Rottenacker: Circular Trail, Swimming Lake and Culture

A circular hike across a ridge, a swimming lake nearby and a church built in 1485 give Rottenacker a distinctive character. The wider destination of the Alb-Donau district also offers other cultural and natural attractions. When planning your holiday, you can decide whether to focus on the route, spend time by the water or explore more of the region.

Walking around Rottenacker

The Danube Experience Hike starts at the “Wirtles Haus” Museum or at the town hall in Rottenacker. The circular trail crosses the ridge, passes the “Tiefer Brunnen” spring and follows the Danube back to the museum. The full route is 12 kilometres long, with each of its two sections measuring 6 kilometres. This makes it easy to choose between the entire loop and the shorter sections, depending on how far you want to walk. Along the way, the ridge is followed by the spring and the stretch beside the Danube. The route links these named stops in a loop that begins and ends in Rottenacker.

The different locations of the local attractions can also help you choose where to stay: the trail starts in Rottenacker, while Heppenäcker leisure and swimming lake lies to the southeast. When choosing holiday accommodation, you can decide whether the hike starting in Rottenacker or the swimming lake to the southeast matters more to you.

Swimming lake and architectural history

Heppenäcker leisure and swimming lake lies southeast of Rottenacker. It has a sunbathing lawn, sanitary facilities and a kiosk; visitors can sunbathe, swim and relax. The lake therefore complements the hike with another way to spend time near the destination. You can weigh up whether you would rather focus on a walk or a stay by the water, based on these different options.

Today’s St. Wolfgang Church adds a historical feature right in Rottenacker: it was built in 1485. The church offers a different focus from the hiking route and swimming lake. Those interested in a place’s history will find a specific point of interest here, while the other destinations emphasise exercise or time by the water.

Culture and nature in the Alb-Donau district

Beyond the Rottenacker loop, the wider destination of the Alb-Donau district offers a range of attractions for culture enthusiasts. Hohle Fels Cave near Schelklingen is a UNESCO World Heritage cave. The “Venus of Hohle Fels” and the “Geierknochenflöte” (vulture-bone flute) were found there; both are about 42,500 years old. In Blaustein, the Ehrenstein prehistoric village is a Neolithic settlement in the Blau valley and part of the transnational serial UNESCO World Heritage Site “Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps.”

Kloster Blaubeuren is another notable historic site in the Alb-Donau district: it was founded as a Benedictine monastery in 1085 and today consists mainly of Gothic buildings dating from 1466 to 1510. The former Premonstratensian abbey of Obermarchtal is also in the Alb-Donau district. Its monastic complex rises directly above the Danube and took on its present form between 1686 and 1795. In terms of landscape, the Alb-Donau district is part of the Swabian Alb Biosphere Reserve. The cave, settlement, monastic complexes and biosphere reserve represent different cultural and natural aspects of the wider region; they should be distinguished from the attractions in Rottenacker itself.

Compare hiking and cycling tours

The Alb-Donau district has 20 circular “Eiszeitpfade” (Ice Age Trails), each 6 to 14 kilometres long and suitable for day hikes. The family-friendly “Eiszeitspuren” (Ice Age Tracks) are 1 to 6 kilometres long, while the Besinnungsweg (Contemplation Trail) is intended for multi-day tours. Together with Rottenacker’s 12-kilometre Danube Experience Hike, these trails offer a range of distances and tour formats to compare. The Eiszeitpfade, Eiszeitspuren and Besinnungsweg are regional hiking options in the Alb-Donau district; the Danube Experience Hike is the loop in Rottenacker.

The themed cycling routes in the Alb-Donau district also cover a range of distances: the “Eiszeittäler” tour is 75 kilometres long, the “Berg Bier” tour is 115 kilometres, and the “Albtäler” cycle route is 186 kilometres. To choose, you can first consider whether a local hike, a shorter family-friendly route, a multi-day tour or one of the listed cycling distances best suits your travel plans. The cycling routes range from 75 kilometres on the “Eiszeittäler” tour to 186 kilometres on the “Albtäler” cycle route, with the “Berg Bier” tour in between at 115 kilometres.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Blaubeuren, Heroldstatt, Illerrieden, Merklingen, Öllingen, Setzingen, Kirchen, Asselfingen.

Back to the wider travel overview: Alb-Donau district.