Endingen am Kaiserstuhl: City Gates, Museums and Hiking Trails

Endingen am Kaiserstuhl offers a range of options for your stay: trails that start right in town, as well as museums and buildings connected to the town’s history. Whether you’d rather spend your time hiking and cycling or exploring historical topics is up to you.

Getting There and Finding Your Way

You can travel to the Kaiserstuhl by bus, train, or car. From the Riegel exit on the A5, Endingen is about five kilometers away by road. When driving from Riegel, you can enjoy views of the Kaiserstuhl and often the Vosges Mountains, too. The Endingen Tourist Information Office can advise you on hiking and cycling tours, provides information materials on these topics, and rents out e-bikes.

Hiking Trails and Cycling Tours Starting in Endingen

Numerous circular hiking and cycling routes start right in Endingen, leading through vineyards, forests, and volcanic hills. The Katharinenpfad is one of the panoramic hiking trails starting in Endingen. The Kaiserstuhlpfad also starts in Endingen and passes through vineyards, deciduous forests, loess paths, and protected areas. The two hiking trails have different emphases: the Kaiserstuhlpfad takes in several types of landscape, while the Katharinenpfad is notable for its panoramic views.

The Kaiserstuhl Cycle Route is another option for a bike tour. It allows you to visit picturesque villages around the Kaiserstuhl. Amoltern, a district of Endingen, also offers its own attractions for an outing: the Amolterer Heide is a protected area with many species of orchid. The Amolterer Kräuterpfad also runs through Amoltern as a circular trail with information panels about wild herbs. So the routes differ not only in how you travel, but also in the landscapes and topics that take center stage along the way.

Museums and the History of Endingen

The Kaiserstühler Heimatmuseum focuses on the history of Endingen, crafts, winegrowing, and patron saints of the guilds. It also documents the emigration of around 400 people from the Kaiserstuhl to Tovar in Venezuela in 1843. The Cheese Museum tells a different part of local history: it is housed in a former cheese dairy that opened in 1901 and produced Alemannic cheeses. The Carnival Museum displays fool figures associated with Endingen’s lively carnival tradition.

City Gates and Architectural History

The Königschaffhauser Tor, known in Endingen as the Torli, is the only one of the four city gates still standing and is located in the west of the town. Several periods of architectural history can be seen at St. Peter’s Parish Church: it was first mentioned in 1256, and its nave was rebuilt between 1773 and 1775. The church is considered a late Baroque regional landmark.

A guided tour of Endingen’s old town can be combined with a wine tasting at the Knab winery. A joint walking tour of the town thus complements the historical themes also on display at the city gates, the church, and the museums.

Discover more destinations: Rheinhausen, Bahlingen, Winden im Elztal, Simonswald, Wyhl am Kaiserstuhl, Gutach im Breisgau, Teningen, Sasbach am Kaiserstuhl

See the overview of the wider region: Emmendingen.