Discover Öpfingen
Accommodation in Öpfingen
Öpfingen can be explored through two specific themes: the late-medieval core of the parish church’s choir and the St. Martin’s Way, whose stage from Erbach to Ehingen passes through the town. The Lower Castle and guided tours of the town add to its history. This lets you shape your stay around a clear interest: ecclesiastical architectural history, a walking route or further discoveries in the wider Alb-Donau district.
Wohngebiet Aispel mit Donau und Donaukanal in Öpfingen
Photo: Reutlingendorf via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Church, Castle and Local History
The choir of the parish church in Öpfingen has a late-medieval core and was given a Baroque makeover in 1708. The date therefore refers to the Baroque makeover, not to the late-medieval core. Anyone interested in architectural history can see two distinct historical layers in this part of the church: an older core and a later transformation.
The ground floor of the Lower Castle houses the municipal administration, a meeting room and a cultural space. Administration, meetings and the cultural space are therefore three distinct uses within the building. Frau Renate Teske is named as the local guide for tours of Öpfingen. If you plan to take a tour, confirm the date and arrangements in advance.
A Stage of St. Martin’s Way
The stage of St. Martin’s Way from Erbach to Ehingen passes through Öpfingen. If you like to combine travel with a stretch of walking, you can see the town as part of this named stage. Check the latest route information before setting off. Planning a route and taking an interest in individual buildings involve different priorities: one focuses on the route between Erbach and Ehingen, the other on local history.
Culture and Routes in the Alb-Donau District
Across the wider travel destination of the Alb-Donau district, cultural history ranges from Stone Age finds to monastic buildings. Hohle Fels near Schelklingen is a UNESCO World Heritage cave and the site where the “Venus of Hohle Fels” and the “Geierknochenflöte” were found; both are about 42,500 years old. In Blaustein is the Stone Age village of Ehrenstein, a Neolithic settlement in the Blau valley that is part of the transnational, serial UNESCO World Heritage property “Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps.”
Monastic complexes also offer various points of connection with history. Blaubeuren Monastery was founded as a Benedictine monastery in 1085 and today consists mainly of Gothic-style buildings dating from 1466 to 1510. The former Premonstratensian abbey of Obermarchtal is in the Alb-Donau district; the monastery complex stands directly above the Danube and took on its present form between 1686 and 1795. The different dates help distinguish the history of the foundation from that of the buildings.
For walks in the Alb-Donau district, there are 20 circular “Ice Age Trails” to choose from, ranging from 6 to 14 kilometres; they are suitable for day hikes. The family-friendly “Ice Age Traces” are 1 to 6 kilometres long. There is also the Contemplation Trail for multi-day tours. This makes it possible to distinguish shorter circular routes, day hikes and multi-day tours by the types of routes described.
The themed cycling routes also differ in length: the “Ice Age Valleys” tour is 75 kilometres long, the “Berg Bier Tour” 115 kilometres, and the “Alb Valleys” cycle route 186 kilometres; the latter is noted as having a four-star rating. When looking for a holiday apartment in Öpfingen, you can first decide whether the town’s local themes or the Alb-Donau district’s range of cultural attractions and routes should shape your stay more.
Discover more destinations: Illerrieden, Weidenstetten, Heroldstatt, Ehingen, Erbach, Griesingen, Ulm, Breitingen.
Return to the main travel overview: Alb-Donau district.
