Discover Tapfheim on the Danube
Accommodation in Tapfheim
The Danube is a defining feature of the landscape in the municipality of Tapfheim. Tapfheim, DonaumĂĽnster and Erlingshofen are all situated along it. The landscape also changes within the municipality: gentle hills and the Kessel Valley shape the north, while the south is characterized by the flat landscape of the Danube and the gravel pits. This offers you a variety of nature and history-related points of interest to consider when choosing your destination.
The Danube, Kessel Valley and southern plain
The contrast between the northern Kessel Valley and the flat south is part of Tapfheim’s character. While the Danube connects several of the places mentioned, hills and the valley shape the landscape in the north. In the south, the Danube and gravel pits lie within a flat landscape. These differences give the municipality more than just one kind of scenery.
Place names can help you keep the geographical features straight: Tapfheim, Donaumünster and Erlingshofen lie along the Danube; the hills and Kessel Valley describe the north of the municipality. This makes it easier to understand Tapfheim’s landscape without confusing its northern and southern features.
Birdwatching and floodplain forest
On the north bank of the Danube, at the Donaumünster Bridge, stands a birdwatching tower belonging to the “Experience Nature in the Swabian Danube Valley” project. From there and along the route, you can observe typical waterbirds and floodplain forest birds. Information stations explain bird migration and the best times for observation.
The “Birdsong” and “Floodplain Forest” stations focus on different aspects of the Danube floodplains: one is about birdsong, while the other explores the floodplain forest and its characteristic trees, flora and fauna. Together with the information about bird migration, they offer a nature-focused experience combining observation with insights into habitats.
Roman stone and historic boundary stones
The Roman stone, an ancient Roman gravestone, is located by the church in Brachstadt. It received official recognition at a later date, and its location was better protected from weathering. The stone is therefore evidence of antiquity, and its location has also been protected from the effects of the weather.
Historic boundary stones can be found in Brachstadt and DonaumĂĽnster. One is dated 1768 and marks the former boundary between the County of Oettingen to the north and the Principality of Palatinate-Neuburg. Some of the stones may have been taken from the Rennweg, a former boundary path in the municipality. The stones thus offer a glimpse of both a dated boundary and the explicitly possible origin of some individual stones.
More to explore in the wider Donau-Ries destination
In the wider Donau-Ries destination, the Ries Geopark—with the Ries Crater formed by a meteorite impact—is a tourist attraction. The Kühstein Geopark Trail explains the processes behind the impact 14.5 million years ago at eight interpretive panels. Buchberg offers panoramic views of the Ries and its inner and outer crater rims.
The Ries Crater Museum presents the asteroid impact that created the Nördlinger Ries, as well as its cosmic origins and effects that continue to this day. Exhibits and offerings include meteorites, fossils, a piece of real moon rock, information panels and multimedia presentations. The Ries event is presented in an extensively renovated medieval barn dating from 1503. Using several display panels, the Wemding Geopark Information Centre explains which locations offer visitors particularly good views of the crater structure in the landscape.
Nördlingen’s medieval town wall is completely preserved and can be walked in its entirety. The town museum covers the life and beliefs of Nördlingen’s residents, the changes brought about by the Reformation, the Thirty Years’ War and the 1634 Battle of Nördlingen. Its collection, more than 150 years old, is displayed across four floors; a model made from around 6,000 tin figures illustrates the battle. The Donau-Ries region thus brings geological topics together with insights into the history of Nördlingen.
Discover more destinations: Ehingen Am Ries, Fremdingen, Donauwörth, Oettingen In Bavaria, Mertingen, Rain, Ries, Oberndorf Am Lech
See the wider travel overview: Donau-Ries.
