Köngen: Roman History, Cultural Days and Weekly Market

Köngen offers a range of attractions for a stay: Roman history, architectural and art history, regular Cultural Days and a Saturday weekly market. Ulrich Bridge and a digital tour are also among the local highlights. Depending on whether you are interested in history, events or the market, you can focus your plans on different things.

Ulrich Bridge and Roman history

Ulrich Bridge is a landmark of the municipality and is closely associated with the history of Duke Ulrich of Württemberg. It also achieved literary fame. Since 1975, it has been reserved for pedestrians and cyclists. Its special significance and designated use are both part of its local history.

The Grinario fort was built by the Romans between 90 and 95 AD and abandoned in 155. Afterwards, it was used, among other things, to build a Roman bath. Its construction, abandonment and later use represent different stages in the town’s Roman history, rather than a single point in time.

The park and museum at Köngen Roman Park were inaugurated in 1988. Another reminder of Roman times is the Jupiter Giant Column at the entrance to Köngen. It is considered evidence of Roman settlement in the municipality during the first centuries AD. The four-sided, four-god stone at its base depicts four different deities. The octagonal stone of the gods of the week features a relief of the goddess of victory, Victoria; the seven other sides depict the seven gods of the week, beginning with Saturday. The two stones have different emphases: one depicts four deities, while the other combines Victoria with the sequence of the gods of the week.

Art history and Cultural Days

Köngen’s cultural heritage also includes the castle and St Peter and Paul’s Church. The so-called Knights’ Hall in Köngen Castle is now of great significance for art history. The castle also contains portraits of Roman and German emperors from the Renaissance. St Peter and Paul’s Church features tombstones of the Thumb von Neuburg family and a Renaissance winged altar with Gothic carvings. The altar thus combines two art-historical styles: Renaissance and Gothic carving. Together with the tombstones, these provide several distinct connections to the history and art of the town.

Since 1988, the Köngen Cultural Days have been held regularly at the Zehntscheuer. The programme includes cabaret, chamber music, theatre, music and lectures. It therefore features both stage and music events as well as lectures. If you would like to plan your stay around an event, check the dates in advance.

Weekly market and digital tour

The Köngen weekly market takes place every Saturday in the pedestrian zone. Market hours are 08:00 to 12:00; from April to September, it starts at 07:00. Vendors and producers from the region come to the pedestrian zone for the market. Products on offer include fruit, vegetables, eggs, pasta and flowers, as well as baskets, brushes and wooden goods, haberdashery, craft supplies and leather goods. Clothing is not sold. The selection therefore ranges from food to everyday and craft items. As market hours may change and individual vendors and goods may vary, it is best to check locally again before your visit.

A digital tour using the free DigiWalk app follows 15 stops from Ulrich Bridge to the Roman fort and takes about two hours. You can also split the tour across several walks. You can read or listen to the texts on your smartphone. This means the tour takes longer than a single visit to the market: allow about two hours for it, though you can split it across several walks. App availability and features may change; check the app before your trip.

Discover more destinations: Neuffen, Bempflingen, Wernau, Großbettlingen, Wolfschlugen, Filderstadt, Neckartenzlingen, Wendlingen.

Return to the main travel guide: Esslingen.