For four days we explored the region of Bavarian-Swabia and were able to discover many interesting things here: beautiful old towns, majestic castles, imposing churches and sugar-sweet animal encounters. Our tour took us from the two-country town of Ulm/Neu-Ulm to the roggenburg monastery and on to an alpaca hike in Jettingen-Scheppach to Augsburg. From here we went on to Harburg Castle and the fuchsia and pilgrimage town of Wemding, until we finally reached the end of our journey in the historic town of Nördlingen.
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Things to know about Bavarian-Swabia
Bavaria plus Swabia makes Bavarian-Swabia: This iswhere Bavaria is chatting Swabian” 🙂
Bavarian-Swabia includes the UNESCO World Heritage city of Augsburg as well as six other exciting regions. The region impresses with a wealth of historic cities as well as a wide range of activities: churches, monasteries, castles and museums alternate with historical city scenery and attractive family destinations. Many sights are connected by the Romantic Road, Germany’s most famous holiday road. In addition, Bavarian Swabia is a diverse region for nature lovers: whether river hopping by bike, earth history in the Ries Geopark or the Bavarian-Swabian Pilgrimage Route.
In order to get to know the region better, the “Bayerisch-Schwaben Lauschtour-App” is worth it, which you can easily download to your smartphone free of charge. There are currently 20 eavesdropping tours throughout Bayerisch-Schwaben, which you can listen to individually, regardless of opening hours or city tour dates. You can navigate from eavesdropping point to eavesdropping point via GPS and get interesting information about the region and its sights.
The Region of Bavarian Swabia
Cities, castles & activities – the most beautiful places in Bavarian Swabia
The two-country town of Ulm/Neu-Ulm
“Where Bavaria is only one step away from Swabia” – with this slogan the two-country city of Ulm/Neu-Ulm advertises itself. As a medium-sized city, Ulm, together with its young sister town Of Neu-Ulm on the Bavarian side of the Danube, is an attractive destination and a double city of superlatives: here stands the highest church tower in the world, the most crooked hotel in the world and one of the largest preserved fortifications in Germany.
From Ulm it is worth a detour to the Blautopf in Blaubeuren (Baden-Württemberg), which is located about 20 km west of Ulm on the eastern edge of the Swabian Alb.
Our detailed travel report about Ulm/Neu-Ulm with many more photos can be found here.
Roggenburg Abbey
The Roggenburg Monastery, about 30 km southeast of Ulm and founded in 1126, is a monastery of the Premonstratensian Order. Today there is an educational centre, a museum, a monastery shop and a monastery garden with an ivy labyrinth and herb garden on the monastery grounds. The centrepiece is the monastery church “Mariä Himmelfahrt”, one of the most important buildings of the Rococo in Swabia, which was completed in 1758.
Our detailed travelogue about the roggenburg monastery with many more photos can be found here.
An alpaca hike with Sajama Lama
Woolly fur, big brown cuddly eyes and a friendly look: It doesn’t take a minute to close alpacas in your heart ❤ Hiking with alpacas is a very special adventure that can be experienced here in Bavarian Swabia on the Llama and Alpaca Farm Sajama Lama.
In order to get to know the llamas and alpacas a little more, we went into their enclosures and were greeted with joy. Since we had a few treats for the little guys in our hands, the shyness of the animals was not great. After the feeding round we took a 1.5-hour walk across meadows, fields and forest paths. When we were back at the enclosure we could watch the alpacas and llamas for a while and take some souvenir pictures. What a great experience!
Our detailed travel report about our alpaca hike with many more photos can be found here.
The UNESCO city of Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the southwest of Bavaria and has about 300,000 inhabitants. This makes it the third largest city in Bavaria after Munich and Nuremberg. The city is characterized by Roman roots and the trading dynasties of the Fuggers and Welser. With more than 2,000 years of history, it is the oldest city in Bavaria and the second oldest city in Germany after Trier. Some magnificent Renaissance buildings in the city justify their nickname as “the northernmost city in Italy”.
Since July 2019, Augsburg has been awarded the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Augsburgers have earned this award through their historic water management “Augsburger Wassermanagement-System”, which includes 22 monuments – canals, waterworks, hydropower plants and monumental fountains.
Our detailed travel report about Augsburg with many more photos can be found here.
Harburg Castle
The castle Harburg is located on the Romantic Road and is one of the largest, oldest and best preserved castlecomplexes in southern Germany. The history of the former Staufian imperial castle dates back to 1150. It is particularly noteworthy that the Harburg survived numerous sieges, battles and wars over the centuries. It used to serve as a residence and government residence for the rulers and as a reception for imperial and royal celebrities. An hour-long tour of the castle gave us an insight into the former times and beautifully illustrated the history of the very well-preserved complex.
Our detailed travel ointy about the castle Harburg with many more photos can be found here.
The fuchsia and pilgrimage town of Wemding
Wemding is a tranquil town with almost 6,000 inhabitants, which lies on the edge of the Ries crater, which was formed by a meteorite impact. Due to its location, the city belongs to the Geopark Ries, the holiday country Donau-Ries as well as the nature park Altmühltal. Wemding is known nationwide as a pilgrimage city and a fuchsia town. The view from the air is also special, because the old town of Wemding is surrounded by a circular city wall from the 14th century.
Our detailed travel report about Wemding with many more photos can be found here.
The medieval town of Nördlingen & the Nördlinger Ries
“The most beautiful corners are round” – With this slogan, the town of Nördlingen, located on the “Romantic Street”, advertises itself and its impressive, all-round walkable city wall, which is unique in Germany. Nördlingen is a district town in the Swabian district of Donau-Ries in the Nördlinger Ries, the impact crater of a meteorite that struck here 15 million years ago. Through the scientific research of the Ries event, Nördlingen became known worldwide. Over the 4.8 km long historical tour,which is very well signposted, we were able to explore the city more closely and get to know the most important buildings and sights.
Our detailed travel report about Nördlingen with many more photos can be found here.
