Simmern/Hunsrück: Discover the town’s history and culture

Simmern/Hunsrück invites you to explore its history through buildings, exhibitions and walking tours. The Blue Route was completed in 2022 and explains the town’s history and culture. Simmern is also considered a tourist information centre and a gateway to Soonwald Nature Park—so you can choose between a cultural focus on the town and a glimpse of the region’s natural landscape.

Discover the town’s history as you explore

The tours tell different chapters of the story: A cultural and historical town tour was created in 2005 and included around 20 information panels. A guided town tour takes you to Schlossplatz, the bastion on Römerberg, the two churches and Schinderhannes Tower. Check before your trip whether the tour is offered and when.

St Stephen’s Church also anchors Simmern’s history in a specific period. Construction of the present-day church began in 1486 under Duke John I, as Simmern developed into a princely residence. The St Anne’s Chapel contains the funerary monuments of the dukes of Simmern. They are considered some of the best-known examples of Renaissance culture between Mainz and Trier.

Schinderhannes Tower is a surviving part of the medieval fortifications and one of the few structural witnesses to the former residential town. Since 1999, it has housed a permanent Schinderhannes exhibition; the tower is in the centre of Simmern. Check the current exhibition arrangements before your visit. This helps distinguish the history of the building from the exhibition housed inside it.

Film and regional history

In the oldest part of Simmern, the Edgar Reitz Film House features film installations on the theme of Heimat. Exhibits include props, sets, costumes and set photography. These items explore different aspects of filmmaking. As exhibition content may change, it is worth checking the current offerings before your trip.

A guided tour of the Hunsrück Museum covers a wide range of subjects: prehistory and natural history, as well as geology, are presented alongside Hunsrück film, town and regional history, local folklore and the art collection of Friedrich Karl Ströher. If you are interested in a tour, check its current content and availability.

A town stroll or a longer walk

If you would like to add some activity alongside the cultural experiences, consider a guided circular hike through Simmern’s green recreational areas. It is about 9 km long and starts and ends at Simmersee; the guided offering may change. The key difference from the town tour is its focus: this route explores recreational areas, while the town tour visits selected squares, churches and the tower.

Rhein-Hunsrück as a broader landscape

As a wider travel destination, the Rhein-Hunsrück district encompasses large areas of the Hunsrück, part of the Rhenish Slate Mountains, as well as the left-bank section of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. The Hunsrück plateau is joined to the south by quartzite ridges such as the Soonwald. In the Middle Rhine Valley area, the Rhine also forms the district’s eastern boundary.

Hiking and cycling also need to be considered at district level: The Rhein-Hunsrück district has numerous hiking trails, including the certified Soonwaldsteig premium hiking trail. Extensive, well-maintained and signposted cycle paths run along the Rhine and through the Hunsrück.

Discover more destinations: Fronhofen, Horn, Külz, Tiefenbach, Sargenroth, Büchenbeuren, Lautzenhausen, Mengerschied.

See the wider travel overview: Rhein-Hunsrück.