Gengenbach, the Gem of the Kinzig Valley

When discussing the Black Forest, this charming old town is frequently recommended as a destination in travel forums. It certainly meets all expectations that visitors from overseas nourish, concerning half-timbered houses and all that „old world“ picture.

Gengenbach is not very big: The whole old town including the abbey fits into this photo which I took from the „summit“ of the hill named Bergle, sort of Gengenbach's house mountain. You can spot the medieval gate towers as well as the baroque steeple of the abbey church on the left. I was sitting on a bench under a tree, right in my back there was a small chapel dedicated to St Jacobus, a sanctuary on the Camino di Santiago pilgrimage trail. The photo gives an idea of the landscape of the lower Kinzig valley: the wide valley, the Black Forest hills, vineyards on the sunny slopes.

Gengenbach's history begins with the foundation of the Benedictine abbey in the 8th century. The early history is a bit diffuse, the legendary date of the foundation is 725 A.D. Around 800/820 the abbey was property of the Emperor and the largest monastery in the Ortenau region. The middle ages were the 'golden era' of the abbey. From the 15th century onwards things went slowly slowly downwards. Nevertheless a large new convent building was erected around 1700 while the Romanesque abbey church remained and just received a refurbishment inside. Being a Reichsabtei (imperial abbey) the monastery had the status of an independent state within the Holy Roman Empire.

The settlement that developed around the abbey gained the status of a free imperial city in the 14th century. Since then, until 1803, there were two states within the walls of Gengenbach. The division is still recognizable in the structure of the town.

Kinzig Valley

The Kinzig valley is a major valley that runs through the Black Forest in East-Western direction. Geographically it divides the Southern from the Northern Black Forest. The upstream part is narrow and winding, squeezed between rather steep hills - a fine area for hiking if you are not entirely untrained. From Hausach downstream, where the Kinzig unites with the Gutach, the valley is wide with a flat ground. At Offenburg it enters the Rhine plain. In this part the river has been regulated and looks more like a canal, a measure of flood protection but nowadays we know that this measure rather made things worse and is questionable concerning ecology.

The valley has always been a major travel route into and through the Black Forest range. Getting around is easy without a car. The Schwarzwaldbahn railway line runs through the valley from Offenburg to Hausach. The upstream part and some side valleys can be travelled on the Ortenau S-Bahn network.

To visitors, the Kinzig valley is like a chain of pearls with many pretty small towns and other attractions to see. The source of the river is located in the hills near Lossburg and Alpirsbach abbey. It then passes Schenkenzell, Schiltach and Wolfach. In Hausach it unites with the Gutach, the largest of its side rivers. A short distance from Hausach there is a top attraction of the area, the museum village of Vogtsbauernhof In the wide lower valley, the town of Haslach deserves a honourable mentioning, as well as Zell am Harmersbach in a side valley. Then there is of course Gengenbach. From there downstream vineyards are planted on the slopes facing South. The valley bottom has many orchards: apples and pears, cherries, plums... By the exit of the valley into the Rhine plain, just before Offenburg, you'll spot the impressive 19th century castle Ortenberg on the last hill.

Proud History: Gengenbach is NOT a Village

Gengenbach may look small but it is not a village. It is a town, and the inhabitants are proud of their history as a Free Imperial City. The town developed from a settlement by the abbey since the early middle ages. Around 1350/60 it gained the status as Reichsstadt and independence from the abbey. The boundaries of this small settlement contained two independent states of the Holy Roman Empire, both with no other governor but the emperor: the imperial abbey on the one hand, the city on the other. Gengenbach was not the smallest imperial city, though, this trophy goes to nearby Zell am Harmersbach.

While the abbey stayed with the Roman Catholic confession, the city introduced the reformation in the second quarter of the 16th century. In 1803 both lost their independence and became part of the Electorate, then Grand-Duchy of Baden.

The fortifications and towers and the palace-like town hall tell of the city's high self-esteem in those times when they had the status of a Reichsstadt, and their competition with their neighbour, the abbey. The towers have the black eagle, the crest of the Holy Roman Empire, painted above the gate, Kinzigtorturm even has an inscription saying „Reichsstadt Gengenbach“.

Gengenbach's Old Town

Gengenbach's old town is not too big in size, hence easily walkable, but its streets and alleys deserve being explored thoroughly. Timberframe (Fachwerk) is the predominant historical architecture, although some buildings of the city and the well-to-do are built in stone.

The old town will match the imagination of a „medieval“ town that most overseas tourists have in their heads. Being an art historian I am a bit picky about this term. Thing is, though, that Gengenbach like most cities and towns in Germany's Southwest was burned to ashes in the war of 1689. These houses are not medieval but date from the 18th and 19th century.

Heaven and Hell

The prettiest part of the old town, apart from the main square, is the area northwest of the main square with the two narrow streets of Engelgasse („angel lane“) and Höllengasse („hell lane“). There you'll find all the old world picture - cobblestones and timberframe houses, flower pots and cats resting on doormats and dolls in the window. Engelgasse has a curved row of rather uniform half-timbered houses which were built after the fire of 1689 with the former town hall as their foundations. Höllengasse is even narrower. In and between both lanes you'll find lots of little angles, passages and courtyards with picturesque views. People will like to call this scenery „medieval“ but it isn't, most of these houses have been built in the 18th and 19th century.

Towers and Town Walls

Obertor (left) and Kinzigtor

Gengenbach had a town wall around the whole city and the abbey. After the destruction of the town in 1689, though, most of it was demolished, taken down or used as foundations to build houses on like in Engelgasse. A stretch of town wall with allure is preserved in Benedikt-von-Nursia-Straße behind the abbey grounds.

Three big towers and torsos of three small towers have remained of the imperial city's fortification.

Kinzigtor, as the name indicates, leads to Kinzig river and the bridge. The tallest of the three fortification towers is close to the railway line and easy to spot from the train. Into town, the gate leads straight to the main square and to the city hall which can be spotted through the arch. The pointed ends of the portcullis look rather threatening.

Obertor, the „upper gate“, closes the end of market square/street towards the hills. It is a picturesque gate tower crrowned with a high pyramidal roof. The tower originates from the 13th century but was damaged in 1689 and rebuilt afterwards. The inner side has the city's coat of arms painted on it, the black eagle and the small inescutcheon with the silver fish on red ground. Above there is a sundial. The arched passage has a portcullis, probably a replica, on the outside.

Niggelturm once protected the Offenburger Tor, the gate at the western end of the town. It also served as prison. It has the prettiest top of them all, a 16th century addition.

Niggelturm plays an important part in Gengenbach's carnival tradition. It is the home of the Schalk, the symbolic jester figure, who is said to sleep in here all year round until he is awakened for another Fasend season.

The seven storeys of the tower are occupied by the Narrenmuseum („jester museum“) which presents all aspects of Gengenbach's carnival, the traditional masks, the various events and the background of Alemannic Fastnacht. You can also see the Schalk's bedroom. Opening hours are unfortunately limited to Wednesday and Saturday 14:00 - 17:00 and Sunday 11:00 - 17:00 from April to October. In Advent, during the Christmas market, the museum is open Monday to Saturday 16:00 - 19:00 and Sunday 13:00 - 19:00.
Website: http://www.narrenmuseum-niggelturm.de/

Main Square

The main square is the centre of the old town, the meeting point of the three main streets. The shape is rather triangular than square. It does not have an official name but can be described as „market square“. Here is where the weekly farmers markets, the Christmas market and about all other events take place. Each of the three streets leads towards a gate tower. The dominating building in the square is the neoclassical Rathaus, the seat of the magistrate and government. Baroque stone townhouses and several half-timbered houses surround the picturesque square. I think this is the perfect definition of „quaint“?

The 16th century Röhrenbrunnen (fountain) marks the middle of the square. The column is crowned with the statue of a knight in armour, holding a shield with the imperial eagle.

A free imperial city needs a prestigious city hall as seat of the magistrate and government. The citizens of Gengenbach built themselves a new town hall in the 1780s. The architect Viktor Kretz, citizen of Gengenbach and member of the city council, designed it in the then modern style of early classicism.

The town hall has the size and shape of a town palace or hôtel as wealthy people built them in much larger cities. It was placed in the main square and in the visual axis of the main street. Gengenbach's ambition clearly shows.

The triangular gable carries allegoric statues of two important virtues: justice and prudence, and the imperial eagle holding the town creast, a silver fish on red ground. The Roman numbers spell out the date 1784, the year of completion.

In Advent season the facade, which has exactly 24 windows including the two dormers, is turned into a giant Advent Calendar. Every afternoon at 6 p.m. that day's window is being opened in a festive ceremony.

The baroque building on the southern side of market square served as Kornhaus and Kaufhaus, the city's grain storage. This was the place where the natural taxes were collected. The term „Kaufhaus“ indicates that this was the centre of trade. The two smaller side doors probably lead down into the wine cellars.

The inscription on the facade dates the building to 1696. The renaissance portal, however, is about a century older. It originates from the previous building, before the destruction of the town in 1689.

Farmers Market

Can you spot the bottles?

The farmers market takes place in the main square in front ot the town hall every Wednesday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. Merchandise is mostly fresh fruit and veggies, so if you need a healthy snack, you'll find a wide selection. You will also find imported fruit and veggies, but some of the merchants are really local producers selling what's in season. The Kinzig valley is a fruit region with many orchards, in season a lot of local fruit is available.

What does one do with fruit? Eat it, cook jam, bake cakes... and make Schnaps, which is considered staple food and medicine in the Black Forest. Many orchard owners make their own and sell it on markets like this.

The Saturday market is in particular declared as Bauernmarkt, a traditional farmers' market. In addition to the stalls selling regional produce, there was a presentation of historical farming techniques set up to show what farming was like in former times - I suppose they do something like this every Saturday, at least in the warmer season.

It was the season of grain harvest, so they had installed a threshing machine from the World War II era, built in 1940. A group of elderly men were operating it. Working with this thing looked still hard but a lot easier than the traditional method of threshing by hand with flails.

Gengenbach Abbey

The Benedictine monastery, founded in the 8th century, had the status of an imperial abbey and proudly presented its status towards the imperial city next door. Around 1700 a large new convent building was erected while the Romanesque abbey church remained and just received a refurbishment inside. The tall baroque steeple, a landmark in the townscape together with the defence towers of the city, was added in 1712-1714.
The facades of the church show its Romanesque structure with some baroque additions, for example the curved ornaments on the Southern gable. The interior underwent another thorough refurbishment in the late 19th century, the era of historism, which removed all baroque additions aiming to reconstruct the medieval interior. Hence most of the interior is neo-romanesque or neogothic, including the frescoes and the flat ceiling.

The abbey district had its own defence walls. A former fortification tower behind the church was turned into a garden pavillon for the abbot in the 18th century, hence it is known as Prälatenturm.

The monastery's history ended with the secularization of 1803. The abbey was closed down, its grounds became property of Baden. The church became the catholic parish church of the town. The former convent building is now used by a part of Offenburg university of applied sciences and cannot be visited, but a walk around it is worthwhile for the facades and the baroque gardens.

Bergle: Vineyards and Chapel of St Jakobus

Gengenbach's „house mountain“, the hill that rises behind the old town, is known as Bergle, which translates to „little mountain“. Its southward slopes are covered in vineyards, the northwestern side in bushes and trees. The top of the hill is crowned by a little church, the Chapel of St Jakobus (James), which is visible from afar.

Outside Obertor the different streets and trails begin that lead to the top of Bergle and the St Jacobus chapel. The climb up to the hilltop is a bit steep but not very long. It is worthwhile for the landscape views from the vineyards and the view of the town and valley from the top. I took Otto-Ernst-Sutter-Weg up, a paved small road through the vineyards which is not the shortest but probably the most beautiful way. There is another shorter paved road up (Auf dem Bergle). The shortest way is the narrow trail through the little forest on the northern slope.

It was a sunny August morning, the grapes were ripening and the view of the valley opened wider with every step. The path, rather a small paved country road, led me uphill in a wide curve through the vineyards.

The Chapel of St Jakobus (= James the Elder), also named Bergleskapelle, is one of Gengenbach's landmarks. The top of the hill with the wide view used to be an ancient Roman religious site already 2000 years ago. In the 13th century the first chapel was built. Through the centuries it has often been the starting point for pilgrimages. The present chapel dates from the year 1681. To hold services for large groups of pilgrims it has a stone pulpit on the outside wall. A separate, much smaller chapel hosts the Holy Sepulchre.

On top of Bergle, behind the chapel, there are a couple of benches. This is the best spot to catch the view over the old town. I spent a pleasant little while there, relaxing after the climb and enjoying the view. (Photographers: The light is best in the morning. My photos were taken around 10 a.m.)

Except for some idiot down in town who lit a fire in his garden and the smoke disturbed my photo session. Cleaning up is certainly a respectable activity, but couldn’t he dispose of his garden rubbish later…?

The symbol of the shell carved into a big stone proved that I was on the Camino di Santiago. Gengenbach‘s Jakobus chapel is a destination along Kinzigtäler Jakobusweg, a pilgrimage route along the Kinzig valley.

Since the middle ages a stretch of the Camino di Santiago has lead though the Black Forest along the Kinzig Valley. As pilgrimages have become popular again in recent years, the trail has been newly marked in 1993. From Lossburg to Schutterwald it has a total length of 120 kms and can be walked in seven days. I have done just two very very short stretches of the Camino, the way up Bergle in Gengenbach and from Wolfach up to the Jakobus chapel there - more about the latter later on.