Bühl: Discover history on the Schlossberg and in the townscape

Bühl combines traces of history with a landscape that can be explored by bike. A castle once stood on the Schlossberg; Cycle Route 1 passes through Bühl and continues through the Osterbach Valley. The town’s history also includes the Catholic parish church of St. Margaretha and a late medieval stone cross. If you are looking for accommodation, you can first consider whether architectural history, the cycling route or both should shape your stay.

The Schlossberg and medieval traces

The castle on the Schlossberg was once the seat of various knightly families. During the German Peasants’ War, it was stormed by the Leipheim force in 1525. Another glimpse into the past is the Catholic parish church of St. Margaretha: parts of the choir and a substructure date from before 1488. A late medieval stone cross stands beside the church. Bühl’s historical traces thus range from the former castle and church architecture to a stone relic of the Middle Ages. The slope of the Schlossberg also shapes the town: it is protected as a valuable landscape feature.

Cycle Route 1 and the Osterbach Valley

Cycle Route 1 passes through Ober- and Unterfahlheim, Echlishausen and Bühl, and continues into the neighbouring district of Günzburg. It then runs through Silheim and picturesque Ettlishofen along a quiet district road through the idyllic Osterbach Valley. The landscape between the Biber and Osterbach rivers is characterised by tranquil valleys bordered by spruce and mixed forests. The route therefore links several place names with a clearly described landscape. On the right-hand side of the route, on the outskirts of Bühl, there is a large fallow deer enclosure.

Those who want to include both can find in Bühl points of interest for a stay combining local history and cycling.

More local sights in the wider destination of Bibertal

The wider destination of Bibertal offers further distinctive examples. In Silheim, the Catholic Church of St. Apollonia has a late Gothic core; it was remodelled in the Baroque style in the second quarter of the 18th century, and its tower dates from 1730. Also in Silheim, the Gasthof Zahn is a half-timbered building with a gabled roof dating from the 17th century. A wayside chapel on the road to Großkissendorf dates from the 18th century.

In Ettlishofen, the Catholic Church of St. Ulrich and St. Leonhard has a late Gothic core and was remodelled in 1834. A wayside chapel with historic furnishings stands at the northern end of the village; a medieval stone cross is beside it. Deiblerstraße 20 is also home to a half-timbered house dating from the second half of the 17th century. North of Opferstetten, at the end of Veilchenweg, lies a Roman burial ground.

Natural and architectural history also add to this picture of Bibertal: At the northern exit of Kissendorf stands a lime tree around 350 years old, probably the second-oldest lime tree in Swabia. It is 22 metres tall, its crown measures 24 metres across, and its trunk has a circumference of 7.20 metres. The Anhofer Mill, a two-and-a-half-storey building dating from the third quarter of the 19th century, lies around 500 metres northeast of Ettlishofen.

For the wider travel overview: Bibertal.