Discover Willstätt: the Kinzig, the mill and Moscherosch

If you are looking for a hotel in Willstätt, cycling tours along the Kinzig, mill history and the legacy of Johann Michael Moscherosch can offer different ways to shape your trip. The themes range from specific routes through the town to literary traces and regional trails.

Cycling along the Kinzig

Willstätt has a well-developed network of cycle paths, with connections to long-distance routes and nearby towns and municipalities. One specific tour is “To Willstätt via the EuroVelo route”: in Willstätt, it follows the Kinzig nature trail and passes the Kinzig weir. It is described as easy to cycle and has no significant climbs. Check current route conditions before setting out.

“Pedalling to Poetry” also includes Willstätt. This literary cycle route links the town with Oberkirch and Renchen to form a Baroque triangle. The two routes offer different points of focus: the EuroVelo tour is guided by its route along the Kinzig nature trail and the weir, as well as its described elevation profile; “Pedalling to Poetry” focuses on its literary theme and the connection between the three towns.

In the wider region, the Mill Cycle Route passes the Willstätt mill, which lies directly on the Alte Kinzig. The route is listed as either 34 or 52 kilometres long. It crosses expansive Ried landscapes with green meadows and old trees, passes bathing lakes, and runs through villages and forests.

The mill and literary traces

The Willstätt mill was built at the end of the 19th century after the previous industrial mill burned down to its foundations in 1888. An exhibition on the ground floor of the mill commemorates Johann Michael Moscherosch (1601–1669). The exhibition connects the mill site with the history of the Baroque author; the mill itself lies right on the Alte Kinzig.

Moscherosch was born in Willstätt on 7 March 1601. He was a Baroque author, satirist and moralist in the Upper Rhine region, and wrote under the name “Philander von Sittewald”. His satirical visions held up an exposing distorting mirror to his age and served as a model for Grimmelshausen. A monument in his honour stands beside the Baroque church in Willstätt. His literary legacy can therefore be encountered both at a named monument and in the exhibition at the mill.

A permanent exhibition on Moscherosch was created in collaboration with the municipality of Willstätt, the German Literature Archive in Marbach (the office for literary museums in Baden-Württemberg) and the Department of German Studies at Heidelberg University. This collaboration offers further insight into the study of the author. Together with the cycle routes to Oberkirch and Renchen, it provides a literary connection that reaches beyond Willstätt’s individual memorial sites.

The Kinzig Trail and display raft

Along the Alte Kinzig, the Kinzig Trail explores topics related to the river’s history: people and professions, animals and events, plants, technology and, above all, water. The Kinzig Trail’s 20 information boards were removed during renovation work along the Alte Kinzig and around the Old Mill; a new concept is planned.

A faithful replica display raft was installed on the banks of the Kinzig at Giesenplatz (Sandgasse) in 2026. It serves as an exhibit and a photo opportunity. While the Kinzig Trail explores the river’s history through a range of themes, the raft presents a single riverside feature.

Willstätt and the Ortenau district

Willstätt is a suitable starting point for trips to tourist destinations and attractions in the region. The wider travel destination of Ortenau district lies between the Rhine and the Black Forest. The district encompasses 23 nature reserves covering around 3,110 hectares in total, stretching from the Rhine plain to the higher elevations of the Black Forest.

Discover more destinations: Meißenheim, Oppenau, Schuttertal, Rheinau, Hausach, Mahlberg, Ottenhöfen im Schwarzwald, Ichenheim.

Back to the regional travel overview: Ortenau district.