Discover Oberkirch: Castle, Millstream Trail and City Life

Trails steeped in stories, with scenic views

The Oberkirch Millstream Trail is 6.2 kilometers long. It follows the former industrial canal downstream and returns to the starting point via the Rench embankment. Information boards provide additional insights along the way. The trail’s length and circular route give you practical reference points when planning a walk into your day; the boards also explain the canal’s former use.

Another loop follows the Oberkirch Legends Trail around Eselskopf, the Gaisbach district and the village of Wolfhag. The circular trail is about 9 kilometers long and has a total of eight information boards. Its approximate length is a useful comparison with the Millstream Trail, but does not indicate how long the walk will take. If you are interested in legends and stories, you can make the boards a particular focus of this route.

Above the Gaisbach district, the ruins of Schauenburg Castle stand on a 397-meter-high mountain spur. As a local landmark, they connect the landscape around Oberkirch with a long architectural history: the castle was built between 1070 and 1090 and expanded between 1240 and 1275 as a shield-wall castle with several residential towers. The castle restaurant, alongside Schauenburg Castle, offers views over Oberkirch and the Rhine Plain as far as Strasbourg. The Geigerskopf Tower provides a different viewpoint: it is 20 meters high and offers views across the Rhine Plain, reaching as far as the Vosges on a clear day.

Town history, architecture and wine

The Heimat and Grimmelshausen Museum brings together different chapters of local and regional history. Its exhibition covers the history of the town, traditional crafts, agriculture, industry and customs from the Rench Valley. This gives families a range of topics to discover, rather than limiting a museum visit to a single historical chapter. In Gaisbach, St. George’s Chapel also commemorates a specific moment in the town’s history: Hannibal von Schauenburg founded it in 1623.

If you are interested in architecture and design, you can include the Oberkirch Architecture Trail in your stay. It features six buildings in Oberkirch that meet the selection committee’s strict criteria for architectural and design quality. The Oberkircher Winzer eG offers public wine tastings with cellar tours. This lets you consider architecture and wine as different interests for your trip, without combining them into a single program.

A green break in the heart of the town

Oberkirch Town Gardens are located right in the town center. Benches, a duck pond and a large playground give this green oasis its character. Families can also play mini golf and bocce, then relax in the beer garden. The combination of play, activity and places to sit makes the town gardens a separate option for a more leisurely part of the day; the facilities also give children and adults different ways to spend their time there.

If town history and architecture are your priorities, the museum, chapel and architecture trail are good topics to consider when planning your stay. If you would rather explore trails and viewpoints, you can consider the Millstream Trail, Legends Trail, Schauenburg Castle and Geigerskopf Tower as different destinations. This way, you can look for a holiday apartment in Oberkirch based on the kind of vacation you want, without assuming a particular district or an unverified distance.

If you’d like to explore more places, you’ll also find Schutterwald, Schuttertal, Kappel-Grafenhausen, Willstätt, Durbach, Steinach, Ettenheim and Kappelrodeck here.

For the wider travel overview: Ortenau District.