Discover Mertingen

Mertingen can be explored through a range of interests: three museums invite you to visit, and numerous forest trails in the 600-hectare Mertinger Forest are hiking destinations. Equestrian sports are also part of the town’s profile: the Bavarian Centre of Excellence for Riding and Vaulting is based in Mertingen. If you are planning a family trip, you can decide whether culture, outdoor activities or equestrian sports should shape your stay.

Museums and hiking trails in Mertingen

The three museums are called Sölde Mertingen, Stadel Mertingen and Alte Schule Mertingen. All invite you to visit. They offer three specific cultural points of interest to include in your travel plans. Together with the hiking destinations in the Mertinger Forest, they present a simple question when planning your stay: would you prefer to focus on museums or trails in nature, or make room for both?

The Mertinger Forest covers 600 hectares, with numerous forest trails serving as hiking destinations. Hiking is therefore a distinct focus alongside the museums. The Centre of Excellence for Riding and Vaulting adds another topic to the town’s profile. This range of options can help you weigh up your travel interests without assuming a particular order of activities.

Geology in the wider Donau-Ries destination

The Geopark Ries is a central geological attraction in the wider Donau-Ries destination. The district of Donau-Ries describes the Geopark Ries, with its Ries crater formed by a meteorite impact, as a tourist attraction. At the Kühstein Geopark educational trail, eight information panels explain the impact processes that took place 14.5 million years ago. From Buchberg, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the Ries and its inner and outer crater rims. This offers two different perspectives: an explanation of the geological processes on the information panels and a view of the crater’s shape in the landscape.

Town history and the Ries crater in the museum

In Nördlingen, you can explore the town’s history both outdoors and in the museum: the medieval town walls are fully preserved and completely accessible. The Town Museum displays a collection that is over 150 years old, spread across four floors. It covers the lives and beliefs of the people of Nördlingen, the changes of the Reformation period, the Thirty Years’ War and the 1634 Battle of Nördlingen. A model made of around 6,000 tin figures illustrates the battle. The museum thus combines a broad historical overview with a vivid example of a single event.

The RiesKraterMuseum focuses on the formation of the Nördlinger Ries: it presents the asteroid impact, its cosmic background and its effects up to the present day. On display are meteorites, fossils and a piece of real moon rock; information panels and multimedia exhibits complement the exhibition. It is housed in a carefully restored medieval barn dating from 1503. Here, a scientific subject and a historic building come together.

This priority gives your search a direction and helps you plan your stay around your interests.

Discover more destinations: Tapfheim, Ries, Kaisheim, Marxheim, Wallerstein, Fremdingen, Rain, Donauwörth.

Back to the overview of the wider destination: Donau-Ries.