Windsbach: Town History, Town Tower and Forest Lido

Windsbach offers a variety of highlights for a trip of discovery: striking buildings, town history, regular concerts and a listed natural lido. The town hall and town tower showcase distinctive historical details; the Waldstrandbad, with its sandy beach and play ship, offers a different kind of attraction. When planning your trip, consider whether architecture, music or the Waldstrandbad is your main priority.

Town Tower and Town Hall: Discover Historical Details

The new town hall was built in 1749. Two iron pillories, equipped with fold-down platforms and sliding neck irons, remain on its façades to this day. The town tower dates back to the 12th century and served as a watchtower in the Middle Ages. The second defensive structure, the Amtsburg, is still identifiable around it.

The town tower can be visited on market Sundays and by telephone appointment. Please arrange your visit by phone in advance.

Further Traces of the Town’s History

The former Windsbach Castle now houses, among others, the Rezat-Mönchswald Music School e.V. and the Windsbach Adult Education Centre; the building also serves as a civic centre. Windsbach and its town church have been Protestant since 1530.

The history of the synagogue is also connected with a specific address: in 1848, a new synagogue was built at what is now Heinrich-Brandt-Straße 2. Another historical episode concerns the last Margrave, Karl Alexander. In 1790, he decided to have a stone bridge built in Windsbach.

Waldstrandbad, Concerts and Cycling Route Marker

The listed Windsbach Waldstrandbad is a natural lido with a sandy beach, diving tower, water slides and a large play ship for children. The original fabric of the buildings from the 1930s has also been largely preserved. If a visit to the lido is part of your plans, check the current opening arrangements and available facilities before you go.

Concerts are held regularly in Windsbach throughout the year, featuring the Windsbach Boys’ Choir in its home town. Dates and venues vary, so check the concert schedule before your trip. Small celebrations and concerts can be held in the castle garden by the town tower.

Cyclists can also find a clear point of reference in the historic town centre: a marker for the ErlebnisRadweg Hohenzollern is located directly in front of the town hall at Hauptstraße 15.

More Culture and Nature in the Ansbach Destination

Other places in the Ansbach destination offer their own highlights. In Wolframs-Eschenbach, the 2.2-kilometre-long, accessible Literature Trail Franconia follows a circular route around the town fortifications. Its 15 information boards feature authors from the Middle Ages to the present day whose works deal with Franconia. The trail combines a literary perspective on Franconia with a walk around the fortifications.

Other locations offer further themes for museum visits: the “wiegen & messen” (weighing & measuring) museum in Königshofen displays more than 4,000 exhibits, including historical scales, weights, measuring rods, yardsticks and vessels for measuring grain. In Bechhofen a.d. Heide, the German Brush and Broom Museum’s permanent exhibition features household cleaning tools as well as specialist brushes and paintbrushes for crafts and industry.

The natural landscape can also be explored on a larger scale in the Ansbach destination. Frankenhöhe Nature Park covers around 1,100 km² and lies within the districts of Ansbach and Neustadt a.d. Aisch–Bad Windsheim, as well as the independent city of Ansbach. Its landscape makes it particularly suitable for recreation, and it provides information about hiking and cycling trails as well as ranger-led tours. It is also the source area for the Altmühl, Fränkische Rezat and Zenn rivers.

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Return to the main travel overview: Ansbach.