Heuchlingen: Leintal Cycle Route and Churches from Several Centuries

Heuchlingen offers several different starting points for planning a trip: the Leintal Cycle Route, church architecture, and hiking routes maintained by the Swabian Alb Association. The Lein crosses the municipality in the northwest, flowing through a winding Keuper valley.

Churches from different periods

The Catholic parish church of St. Vitus in Heuchlingen was built in 1733 and extended in 1850; it houses an oil painting by the Jesuit Jakob Eylvius, dating from 1591. The late Baroque St. George’s Chapel was built in 1757. Chronologically, the painting predates the church, while the chapel was built between the church’s construction and its later extension. This helps place the different periods associated with the two religious buildings in context: an older work of art, the construction and extension of St. Vitus, and the building of the chapel.

Cycling route and landscape

The 48-kilometer-long Leintal Cycle Route runs from Abtsgmünd through Heuchlingen to Welzheim. Heuchlingen is therefore on the route connecting these two named endpoints. The total distance and route are useful points of reference when planning a ride; check the latest route information before setting off. The Lein crosses the municipality in the northwest, flowing through a winding Keuper valley. The cycling route and the river provide different points of reference: one describes a route that extends beyond the municipality, while the other is a landscape feature within it.

Alb Association hut and hiking trails

The Heuchlingen Alb Association hut stands on Galgenberg. The 2026 program lists opening days on the second and fourth Sundays from October to April, as well as on the second Wednesday of each month, except in August. These dates apply to the 2026 program year; check the program for later years. The Heuchlingen branch of the Swabian Alb Association maintains two trail networks: one between Heuchlingen and Untergröningen, and another between the Limes and Büchelberger Grat. A section of the second network is part of the Swabian-Franconian Way of St. James. Their different reference points help distinguish the two networks. Check the current route before setting out on a hike.

More places to explore in the Ostalb district

The wider Ostalb district has its own cultural attractions in other named places. In Rainau, the Upper German-Raetian Limes runs through the districts of Buch, Schwabsberg, and Dalkingen for about six kilometers; it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005. The Limes Park in Rainau preserves its finest sections and most important individual monuments in a unique concentration. A reconstructed watchtower offers panoramic views across the Ostalb. The Limes circular hiking trail near Rainau is about 11 kilometers long and takes roughly two and a half hours to walk. It runs from the Limes wall and tower between Buch and Schwabsberg, through the Mahdholz forest along the Limes, to the southern edge of Schwabsberg.

Lorch Abbey is another cultural and historical attraction in the Ostalb district. It was founded in 1102 as a burial place by the first Hohenstaufen ruler, Frederick I, and his wife Agnes of Waiblingen. The complex includes a medieval church, cloister, outbuildings, and the Marsilius Tower. The permanent exhibition explores 900 years of the abbey’s history, including through the richly decorated Lorch choir books.

Discover more destinations: Leinzell, Lorch, Tannhausen, Essingen, Durlangen, Ruppertshofen, Ellwangen, Jagstzell.

See the overview of the wider destination: Ostalb district.