Discover Mainhardt: Roman history and nature trails

Roman history and special places

The Mainhardt Roman Museum presents military, religious, cultural and architectural evidence of the Roman occupation of Mainhardt from 150 to 260 AD. If you are interested in the Limes, consider a guided tour: museum tours can include the excavated and restored south-west corner of the fort. Tours along the Limes hiking trail are also available. You can register for them at Mainhardt Town Hall.

Another cultural stop is the Pahl Museum in the village of Gailsbach. It displays works by Stuttgart artist Manfred Pahl and holds changing special exhibitions and events each year. In Mainhardt-Bubenorbis, St. Margarethen fortified church has a Wendelin altar. Alongside Roman history, art and religious art can therefore also be interests in their own right when planning your trip.

The rock cellar is unusual: it was hewn out of sandstone and lies about 13 metres underground. It also serves nature conservation as a winter roost for bats. So far, mouse-eared bats, Natterer's bats and Daubenton's bats have been spotted there. The site thus combines a distinctive structure with a first-hand glimpse of local wildlife.

Hiking trails and nature experiences

There are 23 signposted walks in Mainhardt. The routes around Mainhardt are between 5 and 13.4 kilometres long and pass through valleys, along streams and lakes, and through meadows and floodplains. If you have a particular distance in mind for an outing, the stated route lengths can help you choose.

One special option is the approximately 4.2-kilometre Moosbach Circuit. It follows paved, mostly level paths around Mainhardt and was specifically designed for people with limited mobility, families with pushchairs and older people. If you would rather include sensory stations, you will find them along the Fuxi Nature Experience Trail in the village of Mönchsberg. These include loungers for listening to the sounds of the forest, a viewing window into the underwater world of a pond, and an animal long-jump. The 10-kilometre trail can be hiked in two sections of 4.5 and 5.5 kilometres.

The “Mainhardt Treasures” were launched in 2012 as special walks around Mainhardt. They showcase historic monuments such as the UNESCO World Heritage Limes, as well as natural and scenic beauty. This makes it easy to choose between routes focused on the landscape and tours with historical destinations.

Cycling, herb garden and outdoor pool

For a longer cycling trip, there is the 40-kilometre “Erlebnisradler” route. It starts at the Mönchstraße hiking car park and passes through several districts and places around Mainhardt, including Ammertsweiler, Gögelhof, Bubenorbis and Wielandsweiler. Its length and the places it passes make it easy to plan this route as a separate outing.

More than 100 plants grow in the Riegenhof herb garden at Riegenhof 4, 74535 Mainhardt; parking is available directly in front. Mainhardt Mineral Outdoor Pool is heated and supplied with sulphur-rich water from a mineral spring. In addition to hiking and culture, a garden and outdoor pool are further options to consider for your stay.

Getting here and other destinations

Mainhardt lies on the B 14, where the B 39 begins. Between Schwäbisch Hall and Heilbronn, both federal highways follow the old Salt Road. Mainhardt is also served by Omnibusverkehr Zügel GmbH. When choosing a holiday apartment or holiday home, you can consider which of the aspects of the town described here matters most for your stay—Roman history, hiking trails, cycling or the outdoor pool.

More destinations: Rot Am See, Bühlerzell, Michelbach An Der Bilz, Crailsheim, Wallhausen, Stimpfach, Döttingen and Ilshofen.

For the broader travel overview: Schwäbisch Hall.