Discover Mengen: half-timbered houses, history and tours

Mengen combines half-timbered architecture and town history with experiences on cycling and hiking trails. The broad main street is lined with half-timbered houses, and the town is also on the Upper Swabian Baroque Route. This offers different starting points for planning your trip: you can focus your stay on historical insights or put cycling and hiking options at the center. Which accommodation suits your stay also depends on which of these interests shape your plans for each day.

Discover half-timbered architecture and town history

The Alte Posthalterei is a notable place to glimpse the past. It is housed in a half-timbered building dating from 1702, which once served as a post office on the Thurn and Taxis postal route. As a museum, the Alte Posthalterei brings Mengen’s history, from early settlement to modern times, to life. The historic building and the exhibition topics offer different perspectives on a visit: the building tells the story of its former function, while the exhibition spans a longer stretch of the town’s history.

On display are documents and finds from the town’s history, as well as the municipal art collection, with paintings by Gottfried Graf and Theo Barfus and sculptures by Upper Swabian masters from the Middle Ages to the Baroque period. Those especially interested in art will find paintings and sculpture alongside historical documents; those looking for a sense of chronology can place the works on display within the period from the Middle Ages to the Baroque. This brings different interests together in one place without reducing the town’s history to a single theme.

History and culture also come together in the district of Rulfingen. The Alte Kirche Rulfingen is a former village church dating from 1759, with a Late Gothic tower. At the same time, it serves as a venue for cabaret and other small-scale performances, concerts, theatre and comedy. Since its official opening in 1999, more than 300 events have been held there. In Rulfingen, then, you can explore both the historic church building and its use as a cultural venue; specific events can be included as a focus in your travel plans.

Guided tours and culinary highlights

On an Erlebnisführung (experiential guided tour) through Mengen, a carter, a washerwoman, a night watchman and a market woman appear as historical characters. The tour combines a walk with vivid portrayals of different aspects of everyday life in the past. Another option is the “In the Footsteps of the Habsburgs” tour, which combines a town walk with historically inspired dishes at three restaurants, taking visitors back to the period before 1806. If you are interested in this culinary tour, it is worth checking the latest details in advance.

A local product can also be part of your visit: the Gaggli NudelLaden in Mengen-Ennetach offers more than 100 varieties of Buck pasta specialities. This is a different way to explore a culinary interest than the Habsburg tour: there, dishes are tied to a walking tour; here, the focus is on the variety of a pasta speciality. Both offer a specific point of interest if food is part of the travel experience you are looking for.

Plan your day around cycling and hiking trails

The Danube Cycle Path runs through Mengen, and there are also signposted cycling routes around the town. With the Fuhrmannstour 1, Mengen also takes part in the Danube Discovery Tours. Cyclists can make use of two specialist bike shops, lockable bicycle boxes in the town centre and e-bike charging stations. If you plan to rely on these facilities, check that they are available before you travel.

The Fuhrmann hiking trails are marked with Mengen’s walking Fuhrmännle (little carter). You can start in Mengen or in one of its districts. In Mengen-Ennetach, the Archaeological Hiking Trail also passes twelve stations where you can learn more about Roman life along the Danube Limes. The route thus combines exercise with a clearly defined historical theme.

Another option in the municipality is the 8.5-kilometre Zielfinger Seen accessible trail. It is suitable for all types of wheelchairs, walking aids and pushchairs. This lets you plan a specific route with those needs in mind; the tours also cover distinctly different themes, from Roman history and the Fuhrmann trails to a route that is suitable for people using the mobility aids mentioned above and for pushchairs.

Discover more travel destinations: Bad Saulgau, Wald, Inzigkofen, Illmensee, Gammertingen, Meßkirch, Sauldorf, Sigmaringendorf.

For the overview of the wider area: Sigmaringen.