Heppenheim (Bergstraße)

Half-timbered houses, castle and local history

Heppenheim has more than 400 cultural monuments protected as historic landmarks, many of them in the Old Town, which is known for its half-timbered houses. If you are interested in architectural history, this offers a particular focus for discovering the town. The Tourist Information Office offers themed tours of the historic Old Town. Another way to discover stories about the town is the Heppenheim Lantern Trail: more than 150 silhouette cutouts on the Old Town’s lanterns depict Hessian legends. Visitors can explore the trail on their own.

Starkenburg was built in 1065 by Lorsch Abbey as a defensive castle on the 295-metre-high Castle Hill and is one of the oldest castles in the western Odenwald. The Museum Heppenheim focuses on the town’s history, with a permanent exhibition in the central building of the historic Kurmainzer Amtshof. Its first construction phases date back to the 13th or 14th century. The oldest part of the complex, known as the Saalbau, houses the Elector’s Hall, with Gothic angel frescoes and Renaissance murals. The Tourist Information Office also offers themed tours of Starkenburg.

Paths through vineyards and into space

The Wein & Stein Experience Trail runs for 6.9 kilometres through Heppenheim’s vineyards and features around 70 information stations. It combines exercise with insights into the local wine-growing landscape. If you enjoy learning more about your surroundings while out and about, this trail is a way to combine the two.

The Planet Trail offers a different focus. The route is about two kilometres long and leads from the Tourist Information Office to the Starkenburg Observatory. Along the way, 13 bilingual signs provide information about planets, minor planets, comets and the Milky Way. You can choose between two trails with different themes: vineyards and information about them on the Wein & Stein Experience Trail, or celestial bodies and space on the Planet Trail. The Tourist Information Office also offers themed tours on the Lantern Trail and through the vineyards.

Wine town and outdoor activities

With 180 hectares of vineyards, Heppenheim is the largest wine-growing town on the Bergstraße. The Bergstraße Wine Trail hike can start in Heppenheim. It features six tasting stands offering wines, sparkling wines and Seccos from the Hessische Bergstraße wine region. This lets you make the region’s variety of wines a focus of your trip; families can decide whether to centre their day around a hike, local history or other discoveries.

For walks, jogging and relaxation, visit the Bruchsee local recreation area in southern Heppenheim. It also has an outdoor fitness circuit and a fitness trail. Children can explore the nature trail in the Bruchsee orchard with an apple thief quiz. Another option for play and sport is the multi-purpose field on Erbachwiesenweg, where a sports box lets you borrow sports and play equipment using an iOS or Android app. These different facilities offer a range of ideas for the day, from a walk to activities with equipment or a quiz.

Getting here and choosing a holiday apartment

Heppenheim railway station is served by buses and trains in the VRN network. When choosing a holiday apartment in Heppenheim, you can first consider which experiences matter most during your stay: the Old Town and its cultural monuments, the themed trails, wine or outdoor activities. The town offers a range of reasons to visit, without requiring you to focus your stay on just one theme.

More places to discover: Zwingenberg, Biblis, Birkenau, Einhausen, Grasellenbach, Lautertal, Lampertheim and Hirschhorn Am Neckar.

For the main travel overview: Bergstraße.