Discover Wies: forested valley, church and trails

In Wies, a forested valley, striking ridges and a distinctive piece of architectural history come together. The Protestant church and the Legends Trail add their own character alongside the landscape, bringing together nature, culture and a themed hiking experience.

Valley, forest and church architecture

Wies lies in a wooded setting where the Blauen-Hochwildsberg ridge, the Köhlgarten-Hochblauen massif and the basin of the Kleine Wiesental meet. The Köhlgartenwiese flows through the broad valley that widens around Wies. Beech and mixed fir forests grow on the surrounding slopes. The valley floor and wooded heights thus form two distinct landscapes that shape the character of the place.

The Protestant church in Wies offers a cultural contrast. It was built between 1774 and 1777. The rectangular church has a gallery and a three-storey tower; the historic organ is another distinctive feature. The church is a listed monument. For travellers interested in architecture as well as the landscape, it brings together a clearly recognisable building and a long local history.

Hikes with different points of reference

The Legends Trail connects Tegernau with Wies and is designed as a themed hiking experience, with letter stations along the route. The theme gives the route a clear thread: rather than focusing solely on the distance, you can also use the stations to help plan your hike.

The Wies–Stockmatt hike is listed as 10.2 kilometres long, with 470 metres of elevation gain, a “moderate” difficulty rating and suitability for pushchairs. These figures provide practical reference points for planning the distance and ascent. The Grusiloch circular hike starts at the Lipple hiking car park. Check local route conditions and accessibility before setting out. Each route therefore offers different planning information: the Legends Trail has its theme and letter stations, Wies–Stockmatt its stated distances and elevation figures, and Grusiloch its starting point.

More highlights in the wider destination of Kleine Wiesental

The wider destination of Kleine Wiesental offers further landscape and cultural themes. In 1935, Tegernau Church was described as a small “Wälderkirchlein” (little forest church) with a small bell turret. In Tegernau, the Zur Krone museum inn comprises a historic taproom with a side room, an old “Chuchi” (kitchen) with a vaulted cellar cut into the hillside, a historic ballroom, sleeping chambers in the loft and a “Schisshüsli” (outhouse) dating from 1901. The different rooms represent various aspects of the historic building, from the taproom and kitchen to the ballroom and sleeping chambers.

Landscape features also broaden the regional picture. The pollarded beech in Neuenweg is considered very old and very broad. The Nonnenmattweiher lies at an elevation of 913 metres and is one of the highest-standing bodies of still water in the Black Forest. It was artificially dammed in the early 18th century. A section of the peaty basin floor then broke away and formed a floating peat island. Several species of peat moss grow on it, along with hare’s-tail cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum), cranberry (Vacinium oxycoccos) and round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia). Its elevation, formation and plant life offer nature and culture enthusiasts different perspectives on the wider destination of Kleine Wiesental.

When planning your accommodation, these different highlights can provide a starting point: would you like to discover Wies mainly through its valley landscape, church and Legends Trail, or would you also like to explore other regional nature and culture highlights in the wider Kleine Wiesental area? Consider which themes you want to shape your stay, and use them to guide your accommodation search.

Discover more destinations: Bürchau, Sallneck, Elbenschwand, Neuenweg, Wieslet, Raich

Back to the full travel guide: Kleine Wiesental.