Discover Ostfildern: Art, Gardens and Trails

Art and History in Ostfildern

Since 1976, the Ostfildern Municipal Gallery has presented five to six changing exhibitions of contemporary art each year. This recurring programme gives the cultural offering a distinctive focus. Art in public spaces is also part of Ostfildern: Rosalie’s large-scale sculpture “Sitz- und Flitzhasen” and Sol LeWitt’s monumental sculpture “Structure” are two of the works mentioned.

A historical connection leads to Scharnhausen: Philipp Matthäus Hahn was born there in 1739 in the old vicarage. Hahn’s birth in the old vicarage is part of Ostfildern’s history.

Community Gardens and Landscape Staircase

The Scharnhauser Park community gardens were created after local residents took the initiative to continue tending parts of the Landesgartenschau’s Traumfelder from 2002. The gardens include the Geotreppe, a rock collection that offers a hands-on way to explore Earth’s history. For families, it can be a tangible conversation starter: the rocks provide a starting point for thinking about Earth’s history together.

The Landscape Staircase offers a different perspective on Scharnhauser Park. This 1.4-kilometre green park of meadow fields opens up views of the Swabian Alb. The same park thus features both the Geotreppe, with its geological focus, and a larger green space with open views across the landscape. Depending on whether you’re more interested in a specific collection or open meadow fields, your outing can take a different direction.

Exploring the Körsch Valley

The fruit and nature trail in Ostfildern runs through the Körsch Valley, alongside meadows and fields and past the Amortempel. Suggested starting points include Scharnhauser Park at the Kreuzbrunnen stop, Scharnhausen at the Körschtalhalle, and Nellingen near the cemetery. These landmarks are spread across several districts of Ostfildern, offering different starting points for planning your route.

The chestnut avenue offers another landmark: it leads to Scharnhauser Schlößle and the Amortempel. The Amortempel is therefore also a destination along the avenue, while on the fruit and nature trail it marks a point along the route. When planning your day, you can decide whether to focus on the trail through the Körsch Valley or the destinations along the chestnut avenue.

Festivals and Regional Context

Ostfildern’s municipal cultural office holds an annual kite festival. If you’d like to plan your visit around the festival, check the latest event dates before travelling. This recurring annual event can be one element of your plans without requiring you to assume a fixed date.

In the wider Esslingen travel destination, the district of Esslingen is one of ten districts in the Swabian Alb Geopark. The district is shaped by six distinct landscape areas: Schurwald, Schönbuch, Fildern, the Neckar Valley, the Alb foothills and the Alb escarpment. The traditional orchard landscape is another defining feature, with 1.5 million fruit trees. These regional details describe the district of Esslingen and complement the specific cultural and nature-focused themes of Ostfildern with a broader landscape context.

When choosing your holiday apartment, you can therefore consider which aspect of your stay you’d like to focus on: art and local history, the community gardens and Landscape Staircase, or a walk through the Körsch Valley. Those who also explore the Esslingen region can take its landscape areas into account as a regional context of their own.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Esslingen, Bissingen an der Teck, Nürtingen, Wolfschlugen, Lenningen, Owen, Filderstadt, Neckartenzlingen

Back to the main travel overview: Esslingen.