From Kitzingen via Nördlingen to Augsburg

Thursday, 05 May 2022 06:31
Written by Portal Editor

We want to spend the next few days of our preparatory tour with our friends Lydia and Georg in Kutzenhausen, a small village near Augsburg, who have called several times to ask for an exact arrival date. It's a nice feeling when you're expected.

On the way from Kitzingen we deliberately did not use the BAB but chose the federal highway 25, which should take us via the medieval town of Nördlingen and the Danube to Kutzenhausen / Augsburg. We had received some suggestions and tips from Brita, so we decided to visit Nördlingen as well. Further research on the Internet pointed to the fact that today's Nördlinger Ries region was once created by a huge meteorite that crashed into the Alb here about 15 million years ago. The crater rims of this impact crater, which is about 23 to 25 kilometers in diameter, are still clearly visible today, as they form the almost circular border around the Ries. As we found out later, this can be seen particularly well from the “Daniel” church tower.

Clockwise followed the Baldinger Tor

After a two-hour drive we reached Nördlingen, where we followed the signs into the city. A parking lot below the city wall was also quickly found, so that we could start our tour. Similar to Rottweil, the city walls of Nördlingen date from the year 1327 and are very well preserved and with its five gates in the gate towers, the eleven other towers and the bastions, it provides a deep insight into the history of the Middle Ages, which the circular route leads up to is deepened by the high battlements. Since we had parked near the Berger Tor in the south, we also started our "wall walk" here. Clockwise followed the Baldinger Tor, the Löpsinger Tor, where we also paid a short visit to the city wall museum, the Deininger Tor and the Reimlinger Tor. In the city wall museum, we were also able to get further information about the meteorite impact, which also allowed us to climb the tower. You could clearly see the outline of the crater from above. Also interesting is the old bastion, which could accommodate up to 10 artillery pieces next to each other on two floors and is very well preserved.

90-meter-high church tower of the Gothic St. George's Church

With the Feilturm, Löwenturm, upper water tower, oven towers, pointed tower, lower water tower and tearing tower, the other tower structures should at least be mentioned here.

We then left the ramparts of the city wall, because the 90-meter-high church tower of the Gothic St. George's Church, built between 1427 and 1505, was too tempting. The church tower, affectionately called "Daniel" by the residents, can be climbed via adventurous stone and wooden stairs and offers the visitor a wonderful view over the city and above all the entire Ries so that the crater rim of the meteorite impact can now be clearly seen on the horizon. About 90 meters high and a 360° all-round view even allowed a glimpse into the nursery of a pair of storks that had bred on the roof of a town house. The church itself was under restoration work, so that the visit was very short.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was also a guest of the "Gasthaus zur Sonne"

From the tower, we had already noticed the historic market square, which we now went to next. Since a group of tourists was receiving some explanations from the city guide present, we briefly joined the group of listeners and learned a little about the history of the market in Nördlingen, which was more like a fair for about 10 days once a year. Cloth merchants presented their goods here in the bread and dance house, which was built between 1442 and 1444, while celebrations were taking place on the upper floor. A bridge connected the building to the Metzig half-timbered house, built in 1363, which was normally used by the butchers as a sales room, but was used to expand the sales area of the cloth merchants during trade fairs. Opposite is the Gasthaus zur Sonne, which was built around 1350 as accommodation for "important" guests. In addition to Emperor Friedrich III and Maximilian I around 1500, Charles V lodged here in 1548. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was also a guest of the "Gasthaus zur Sonne" in 1788.

The first settlement was most likely Septemiacum

In general, Nördlingen and the Nördlinger Ries can also refer to a long-standing settlement, the traces in the Ofnet cave lead back to the late Palaeolithic. Other finds confirm the settlement during the Late Neolithic, the Urnfield culture, the Hallstatt and also the Latène culture. In the district of Baldingen there was also a Roman villa, which also included a fire burial ground. In the year 85 AD, a Roman fort was built with the first settlements of traders in the south of today's city, which went down again in 259 / 260 during the conquest of the Alamanni. With the discovery of the Peutinger tablet (Tabula Peutingeriana) it became clear that the name of the first settlement was most likely Septemiacum, but whether this concerned the settlement around the fort remains unclear, as a Roman estate was also excavated in the Holheim district. These farms, known as villa rustica, were always a clear sign of Roman settlements, because they served to provide food. The excavation of the villa rustica can also be visited, which would have exceeded our schedule today.

A one-hour solo concert as finger exercise

We had then lost a bit of orientation regarding the parking lot of our car and had followed the city wall too far. But this had the advantage that we had walked the entire battlement with it. But already somewhat exhausted, we then continued on the way to Kutzenhausen, which was reached after another 2 hours' drive. Georg was already waiting for us at the beautifully situated house in the middle of the idyll of meadows and forest. He accompanied us to our "home" for the next few days, which is also his very personal, private practice room for rehearsing new pieces of music as part of his band "Backdoor Connection" and is therefore more like a recording studio in a way.

In any case, there are a number of different guitars that are placed as wall decorations as well as 2 huge PC monitors with accessories where a "real studio" in the form of the appropriate professional software is installed. That evening we attended a one-hour solo concert as finger exercise.

Later in the evening there was a barbecue in the garden and a cool blond beer, at least for my wife and Georg, let the evening fade away.

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