Nördlingen: City Walls, History and the Ries Crater

Nördlingen is defined by its completely preserved city walls, the 90-metre-high bell tower “Daniel” and the history of a meteorite crater. Here, medieval urban history and architecture meet the questions of how impact craters form and what effects an asteroid impact has. You can tailor your stay to the topics that interest you most.

Understand and discover the Ries Crater

The RiesKraterMuseum explores the formation of impact craters in general and the Nördlinger Ries in particular. The exhibition also covers the asteroid impact 15 million years ago and its planetary and terrestrial effects. Across six rooms, you can see meteorites, fossils and a piece of real lunar rock, among other exhibits.

A Geopark Information Centre is located right next to the museum. It provides a concise overview of the geology, archaeology and settlement history of the Ries. The two institutions offer different perspectives: the museum focuses on impact craters and their effects, while the Information Centre explores the geological and cultural-historical context of the Ries. In the wider travel destination of Donau-Ries, the Geopark Ries, with its Ries Crater formed by a meteorite impact, is a tourist attraction.

City history in the walls, church and museum

Nördlingen’s medieval city walls are completely preserved and fully accessible. You can also encounter them on a historical city tour lasting about an hour: the route leads through medieval streets and lanes and includes, among other places, the tanners’ quarter and the market square with its impressive buildings.

St. George’s Church is considered a Late Gothic hall church and has a 90-metre-high bell tower, “Daniel”. Open church tours provide information about its architecture and construction history, as well as important features: the pulpit, high altar, choir stalls, baptismal font and organs. This tour focuses on the church’s design, whereas the city tour concentrates on the streets and other places in the old town.

The City Museum in the Hl.-Geist-Spital displays a collection more than 150 years old across four floors. Its themes include the lives and beliefs of people in Nördlingen, the changes of the Reformation period and the Thirty Years’ War. The Battle of Nördlingen in 1634 is also vividly presented there, with a model made of around 6,000 tin soldiers. The museum thus explores everyday life and religious beliefs as well as major historical upheavals.

Tours with a range of themes

Tours in Nördlingen include city tours on scheduled dates, torchlight tours and themed tours. There are also opportunities to explore the Geopark Ries. The City Museum in the Hl.-Geist-Spital offers a special perspective: during a guided tour, the otherwise inaccessible dungeon beneath Nördlingen Town Hall, known as the “Loch”, is explained and can then be experienced using a VR headset.

The RiesKraterMuseum offers bookable guided tours for visitor groups, tailored to each group. Where possible and by arrangement, excursions to quarries and geotopes in the surrounding area of the Ries are also available. These activities supplement the exhibition with destinations outside the museum; the excursions are in the Ries area.

Choose accommodation based on your interests

When looking for accommodation in Nördlingen, you can consider which topics you want your stay to focus on: the city walls, St. George’s Church and the City Museum represent urban history and architecture; the RiesKraterMuseum and Geopark Information Centre focus on geology, archaeology and the formation of the crater. The type of tour can also influence your plans—from an open church tour to a museum tour tailored for visitor groups.

Discover more destinations: Monheim, Rain, Harburg, Kaisheim, Fremdingen, Mertingen, Tapfheim, Ries.

Go to the broader travel overview: Donau-Ries.