Zell am Harmersbach: Ceramics, Museums and Cycle Routes

If you are looking for a hotel in Zell am Harmersbach, the destination’s themes can help you tailor your stay to your interests. Zell ceramics, art, architectural and local history, pilgrimage, and cycling and Nordic walking opportunities each offer a different focus. The examples below show whether you would like to plan your trip around culture, activity, or a look at both.

Ceramics, Art and History

The Rundofen is a largely original porcelain kiln that visitors can enter. Zell ceramics were fired in it from 1839 to 1942. This makes it possible to explore the history of ceramics not only through finished forms: the kiln itself points to the firing process and its long history.

The Hahn-&-Henne design is also closely connected with the history of Zell ceramics and is known beyond the region. The Villa Haiss offers a different, contemporary connection to art: it is a museum and gallery for contemporary art. Since 1997, it has presented emerging and established artists. Together, these themes offer two different perspectives: the history of a ceramic design and current artistic positions.

Tower, Museum and Farmhouse

The Storchenturm is just under 700 years old, 25 metres high and reached by 108 steps. The tower keeper’s room has a viewpoint and information about more than 850 years of regional urban and cultural history. The age of the tower and the longer historical perspective represent two different time horizons.

The Storchenturm Museum displays around 3,500 exhibits on regional history. These include reconstructed workshops, minerals from quarries in the Kinzig Valley, clocks and Zell ceramics. One particular object has its own precisely dated history: the mechanical orchestrion Zamba was built in 1897 and came to Zell am Harmersbach in 1898.

The Fürstenberger Hof is a thatched farmhouse dating from 1660 and now houses a Black Forest farmhouse museum. A distinctive architectural detail is the Alemannic window band, with 112 small panes. The building thus brings its historic architectural form and present-day museum use together.

Maria zu den Ketten is a traditional pilgrimage church. It is considered Baden’s largest Marian pilgrimage church and lies on a section of the Way of St. James. The chains are displayed in the choir; both legends about the chains appear in the large ceiling painting. The history of pilgrimage and its visual representation can thus be explored through different elements of the church interior.

Getting Active and Planning Your Trip

Cyclists can use a mountain bike and cycle route network; there are also six Nordic walking routes. The two types of activities offer different focuses for planning an active trip. No information about route lengths or difficulty levels is provided.

The Storchenturm Museum offers an interactive museum rally for children aged six and over. It lasts around 45 to 60 minutes. Check the programme details before your visit.

The Wider Ortenau District

For regional context: the Ortenau district lies between the Rhine and the Black Forest. This wider destination has 23 nature reserves covering a total area of around 3,110 hectares. They stretch from the Rhine plain to the higher elevations of the Black Forest. These figures describe the Ortenau district as a whole and complement Zell am Harmersbach’s cultural and active offerings with a look at the wider region.

Discover more destinations: Schutterwald, Oberkirch, Lauf, Rust, Kippenheim, Ettenheim, Mühlenbach, Lautenbach

Back to the wider travel overview: Ortenau district.