home Page > Travelogues > Germany > Bayern > Feuchtwangen

Feuchtwangen was one of several small towns along the Romantic Road following south from Rothenburg o.d. Tauber.  It was a town easily overlooked because it wasn't lucky enough to retain so much of its city wall like its better known neighbors.  But it enjoyed a rich history and sat at a very important location, in modern terms -- the intersection of Autobahns 6 and 7, the major arteries leading north-south and east-west through south central Germany.  (It harkened the opportune positioning of nearby medieval Dinkelsbuehl, oddly enough.)  This fostered Feuchtwangen's development of its industrial base.

Much of the old town was rebuilt after World War II, and most of the older city structures (like the original city wall) have been replaced.  However, the main market square, shown in the first photograph, was very much like the old days.  This photo was my take of Feuchtwangen's common 'postcard shot' -- with the town fountain (Röhrerbrunnen) in the foreground and the Stiftskirche (Collegiate Church) in the back.  The buildings across the way were moderately decorated with murals and figurines as well.

The half-timbered building in the center of the photograph was a beautiful coffee house that occupied one wall of the Romanischen Kreuzgang, shown in the second photograph.  This hidden garden was very impressive with its stone arches and carefully-cropped hedges.  In the summer, the Kreuzgang hosts outdoor concerts.

The other buildings of interest on the square included the huge Stiftskirche and its companion church, Johanniskirche, both perched at the top of a stone wall overlooking the Sulzach River.  These two churches are very recently rebuilt and impressive on the inside.  The church square also hosts the city convention hall which was gearing up for a major family function as we walked by.

We spent the majority of the time visiting the Franconian Museum, located a block away from the market square.  This sprawling museum complex had a lot of information about the regional history.  Included were displays of regional porcelain, woodworking, and textiles.  Several rooms were set up with 17th through 20th-Century furnishings, while others contained displays of ecclesiastic art from medieval times.  Behind the museum building was a small park with a blacksmith's workplace, a stable with a mill, and the original house of a ropemaker.   Near the museum was the city's Evangelical Church, shown in the third photograph.  This church was beautifully rebuilt. 

We finished our tour of Feuchtwangen with a brief tour of the Sulzach River valley and the park that followed it.  The Sulzach was a large stream bounded by an elevated walking trail extending across the whole city.

One thing worth mentioning was that Feuchtwangen's largest attraction wasn't in the downtown, instead wat is located off the Feuchtwangen exit next to the A6-A7 junction.  It was western Bavaria's largest casino, a massive glass-and-steel building on a small hill overlooking farmland.  I thought it was interesting how isolated, and out-of-character this structure was compared to the rest of the town (almost as if the towns shunned it).  Oh well.

I believe Feuchtwangen was a place best visited during a festival.  It was a nice place, but not very big, nor quite as historic as its neighbors.