Rietenau: Half-timbered houses, valleys and a musical trail

Rietenau combines a winding village centre with half-timbered houses and the wooded valleys of Heiligental and Forstbachtal. There are also trails with very different themes: the Tonspur (Sound Trail) puts music centre stage; at Station 22 of the Keuper Geological Trail, information panels explain the geology and living creatures of the Keuper and Muschelkalk periods. The church, fountain complex and museum offer insights into village history. If you would like to bring different interests together in your travel plans, these distinctions can help you choose your activities.

Landscape and village character

Rietenau lies at the entrance to the wooded valleys of Heiligental and Forstbachtal. Several splendid half-timbered houses stand in the winding village centre. This brings together two distinct sides of the place: the wooded valleys and a village character shaped by its half-timbered houses. When exploring Rietenau, you can focus on both the landscape and the buildings in the village, without having to treat them as the same excursion theme.

Musical trail and geological themes

The Rietenauer Tonspur is an interactive hiking trail with twelve musical stations over four kilometres. It begins and ends at the Rietenau Music Hall on Trinkgasse. Four kilometres and twelve stations give the walk a clearly defined length; starting and finishing at the same point makes it easier to fit into your day’s plans. If you are looking for a trail with music as its guiding theme, this offers a different focus from a visit centred mainly on geological topics.

A different perspective is offered by the dinosaur station, Station 22 of the Keuper Geological Trail, at the fishponds. The information panels cover the geology of southwestern Germany, the Backnang Bay and the living creatures of the Keuper and Muschelkalk periods. When planning an outing, you can therefore choose between a musical hike and a station focused on geological topics.

Church, fountain complex and museum

Among Rietenau’s sights is the Protestant St Ulrich’s Church, whose origins date back to the 13th century. A fountain complex stands beside the former bathhouse, built in 1826. The church and fountain complex thus offer two more points of interest if you are interested in the village’s history.

The Museum of Everyday Village Culture in Rietenau is housed in the former town hall. It displays tools, documents and photographs; special exhibitions are held on the ground floor. The museum has no regular opening hours. It opens for events such as “Swabian Forest Day – Dolce Via through Aspach”, and guided tours for groups are available on request. Check how to access the museum during an event before visiting; group tours can be requested.

A broader look at Aspach

Aspach, the wider destination, also has its own cultural and excursion themes. At the historic Torkel wine press in Kleinaspach, a multi-part video presentation shows viticulture, wine production and work in the vineyards. It also covers the Torkel press and pressing process, wine festivals in Aspach, as well as leisure activities and educational trails in Aspach. The wine press in Allmersbach am Weinberg dates from the late 18th century.

The Aspach Wine Hiking Trail offers rest areas and places to stop for refreshments. There are also opportunities to sample wine with suitable dishes. A free brochure about the GUcK Tour is available from Großaspach Town Hall. For a different view of Aspach, there is the Aspacher Panorama: the tour can be started from several hiking and car parks, as well as bus stops on route 367. There are also suitable routes for cycling. Check the details for bus route 367 before travelling.

The Aspach Christmas Market may also be worth considering when planning your trip: it traditionally takes place on the weekend of the second Sunday in Advent around Backnanger Straße in Großaspach. The exact dates vary from year to year. These options in Aspach are therefore quite different from Rietenau’s local themes: here, the focus is on the village centre, museum and Tonspur; the wider destination of Aspach also offers wine and hiking activities, as well as a seasonal market.

Choose the right focus when looking for a place to stay

When looking for a place to stay, it helps to decide first what you want to focus on. Would you like to centre your trip on Rietenau, with its village character, museum and Tonspur, or include Aspach as a wider destination with wine and hiking activities? Tailor your search to the experiences that matter most to you on your trip.

For the wider travel overview: Aspach.