Upper Swabian Baroque Route - Eastern Route
Medium
The Duchy of Swabia, established at the end of the 10th century, covered a much larger area than the region we call Swabia today. Given the historical background, it is not surprising, however, that the Eastern Route of the Upper Swabian Baroque Route also included Bavarian towns such as Memmingen, Ottobeuren and Kempten.
Tour details
Best time of year
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Specifics of the tour
scenic / geology / flora / culture / fauna
Path condition
Description
Discover the Duchy of Swabia
The territory of the Duchy of Swabia extended in the north up to the Neckar, in the west it even included Alsace, in the south it included large parts of Switzerland and today's "Vorarlberg", and the eastern border lay near the river "Lech". Upper Swabia, as part of the duchy, consisted of both the southeastern part of Baden-Württemberg and the southwestern part of Bavaria. Today, the borders of the region can no longer be defined exactly, but in rough outlines, natural barriers are mentioned as the border lines: from the Danube to Lake Constance, from the Black Forest to the Iller. The Eastern Route of the Upper Swabian Baroque Route is characterized by a very special architectural style and artistic decoration of the buildings that make up this very special Upper Swabian Baroque.
The Eastern Route starts in the monastery Wiblingen, where the library hall, which is considered the most successful room creation of the Rococo, invites you to marvel. From there it continues to the pilgrimage church of Witzighausen, via the Premonstratensian monastery of Roggenburg, to Illertissen, where the chapel of the Vöhlinschloss shows an impressive dome fresco. Further south you will cross the Bavarian Charterhouse Buxheim, where the production of stucco, fresco painting and gilding can be recreated. Also in Bavaria, the Kreuzherrnkloster in Memmingen invites visitors to take part in exciting guided tours, and in Ottobeuren visitors will encounter an impressive monastery and the baroque basilica.
Before the route ends in Kißlegg with the Kißlegg Castle and its romantic castle garden, it leads via Leutkirch, where the town hall, one of the most important late baroque secular buildings, can be visited.
Further information can be found in the brochure "Offizieller Routenführer der Oberschwäbischen Barockstraße" (only available in German). You can order it here free of charge.
Author's recommendation
The former Charterhouse Buxheim is the best preserved charterhouse in the German-speaking world. Especially the grandiose baroque choir stalls by Ignaz Waibl in the Kartausenkirche are impressive.
Planning and arrival
Starting point
Kloster Wiblingen (main route) (480 m), coordinates: Geographisch 48.361944, 9.990965, UTM 32U 573402 5357004
By train:
The nearest train station is the main station in Ulm. From there you can reach the Wiblingen Monastery by bus (from bus stop "Ehinger Tor" with line 4 to bus stop "Pranger"
By car:
From Stuttgart, Munich and Augsburg: Take the A8 motorway towards Neu-Ulm. Then follow the B10 towards Wiblingen.
From Kempten: Via the A7 towards Ulm (exit Ulm/Wiblingen on B30)
From Lindau: Via the A96 and A7 towards Ulm (exit Ulm/Wiblingen on B30)
From Friedrichshafen and Ravensburg: Via the B30 towards Ulm (exit Ulm/Wiblingen on B30)
Parking spaces are available at the various stops of the tour.
Destination
Kißlegg in Allgäu (main route)
The best way to get back to the starting point is by car via the highway A7. Alternatively, it is possible to take the train via Aulendorf and Ulm and from Ulm to continue by bus to Wiblingen. In addition, Kißlegg as the end point of the route can be used as a starting point for the extension of the journey.