Kulturwanderweg Jagst - 4. Etappe Jagsthausen bis Schöntal-Westernhausen

Time travel into the world of the Romans, knights and "gray monks"

Varied landscapes are explored with both paved and short unpaved routes.

The hiking stage from Jagsthausen to Westernhausen also takes you right into the Middle Ages. The Berlichingen family are at home here - yes, of course the one with the iron hand - and the Bebenburgs, the lords of Hausen...
Settlement area The Jagst valley was a settlement area from early on: Neolithic and Celtic settlers left behind burial mounds and and ring forts, the Romans left the Limes, the first Germanic "demarcation line" (548 km from the Rhine to the Danube, the second longest monument in the world). The Alamanni (ending in "ingen") and Franks ("heim") gave the settlements their names.

But the journey through time takes you even much further back - to the Neanderthals, the "original inhabitants" of of Europe. A tool find in Bieringen points back to the Palaeolithic period, when when mighty mammoths were still at home here. To the left and right of the of the Jagst hiking trail you can admire German cultural history and European architectural styles: Founded in the Romanesque period (from 950) and churches were founded in the Romanesque period, while the former Cistercian monastery. In just one day, you can experience well over two thousand years of cultural history - up close and personal. It is a real KultURwanderweg - in the truest sense of the word. It leads through former and present-day vineyards. And you are out and about in the "Land of Götz", between hedges, meadows and forest. But always with magnificent views of the fertile Jagst valley.

The journey through time here in the fourth section of the cultural hiking trail has wide range from A-Z - from apple orchards to the Cistercians, if you if you like. The Imperial Knight of Berlichingen is your companion: in the castle museum you can see his (real) iron hand, a masterpiece of ancient orthopaedics. masterpiece of ancient orthopaedic technology. In the castle courtyard Goethe's theater poem tells the story (including the one with the infamous "l.m.i.A.") alive on the open-air stage. In Berlichingen, a memorial a monument to the imperial knight and peasant leader Götz. Schöntal - Latin "Speciosa Vallis": In the former Cistercian monastery of the "gray monks" (today the nucleus of the Hohenlohe Cultural Summer) you will be amazed by great architectural styles: The Romanesque beginnings (1157), Gothic the gate chapel (1310), Baroque the church with its 17th century alabaster altar 17th century - a "symbiosis of art, religion and brotherhood".

The octagon building on the hill is also pure Baroque. And the ornate staircase of the new abbey allows a glimpse into the playful rococo. The important personality of the humorous Abbot of the humorous Abbot Benedikt Knittel (1683-1732). With his "Knittel verses", he set himself a literary landmark - which is still still relevant today when you read: "There are three good things in life: In the the sweet juice of the vine in a glass, good advice in the community and a good friend in need the good friend". The atmosphere of the abbey is contemplative and cultural - the wild "Tiergarten" complements the grounds with primeval nature. But the ambience is not only sacred but also sporty - you can cycle around the famous monastery on the Jagst river.

On the way to Westernhausen Westernhausen there are still many lures - close to nature like the fairytale Erlenbach Valley, wine and culinary delights in the villages: Restaurants offer roast beef and Riesling, farms offer local lamb lamb, green spelt and spelt noodles.