Rhein-Pfalz District: Rhine floodplains, swimming lakes and museums

The Rhein-Pfalz District offers several distinct ways to enjoy a trip: Rhine floodplains and swimming lakes, cycle routes through fields and floodplains, and museums covering topics from traditional crafts to natural history. You can therefore plan your stay around the landscape, outdoor activities or local history. The examples below range from a specific cycle route and named lakes to exhibitions and local traditions.

Rhine floodplains, cycle routes and lakes

Along the Rhine, the Rhein-Pfalz District encompasses scenic Rhine floodplains with areas resembling primeval forests and swimming lakes. It lies centrally between the natural paradises of the Palatinate Forest and the Odenwald. Cyclists can choose from numerous routes through fields and floodplains. In the Rhein-Pfalz District, the Kraut-und-Rüben cycle route leads through green fields and villages and along the Rhine. This gives you two perspectives side by side: numerous cycle routes through fields and floodplains as a general landscape overview, and a named route whose description also mentions villages and the river. The Neuhofener Altrhein has been protected since 1938, when it was designated a bird sanctuary. Among the bird species found there were six of the eleven species threatened with extinction in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Schlicht swimming lake lies between Neuhofen and Waldsee. Its water surface covers 26 hectares, and its beach covers 54,000 square metres. Mechtersheimer Weiher lies between Römerberg and Lingenfeld, close to the destination; with 3.5 hectares of water and a 13,000-square-metre beach, it is smaller than Schlicht by both stated measurements. This lets you compare two different sizes of water and beach areas. Near the destination, visitors can also swim, paddle and fish in the Blaue Adria recreational area near Altrip. There are four district-run swimming pools in the Rhein-Pfalz District.

Museums and local history

The museums offer a glimpse into different chapters of local history. In Böhl-Iggelheim, the museums feature an exhibition on the Bechtold family's dye works, which operated a black, blue and fast-dyeing workshop in Iggelheim in the 19th century. Blue dyeing is recognised as intangible cultural heritage. Also in Böhl-Iggelheim, the old schoolhouse shows what school used to be like and houses an extensive collection of valuable porcelain. The range of topics there thus spans a historic craft, school history and porcelain.

In Bobenheim-Roxheim, the local history museum run by the Association for Nature Conservation and Local Heritage is housed in the former Roxheim town hall. The museum has the largest collection on the natural history of the Rhine floodplains in the Palatinate. These two features—the former town hall and the natural history collection—give the museum a different focus from the subjects in Böhl-Iggelheim. In Rödersheim-Gronau, the Pfalz e. V. Social History Cigar Factory Museum offers insights into the history of cigar production and its impact on the local community. The Historic Shoemaker's Workshop is located in the Alte Schule centre in Dannstadt-Schauernheim.

A festival in Schifferstadt

A recurring event also shapes the calendar: Schifferstadt has celebrated the Day of the Golden Hat every year since 2018. If you would like to plan your trip around this festival, check the current date in advance so you can factor the event into your plans.

Discover more destinations: Römerberg, Harthausen, Limburgerhof, Ludwigshafen Am Rhein, Schifferstadt, Dudenhofen, Böhl-Iggelheim, Lambsheim, Otterstadt, Dannstadt-Schauernheim, Mutterstadt, Waldsee, Bobenheim-Roxheim, Altrip, Heßheim, Kleinniedesheim, Hanhofen

For the overview of the wider region: Rhineland-Palatinate.