Hüttlingen: Cycling Routes, Sculptures and Limes History

At the bend of the Kocher, Hüttlingen brings together a striking river landscape, cycling routes, sculptures and traces of Limes history. The town may appeal to you if you’d like to combine active days on your bike with cultural discoveries. When choosing a destination, you can consider whether cycling tours, outdoor art or local cultural history should shape your stay.

Cycling routes as a reason to visit

Hüttlingen is on the Kocher-Jagst Cycle Route and the Württemberger Tälerradweg. The Kocher-Jagst Cycle Route appeals both to cyclists who like a leisurely ride and to those who enjoy discovering new things along the way. The Württemberger Tälerradweg is 273 kilometres long in total, divided into six stages, and passes through twelve valleys. When planning, you can therefore start by considering what kind of tour you want; the Tälerradweg’s total distance and stage structure provide additional guidance.

The municipality provides an e-bike charging station. If you plan to use it during your day, briefly check that it is currently available before setting out. This gives you a specific piece of infrastructure to consider alongside the routes.

Sculptures and cultural history

The intermunicipal sculpture trail between Hüttlingen and Neuler features 83 sculptures along 8.5 kilometres. You can follow one of two circular routes or cover the full distance; the trail is also divided into four sections. The works were created by the Sculturies, a group of regional artists. The circular routes and the full trail offer different ways to fit the walk into your day, while the sculptures focus on outdoor art.

The local history museum in the Vogteigebäude features exhibits on agriculture, domestic work and crafts in and around Hüttlingen, as well as special exhibitions. Outside the museum, there is a working bakehouse and a horse-powered treadmill. This brings regional ways of life and work together with changing exhibition themes. Those looking to combine outdoor art with insights into cultural history will find different points of interest here.

The Limes site on the Kocher adds a Roman perspective to this picture. It includes reconstructions of a wooden palisade and a wall. In Niederalfingen, the Marienkapelle is a cemetery chapel dating from the 14th century. The Marienburg there is considered a castle in the knightly style and is associated with the Fugger family. These buildings offer distinct points of interest alongside the sculptures and themes of the local history museum.

The Kocher bend and the Limes in the Ostalbkreis

Hüttlingen lies on a pronounced bend in the Kocher known as the Kocherknie. The surrounding landscape is also picturesque; the Roman Limes once ran through it. The distinctive curve of the river and this historic trace offer two different ways of looking at the landscape.

The wider Ostalbkreis travel region has another Limes highlight in the municipality of Rainau. There, the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes runs through the districts of Buch, Schwabsberg and Dalkingen for about six kilometres; it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005. The Limes Park Rainau preserves the finest sections and most significant individual monuments of the Limes in a unique concentration. A reconstructed watchtower offers panoramic views over the Ostalb. The signposted Limes circular hiking trail near Rainau is about eleven kilometres long and takes approximately two and a half hours on foot. Rainau therefore offers a different Limes focus in the Ostalbkreis from the replicas at the Limes site on the Kocher.

Discover more destinations: Göggingen, Eschach, Neuler, Oberkochen, Unterschneidheim, Böbingen An Der Rems, Heubach, Ruppertshofen.

Back to the main travel guide: Ostalbkreis.