Discover Ettenheim

After being almost completely destroyed in 1637, Ettenheim was rebuilt as a Baroque town. Prinzengarten, the museum and walking trails offer different ways to explore this history. When looking for a hotel, you can consider whether you would like your stay to focus more on the town’s history, a guided tour or independent exploration.

Baroque History and Walking Trails

Prinzengarten is a historic garden laid out in the Baroque style, outside the western town gate. A sandstone wall surrounds the grounds. The Kaiserbergtour also starts in Ettenheim’s old town at Prinzengarten, making the garden both a destination in its own right and a named starting point for this tour.

The official walking trails combine nature, history and art. Named stops and destinations include the historic old town, the Meierberg nature trail and the Riegger fishponds. This lets you take different themes into account when planning, rather than focusing your visit solely on the town’s Baroque history.

Museum, Winegrowing and Organ

Ettenheim Museum is located in the vaulted cellar of the Haus der Vereine. There you can see exhibits, finds and documents relating to the town’s history. The collection adds objects and written records to the picture of Ettenheim’s past.

The Jäger winemaking family’s wine museum focuses on a different subject. It displays historical exhibits on work in viticulture and a working home distillery with parts that are more than 100 years old. Alongside the town’s history, winegrowing and distilling are therefore among the subjects you can explore in Ettenheim.

Organ demonstrations are offered on the Ferdinand Stieffell organ at St. Bartholomew’s Church. Arrangements may change, so check the current options before making plans.

Guided Tours and Digital Town Exploration

Public town tours are offered on Fridays from May to October. The meeting point is the town hall or the Tourist Information office. Check the dates and times for the current year again before your visit.

Private group town tours can be booked in German, English and French and last about an hour and a half. Confirm the arrangements with the Tourist Information office. The free Actionbound app takes you around Ettenheim with 15 stops; the starting point is in front of the town hall.

The options differ in format and timing: on a group tour, you can choose one of the three languages listed and allow about an hour and a half. The app offers a free, stop-based way to explore Ettenheim digitally. This makes it easier to decide in advance whether a guided group tour or the app better suits your plans.

Regional Orientation: Ortenau District

As a broader regional point of reference, Ortenau District lies between the Rhine and the Black Forest. It has 23 nature reserves covering a total area of around 3,110 hectares, extending from the Rhine plain to the higher elevations of the Black Forest. One example in Ortenau District is Taubergießen Nature Reserve: it covers 1,695 hectares and is one of the largest nature reserves in Baden-Württemberg.

Discover more destinations: Sasbachwalden, Oberwolfach, Schuttertal, Seebach, Bad Peterstal-Griesbach, Mahlberg, Durbach, Seelbach

For the broader travel overview: Ortenau District.