We returned from Slovakia on Friday, and kept the weekend free to recharge our batteries after the travel. We stayed at home on Saturday, but then we realized that Sunday would be the last sunny day for some time, so we decided to go outside and get some sunshine. I've wanted to go to Waldshut-Tiengen for a long time, but we kept postponing it because it's nearby our home, so we can go there anytime. And finally that anytime was yesterday.
As the name says Waldshut-Tiengen consists of two cities. In the past, they were separate, but about 50 years ago they merged together. However, they still have separate old towns, and although you can see them quickly in one day, I would recommend to keep one day for each of them.
Today, I will take you with me to Tiengen!
Germany has countless beautiful towns, and over the years I've noticed that the smaller the town the more you can actually see there. Tiengen is full of charming streets that you can explore.
We started our walk in the upper part of the town. We parked our car in a garage called the castle garage which obviously told us that it's a castle town. I didn't read anything about the town before, so this was a nice surprise to both of us.
Unfortunately, the castle museum is closed in the winter months, so we couldn't go inside, but there where signs with information about the castle all over the castle grounds.
At first, we didn't even know if we could enter the grounds as the gate was only partly open, but we took our chances as the worst that could happen would be that they would ask us to leave. Well, actually they could have closed the gate and let us in there overnight I guess 😊
The castle dates back to the 12th century, and even though it was seriously damaged on multiple occasions over the centuries it was never completely destroyed. The new part of the castle was built in the 16th century, and it's privately owned. I don't know if the owner lives in the castle, but I know that I would if I owned it even though the utility bills must be horrendous.
On the left side we can see the entrance to the museum which doesn't only focus on the history of the castle, but also on the centuries long history of the large Jewish community that lived in Tiengen before the war. We will come back in summer as I would love to see the interior of the castle too.
Churches are a standard part of any castle complex and the castle in Tiengen is not an exception. The origins of the Mariä Himmelfahrt church right outside of the castle might be more than 1200 years old. It is not the first church standing in this place.
The oldest church was built in the 8th century, another building was standing here in the 16th century, and the church as we see it today was built fairly recently in the 18th century. These are many centuries, right? We talked with a priest that we met in the church and he talked about the church a bit.
It looks like a common church in this part of the world, so we didn't even want to go inside at first. However, I heard some music coming from the church, so I pushed the door open and called my husband to admire the beauty too. I should also mention that we tried to close the door with all our strength with no success. My husband couldn't understand how I could open it when we couldn't close it back. Well...
Let's go in!
I have visited a fair amount of churches in my life, but I would never expect that this church would look like this. It has richer decorations that many cathedrals that I've seen before. With its pink and blue marble it reminds me of a cathedral that we visited a couple of years ago in Prague. At first, we sat down and looked around before we walked around the church.
It looks more like a palace than a church...
There were several smaller altars dedicated to various saints along the corridors...
And for the first time I have noticed a clock in a church. You can see it on top of the photo right below the painting. I would never expect to see a clock in a church as it should be a place of peace where time doesn't really matters...
The paintings on the ceiling were beautiful and gave us a 3D perspective which you can't really see from the photo...
From the church we walked to the lower part of Tiengen to see the old town. I wonder how many rooms we will be able to see in the summer as the castle is so big!
Last glimpse of the castle before focusing on the old town...
And here we are! We started out walk at the Townhall...
The building dates back to the 16th century, and it got its classicist appearance a couple of centuries later. The decoration under the roof caught my attention as I haven't seen something like that before. I wonder if it's a feature from this region...
Next to the townhall we saw a sign leading us to the Storchenturm or the Stork tower...
The tower was part of the fortification and it used to serve as prison too. The fortification was demolished, but the tower still stands strong. On top of the roof you can see a metal ring. This is where a couple of storks built their nest, and this is also where the name 'stork tower' comes from. For my husband it is unusual to see such nests, but I'm used to it as back home there is a nest on many street lanterns, and often you can see a stork or two standing there on one leg.
The tower was closed, and I don't even know if it's ever open because I couldn't find any information about it on the sign...
Here we can see the remains of the town fortification from the 13th century...
Let's walk back to the old town...
Sunday in Germany means that all shops are closed, so the old town was very quiet. It looked like all restaurants and cafes were closed too until we walked into one that was full of people. We couldn't see that it was open from outside, but inside it was cosy and lively. We got our coffee and cakes and continued the walk...
Can you see the little white sign on the left side of the building? You can find one of these on each building with some historical significance. You don't need a tour guide as you can easily read all the signs and got all the important information about the town.
Gasthof Hirschen was the oldest hotel in the town.
It looks like there used to be water flowing through the oldtown. Today, it is covered with wooden planks with some artwork on top...
It's not the first time that I mention such signs across Germany and Switzerland. This one was really cute. If I'm not mistaken it is a champagne cooler...
The Marien-Brunnen is one of the few fountains that we came across in Tiengen.
In a side street we found the house Schnitzer known for its facade mural. Let's come closer!
It shows the events of the capture of Tiengen from the 15th century. When I think about it I realize that most of such murals shows some brutal events. There are not many that would show something peaceful or positive.
The old town remains residential too...
I decided to show you some cute details before finishing our walk..
Look at those hearts in the window...
Or that tiny bird house on the first floor 😊
We had a nice relaxing time in Tiengen, and now that we know that there are quite a few things to do in summer we will surely come back.
See you next time...