Discover Schenkenzell

Hiking around Staufenkopf and the Kinzig Valley

The Staufenkopf barbecue hut towers above Schenkenzell. Hiking trails via Rinkenbach, Wanne or Sattellege lead to the 683-metre summit of Staufenkopf. The starting routes mentioned offer several ways to plan your hike; the summit is their shared point of reference. If you are planning a walking tour for your trip, you can take these trail names into consideration.

Another hiking idea is the Rossberg Reservoir Tour. It starts at Schenkenzell town hall, goes via Wittichen to the Kleine Kinzig Reservoir and then returns to Schenkenzell. This describes a loop: the starting and finishing point is in town, Wittichen is part of the route, and the reservoir is the destination on the outward leg. This may be useful for planning your day if you are looking for a tour that returns to Schenkenzell.

Routes for different travel plans

Longer routes also shape the options around Schenkenzell. The town is the first stage destination on the Kinzig Valley Way of St. James, on the approximately 16-kilometre section from Loßburg to Schenkenzell. If you include a stage of this route in your trip, Schenkenzell is therefore part of the section described. The approximate distance refers to the route from Loßburg to here.

The Kinzig Valley Rafting Trail reaches Schenkenzell station via former rafting weirs and continues from there to Schenkenburg Castle Ruins and Schiltach. The trail is around 33 kilometres long in total. It is divided into the approximately 11-kilometre Loßburg–Alpirsbach section and the approximately 22-kilometre Alpirsbach–Wolfach section. For planning your routes, the sections listed differ both in length and in the towns they include. The former rafting weirs along the route are reminders of timber rafting.

You can ride the 21-kilometre Bettelmännle Tour by mountain bike; it starts and ends in Schenkenzell. Its route passes through forests and over hills, with repeated views of the characteristic Black Forest landscape. If you are planning a bike ride instead of a hike, this is a named circular route with a fixed starting and finishing point. The 21 kilometres refers to the entire tour.

History in Wittichen and Kaltbrunn

In the district of Wittichen, Luitgard founded a hermitage in 1324 with 33 sisters. Only the Long Building and the Baroque church remain of the former monastery. These two surviving buildings give the district its own historical connection and complement the trails through the landscape with a cultural point of interest.

In Schenkenzell-Kaltbrunn, St. George’s Chapel was first mentioned in 1275 in a list of parishes belonging to the Diocese of Constance. The chapel can be used for memorial services and private occasions such as weddings, baptisms and other Christian celebrations. The local history thus offers several specific points of interest: the founding of the hermitage in Wittichen, the surviving parts of the former monastery and the early mention of the chapel in Kaltbrunn.

Getting to Schenkenzell and finding accommodation

Schenkenzell is on the Offenburg–Freudenstadt railway line and can be reached by the Ortenau S-Bahn to Schenkenzell station. If travelling by train is important to you, you can take this connection into account when choosing where to stay. You can also plan your trip around your preferred focus when looking for a holiday apartment in Schenkenzell, such as hiking trails, the Way of St. James, the mountain bike tour or historical sites. Which experiences you combine is up to you.

More local pages

More local pages: Aichhalden, Lauterbach, Oberndorf Am Neckar, Dunningen, Wellendingen, Eschbronn, Rottweil, Dietingen.

Back to the main travel overview: Rottweil.