Hettigenbeuern: Götzenturm Tower, Tobacco Barns and Routes

Discover Hettigenbeuern through its historic buildings, traces of earlier uses and the routes described here. The surviving Götzenturm Tower, traditional tobacco barns and several cultural and historical sites each offer a different perspective. When planning your trip, you can choose how to balance local history and routes according to your interests; the wider destination of Buchen (Odenwald) offers additional, distinct cultural themes.

The Götzenturm Tower and traces of local history

The Götzenturm is a surviving medieval residential and fortified toll tower. Built around 1347 as part of a fortified complex to defend the Morre Valley, it was completely restored in 1979/80. Its residential, defensive and toll-collection functions make it a tangible starting point for exploring local history. Another archaeological point of interest is Burgbuckel: finds of pottery, bricks and iron there suggest the presence of a medieval fortification. Two distinct traces thus emerge—a surviving structure and finds that point to a former fortification.

Traditional tobacco barns shape the village landscape of Hettigenbeuern. Thanks to its mild climate, the village was for a long time the only tobacco-growing community in the Odenwald. Alongside the Götzenturm Tower, the barns offer a different historical perspective on the village: here, the focus is on a distinctive type of building and the history of tobacco cultivation. The miniature golf course in the spa park, with its 12 holes, offers a different kind of leisure activity and adds another dimension to this picture.

Historic sites along the routes

Route 3 near Hettigenbeuern crosses the border between Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. Boundary stones bearing the coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Baden and the Bavarian coat of arms, dating from 1838/39, still mark the border there today. The border can thus be traced through tangible historical markers. The same route also passes a historic pig enclosure built from fieldstones, which was used to protect and control herds of pigs. The boundary stones and pig enclosure offer different perspectives: one points to the border, the other to the former management of pig herds.

The Morretal Path between Buchen and Hettigenbeuern provides information about the natural, cultural and landscape history of the Morre Valley. The Maria-Hilf Chapel is also presented along the path from a historical perspective. This themed trail therefore combines a broader view of the Morre Valley with a specific cultural and historical site. By contrast, Route 3 focuses on the boundary stones and the pig enclosure.

Another route option is Cycling Loop 5: it runs from Buchen through Hollerbach, Mudau and Hettigenbeuern, then back to Buchen town centre. Its described sequence of places raises a different question from the historic sites: it shows which places the loop connects.

More cultural themes in Buchen (Odenwald)

The wider destination of Buchen (Odenwald) offers another way to explore regional history at the Buchen District Museum. It is housed in two buildings of the former Electoral Mainz district office and cellar administration: the Stone Building, dating from 1493, and the Trunzer House. The Stone Building displays rural and bourgeois parlors, Baier cupboards typical of the Odenwald, clothing, Odenwald traditional costumes and a toy collection.

The Wartturm Tower is another distinct historical landmark there. It is 14 metres high and stands southeast of Buchen on Wartberg, which is 394 metres above sea level. According to the building inscription, the tower was built or renovated in 1490. In times of war, it served as a watchtower, warning residents of the fortified medieval town of approaching enemy troops.

The 77-kilometre Sculpture Cycle Route offers a broader regional perspective. It links tourist destinations in the region along two loops; there are 25 sculptures in total along the route, and the western loop passes through Buchen. This differs in scope from Cycling Loop 5, whose described sequence of places includes Hettigenbeuern and ends in Buchen town centre.

Discover more destinations: Ravenstein, Aglasterhausen, Buchen, Neunkirchen, Schefflenz, Limbach/Laudenberg, Fahrenbach, Neckarzimmern.

Go to the wider travel overview: Neckar-Odenwald District.