Bietigheim's Old Town

A while ago I had a job to do that required regular travels to Ludwigsburg. During the train rides this view caught my eye. What was this place?

The adjacent railway station is named Ellental after a modern suburb, which did not prove much help. With the help of a map I identified this as the old town of Bietigheim.

The railway is running across a high bridge across river and valley at this point. The Bietigheimer Viaduct, built in the late 19th century in the style of a Roman aqueduct, is a sight in itself. However, it is difficult to take photos of a bridge from a train that is running on top of it. ;-)

Bietigheim is one half of Bietigheim-Bissingen. Two neighbouring municipalities have been united to a town with this monster name in 1975. I had always imagined a mostly modern satellite town in the commuter belt of Stuttgart and never seen any need to visit. This here changed my mind, though. Bissingen does not look too attractive indeed, but I was surprised to find a historical old town in Bietigheim.

To reach the old town, it’s better not to use the railway station called Bietigheim-Bissingen, which is located in Bissingen on the opposite side of the valley.

Better get off at Ellental. From there it is a relatively short walk, although it includes first the descent to the valley bottom and the crossing of the small river Metten, and the ascent to old Bietigheim. Our ancestors knew why they would build their towns on a hill, not at the bottom of a narrow valley.

Bietigheim is one of many historical small towns in Württemberg that are lined up along the Neckar valley. Strictly speaking, it is located above the confluence of Metten and Enz river, the latter being a side river of the Neckar, but it is close and must be counted among the Neckar towns in Württemberg. The Neckar valley has always been a wine region, and wine always means wealth. The splendid half-timbered houses in town reflect the town’s thriving economy in past centuries.

The proverbial Swabian skintness shows in many places, unfortunately: houses that certainly have beautiful half-timbered constructions, that can be guessed from their shape. The owners, however, are either unable or unwilling to have them restored, so they stay dressed in ugly brownish plaster.

The old town has been built on a slope. There is not a single even street or lane in the entire old town, everything goes either up- or downhill, or so it feels.

The triangular market square (huh?) is the heart of the old town.

The dominating building is the town hall, also dating from the 16th century. The astronomic clock on the front is a baroque addition.

The fountain in the middle carries the figure of a herold with the Württemberg coat of arms. The column below has the coat of arms of the town, a white tower on red ground, and the date 1549. on a column.

The so-called württembergian castle was also erected in those times after its medieval predecessor had collapsed. Bietigheim became the seat of a bailiff, hence the centre of a (small) administrative district.

The castle served as residence for the bailiff, it hosted the administration and barns and cellars to collect the duties. It has never been a real castle in the usual sense of the word.

In recent times it hosted the successor of the bailiff, namely the local tax office. After they moved out, the castle was refurbished and turned into a cultural centre.

The gothic parish church appears gigantic due to its position further uphill. This rarely happens but, sorry Bietigheim, this is a church that I have little to say about. The interior has been refurbished countless times. Its present shape was designed around 1970. Only the choir has kept its gothic vault.

The most beautiful half-timbered house in town is the so-called Hornmoldhaus. It was erected in 1535/36 and named after its first owner: Sebastian Hornmold the Elder was bailiff in Bietingen, wine merchant, and an avid follower of the Reformation. The house hosts the town’s historical museum. I am glad that I did not make up excuses this time but took the time to visit it.

What impressed me most inside the museum? First of all, the house itself. A model explains the timberframe construction. The walls still sport the original renaissance murals with floral ornaments. I saw two dates inscribed in different rooms, 1545 and 1575.

Two Bohlenstuben are preserved in their original shape. Sorry I have no translation: A “Bohlenstube” was, since the middle ages, the living room in wealthy households. Walls and ceiling were completely covered in thick boards, usually from oakwood. The walls were thus insulated and the temperature inside was far more pleasant than in a room with plain stone or half-timbered walls. Only rich people were able to afford a Bohlenstube in their house and they were certainly meant to ‘show off’ in front of guests, neighbours and business contacts.

A model shows what the town looked like around 1830. The structure and ground plan are still well recognizable in the present town. I like such models, especially if they are done with love for details. They have even included a (fictive) fire that destroyed a block near the market square. Fires happened frequently. In a densely populated town with mostly half-timbered houses, fire meant a disaster.

Quite a number of beautifully restored half-timbered houses can be found in Bietigheim’s streets. The finest ones date from the 16th century, the wealthiest era in the town’s history.

Parts of the town wall and one tower are preserved.

The most beautiful preserved piece of the medieval fortifications is one of the four town gates, the so-called Unteres Tor (Lower Gate).

The fresco on the outward side with the two fighting knights has the inscription that can be found all over the country: “Hie gut Württemberg allweg” (Here is good Württemberg everywhere).

The square outside the gate is Bietigheim’s modern shopping centre. Not remarkable except for the modern sculpture in the middle, entitled “Ku(h)riosum” by Jürgen Goertz. The title is a pun between the similarly sounding words “Kuriosum” (curiosity) and “Kuh” (cow).

The opposite end of the old town behind the castle has received an even more striking ensemble of modern art. Jürgen Goertz again created the “Turm der grauen Pferde” (Tower of Grey Horses). It appears almost like a town gate.

The title may be understood as a reminiscence to Franz Marc’s lost painting, “Turm der blauen Pferde” (Tower of blue horses).

Together with the other statues in the square it is connected with a much larger art project, the design of the adjacent Villa Visconti (completed in 2002). This building is a cooperation between the architects Frowein and Schäffer and the sculptor Jürgen Goertz. The façades bear 300 portraits of famous personalities of the 20th century – not all of them are easy to recognize. (Luckily there are explanations.) The building is meant as a townhouse with apartments and offices. The ground floor hosts the mensa of the neighbouring school.

These are not the only remarkable art works in town. Since the 1980s the municipality has been acquiring works of renowned contemporary sculptors. They have been put up all over the centres of both Bietigheim and Bissingen. The idea is to create a sightseeing route entitled „Sculptour” (they seem to like puns there).

Two more examples: Portrait of Dietrch Bonhoeffer” by Alfred Hrdlicka (1977) and “Baboon” by Fritz Melis (around 1970). I assume you can tell which is which…

The former wine press

"What's the time?"

View over the rooftops towards the modern buildings of Bissingen. Below, the upper part of the viaduct's arches appear.