Herzogenaurach between the Old Town and Dohnwald

Herzogenaurach can be explored through different themes: the medieval Old Town, the City Museum and the Dohnwald forest. If you are looking for a hotel for your stay, consider which of these aspects interests you most. The inner city tour takes about half an hour; the museum and Dohnwald offer different thematic perspectives. This lets you plan your stay around the city’s history, industrial history or outdoor activities.

City and industrial history at the museum

The permanent collection of the Herzogenaurach City Museum spans three floors. It offers insights into the city’s history of governance, business and civic life over its 1,000-year past. A particular focus is Herzogenaurach’s industrial development into a sports shoe metropolis and a centre of the ball-bearing industry.

The collection includes tools used by cloth makers as well as original shoes from Herzogenaurach-based sportswear companies adidas and Puma. These exhibits bring craftsmanship and industrial development to life through tangible objects. The museum thus connects different perspectives on the city’s history, without requiring you to focus on just one topic.

Old Town and architectural history

The inner city tour leads through the medieval Old Town and takes about half an hour. The Pfründnerspital adds a historical perspective as a late-medieval half-timbered building and a monument of significance beyond the region in Herzogenaurach. A tour of the City Museum also tells you more about the 500-year-old hospital and its former residents.

This gives you two different ways to explore the city’s history: a tour of the Old Town and a thematic deep dive at the museum. The approximate duration of the inner city tour can help you work out how much time to allow for this part of your stay.

Forest trails and outdoor activities in Dohnwald

Dohnwald is a forest covering around 184 hectares to the west of Herzogenaurach. The forest offers several ways to spend time outdoors, each with a different focus. The WaldWissenWeg trail is partly suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs; you can reach it in a few minutes on foot from either of two car parks.

Dohnwald also has a fitness track with various exercise stations to try out, as well as a Nordic walking track. A trail around Dohnwald passes mills and carp ponds. The activities therefore differ considerably: exercise stations are the focus of the fitness track, while the trail around the forest takes you past mills and ponds.

Weekly market and local specialties

Fresh local and regional produce is available at Herzogenaurach’s weekly market on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The selection includes fruit and vegetables, Afro-Caribbean snacks and home-brewed beer. As individual market days may change, check the current schedule before making firm plans to visit.

More to explore in the Erlangen-Höchstadt destination area

The wider Erlangen-Höchstadt destination area offers other distinct cultural and nature-related experiences. In Kalchreuth, a three-kilometre circular trail winds through the cherry orchards. Information boards cover cherries, the surrounding landscape and Kalchreuth, while interactive stations explore nature.

The Spix Museum in Höchstadt offers a different perspective. It is housed in the birthplace of naturalist Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix and uses interactive exhibits to explore his life and the history of the house where he was born. The museum also features a computer- and light-controlled rainforest diorama with animal displays and sounds, which is particularly recommended for children.

Discover more destinations: Adelsdorf, Höchstadt An Der Aisch, Wachenroth, Hemhofen, Heßdorf, Uttenreuth, Röttenbach, Eckental

Back to the main travel guide: Erlangen-Höchstadt.