Nettlingen: Discover the outdoor pool, church and castle

In Nettlingen, an outdoor pool with a variety of swimming facilities sits alongside notable landmarks from the town’s history: the Romanesque St. Mary’s Church, the castle and the watermill. The Mühlentour also takes you through fields and open countryside to the mill. This offers different ways to plan your trip—from swimming and cultural history to a drive where the landscape is part of the experience.

Swimming with a variety of pool facilities

Nettlingen outdoor pool has a 25 × 30-metre swimming pool with a 3-metre diving tower and a 1-metre diving board. There is also a non-swimmers’ pool. The 6 × 30-metre toddlers’ pool, with a slide, is in a separate area. This makes it easy to distinguish the facilities: the diving tower and board are part of the main swimming pool, while non-swimmers and toddlers have their own pools.

If you’re planning a trip with children, this layout offers a practical guide to choosing the kind of swimming outing that suits your interests. You don’t have to plan your day around diving facilities alone: the separate toddlers’ pool with a slide is also part of the outdoor pool.

Church and castle: history in detail

The Romanesque St. Mary’s Church has more than 1,000 years of church history behind it. The almost thousand-year-old frieze depicting scenes from the New Testament is particularly striking. The church also retains its Baroque altar, which survived the devastating fire of 1970. Its Romanesque character, medieval art and Baroque altar give the church several historical layers.

The Nettlingen Castle is connected with a different, precisely dated chapter of history. Kurt von Saldern had it built around 1570. In 1717, Tsar Peter the Great and his wife stayed there on their return journey from Paris to Moscow. The builder and the guests belong to different chapters in the castle’s history: alongside the building’s origins is a specific episode from a journey that connects Nettlingen with a long route across Europe.

If you’re interested in history, there’s more to explore than a single date: the church’s story spans its Romanesque origins, the frieze and the surviving Baroque altar, while the castle tells a different story through its builder and a historic visit. These distinctions give you different starting points when choosing cultural history themes for your stay.

The watermill and the Mühlentour

The overshot watermill in Nettlingen was completed around 1581. “Overshot” describes a design in which water is directed onto the mill wheel from above—a technical term that also offers a tangible way to learn about the building’s history. The Mühlentour reaches the watermill after a 14 km drive through fields and open countryside. So alongside the church and castle, there’s also an excursion where the route and landscape are part of the experience.

These different interests give your trip planning a clear direction: you can choose the focus that best suits your plans and your family.

Discover more destinations: Algermissen, Burgstemmen, Wittenburg, Westfeld, Diekholzen, Giesen, Freden, Bad Salzdetfurth

See the main travel overview: Hildesheim.