Rastatt: Baroque History, Museums and River Meadows

Rastatt combines baroque city history with museums, walking paths and a distinctive park landscape. In the grounds of Favorite Palace, relaxation and exercise are as much part of the scene as exotic plants; in the city, historic routes lead to museums and sights. When planning your stay, you can choose between culture in the urban setting, nature experiences and longer cycling routes.

Palace Grounds and Baroque History

The twelve-hectare park of Favorite Palace is in the Niederbühl-Förch district of Rastatt. Designed as a landscape garden with exotic plants, it invites visitors to walk, jog, picnic, relax and take photographs. You can explore the palace and its grounds on a guided tour, which includes magnificent state rooms, Germany’s oldest Hall of Mirrors and the world’s largest collection of early Meissen porcelain.

Rastatt Palace also shapes the city’s historic character. The palace of “Türkenlouis” is the earliest baroque residence on the Upper Rhine. Together with Favorite Palace, the Rastatt Palace Church is the most significant architectural testament to Margravine Sibylla Augusta (1675–1733). Another distinctive landmark is the Catholic Church of St. Alexander: this baroque church, a prominent feature of the cityscape, was consecrated in 1764.

Museum History and Remarkable Finds

The City Museum is housed in the so-called Vogelsche House. Domenico Egidio Rossi designed the building, which was built around 1705 as a cavalier’s house. Today, the museum documents the city’s baroque foundation from the late 18th century to the present day. Its permanent exhibition explores Rastatt’s 300-year history; special exhibitions that change annually focus on local and cultural history.

At the museum, it takes just a change of subject to go from city history to a surprising find: a mammoth tusk found in a gravel pit lake is also on display. Together, the building’s history, exhibitions and this discovery offer different starting points for a cultural walk through Rastatt.

Historic Routes, Walks and Cycling Tours

Along the Historic Route through Rastatt’s city center, you can reach six of the eight museums and 23 of the most beautiful and important sights in just a few minutes on foot, with step-free access. The Revolution Trail offers a different perspective on the city’s history: this circular route, around two kilometers long, leads to prominent buildings and sites from the Baden Revolution. Ground markers in the colors of Baden and information boards mark the route.

If you prefer to choose your own walking route, the Murgrunde begins in central Rastatt. Its length can be adjusted using several bridges. The Rastatt Rhine meadows, which are protected as a nature reserve, are also ideal for walks. The Salmon Experience Trail explores the diversity of life above and below water and tells the story of the salmon’s return since 2011.

Cycling options also vary in scale: the 67-kilometer “Tour de Murg” cycle route leads from Freudenstadt to Rastatt. The large River Meadow Cycling Tour runs through the Rastatt river meadows and into Alsace by ferry Saletio. Check the ferry timetable when planning your trip. This gives you a choice of activities ranging from a walking route you can tailor to your needs, to a marked circular trail and longer cycling tours.

Rastatt in the Wider Region

If you include the wider Rastatt destination in your plans, you’ll find additional excursion options. The Murgtal/Bühlertal winter sports area in the district of Rastatt offers cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding and snowboarding; it also has ten ski lifts and a 110-kilometer network of cross-country ski trails. At Mehliskopf, the bobsled track at the leisure and sports center features a 1,000-meter descent with four steep forest bends, seven steep meadow bends and eight water crossings.

The fish ladder at the Iffezheim barrage is also part of the wider Rastatt destination. From the visitor room, you can watch fish swim up through the fish pass, step by step. Alongside the city’s baroque buildings and museums, nature and outdoor activities are also available across the wider Rastatt destination.

The routes and activities described vary in subject and scale; plan around the experiences that matter most to you.

Discover more destinations: Rheinmünster, Muggensturm, Bühl, Ottersweier, Hügelsheim, Ötigheim, Moos, Sinzheim.

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