Baden Württemberg – Star Studded

From Michelin stars to a star on a car Baden Württemberg offers much to delight visitors. Anna Hyman reports.

A mere two hour flight from London in the south-west corner of Germany, with France and Switzerland as its neighbours, is Baden-Württemberg, home of fast cars, airships, forests and picturesque towns along with excellent wines, superb restaurants, and a particularly luscious chocolate cake.

 

A capital city

Stuttgart, the region’s capital, watched over by a Mercedes-Benz star on top of its railway station, is a city which has managed to combine high-tech industry with history, culture and wine production. It lies in a hollow surrounded by steep hills, set with gracious homes and vineyards. And is also home to my favourite Christmas market; the stall holders go to town competing for the best decorated stall

Kӧnigstrasse, Stuttgart’s modern pedestrianized main shopping street offers a wealth of shops ranging from inexpensive chain stores to glitzy exclusivity. Close by lies a warren of old streets and beyond them the Old and New Palaces.

In 1984 James Stirling built the highly acclaimed extension to the Staatsgalerie museum, but for something even more modern retrace your footsteps to the Kӧnigstrasse to the ultra-modern and excellent, glass-cube art gallery Kunstmuseum topped by its stylish restaurant.

Automobile museums

On the edge of the city is another example of modern architecture – the superb Mercedes-Benz museum. Even for non-motorists like me this museum is a must-see. To do it justice allow the best part of a day for a visit. It is the only museum in the world that portrays in a single continuous display automobile history from its beginning to the present day put in context with world events of the time. Over nine levels and covering a floor space of 16,500 square metres, the museum presents 160 vehicles and over 1,500 exhibits.

The Mercedes-Benz museum also provides regular gastronomic treats. From Tuesdays to Sundays, its restaurant serves up regional specialities as well as seasonal and European dishes. On each second Sunday in the month the museum restaurant is given over to a Sunday brunch, where from 10.00am to 2.30pm a buffet offers a range of meals and drinks. The cafébar, on the other hand, is great for light fare offering a choice of different coffee specialties, confectionary, pastries and snacks.

Twice a year the Mercedes-Benz museum also presents its culinary events series, the Sternennächte. For 10 evenings the casino on the top floor of the museum is transformed into a gourmet restaurant with a view of the first Mercedes and the surrounding vineyards.

Not to be outdone the Porsche museum is another example of cutting edge architecture. It too prides itself on its restaurants offering a variety of options from coffeehouse specialties and international snacks to gourmet cuisine. There is the lobby Coffee Bar – a good place to stop off before a pre-guided tour, or adjourn to the Boxenstopp where visitors can watch the chefs prepare dishes such as pasta, pizza and salads. The Christophorus Restaurant provides a fine-dining experience offering both Mediterranean and regional delicacies and wines.

Vines grow happily in Stuttgart and the surrounding countryside. Stuttgart has a long vinicultural tradition dating from 1108, when monk Ulrich gifted vineyards in Stuttgart to the Blaubeuren monastery. Viniculture remains important in Stuttgart to this day. Look out for brooms above doors in the countryside. The brooms indicate that the the local wine is ready and available for sampling.

Baths and the Black Forest

Baden-Baden too is noted for its fine wines. The Rebland is a picturesque region to the southwest of Baden-Baden with splendid views of the Rhine Valley and the Black Forest with vineyards covering an area of 800 acres. 

The author Mark Twain was convinced that Baden-Baden cured him of his rheumatism. Possibly so, for the town has been recognised since Roman times for its healing springs; visitors can tour the ruins of the 2000 year old baths.

It is a delightfully green city with lovely parks and gardens. Much of the architecture seen today dates back to the mid-19^th century when it became one of Europe’s most fashionable resorts boasting a riverside esplanade, a race-course, an elegant theatre and glittering casino – the latter evidently much enjoyed by Marlene Dietrich.

Said to be the sunniest town in Germany, Freiburg located on the edge of the Black Forest, is certainly one of its most attractive. Its old town is a kaleidoscope of alleyways, old houses and modern shops. Through it (highly dangerous for the unwary) are channels of rushing water dating back to the Middle Ages designed to bring cooling mountain water to hot city streets. Around its ancient and impressive cathedral in the Munsterplatz a colourful and excellent market takes place daily.

Forest surrounds Freiburg, but not just any forest, for this is the legendary Black Forest. It stretches for miles, in places dense and dark, elsewhere it gives way to gentle slopes covered with vines.

Pretty villages nestle in clearings, many of them producing cuckoo clocks made from the local wood. In spring the slopes are covered in a mantle of cherry blossom for this is the region that has given its name to a rich chocolate, cream and cherry cake Schwarzwaldkirschtorte (Black Forest Gateau), and also a clear, cherry brandy.

The biggest wine barrel and castles galore

Heidelberg has long been a popular destination. And rightly so. Perched some 70 meters above the river Neckar and dominating the town is its impressive castle. The castle has been there for about 700 years. One of its most famous attractions is the world’s biggest wine barrel, made from 130 oak trees. The barrel measures seven metres wide and over eight metres in length: when it wasn’t leaking it could hold 221,726 litres. Down in the old town are pretty squares, fountains, fine old houses, cafes galore and lots of shops. It’s a lively town, home to Germany’s oldest university, many of the bars and cafes buzz with student activities.

Either side of the Danube are the two towns that make up Ulm, the city where Albert Einstein was born. Across the river from Neu Ulm is Ulm’s historic centre. It has a quaint Fishermen’s quarter with cobbled streets and pretty footbridges, as well as some brilliantly coloured murals and an astronomical clock at the Rathaus (town hall). However, its chief claim to fame is its Minster – with the world’s highest church steeple at 161.5 metres. There are over 700 steps to climb if you want to experience the view.

Mannheim lies on the banks of the Rhine and Neckar rivers. Much of the town we see today was laid out in a tidy grid formation in the 17^th century. Sights not to be missed include Europe’s second largest baroque castle and the art nouveau water tower. It also has some pretty amazing museums covering subjects from archaeology and technology to fine art.

Karlsruhe is known as a centre of science and technology. It is a comparatively modern city founded in 1715, but whilst it has no quaint medieval heart it is rather elegant. At its centre a palace; radiating out from it in a fan shape 32 streets and avenues. Its market square dating from the early 19^th century is recognised as one of the most striking neo-classical squares in Europe. Kaiserstrasse is the longest shopping street in the Baden region.

Other notable cities include Pforzheim, noted for its watch and jewellery-making industry, and Ludwigsburg, for the largest baroque castle in Germany.

Good enough to eat …

The region is justifiably proud of its food – 52 of its restaurants have been awarded Michelin stars. Indeed the municipality of Baiersbronn which is made up of nine small villages boasts no fewer than seven stars divided between three of Germany’s best chefs.

It is also proud of its white asparagus and is home to two of the most famous asparagus-producing areas in Germany – Schwetzingen and Bruchsal.

…and drink

Wine festivals in Baden and Württemberg are popular and frequent events. Wines and hearty snacks are inexpensive and good value and the festivals are lots of fun! Stuttgart, for example, is home to one of Germany’s largest annual wine festivals allowing visitors to sample some 500 wines from the Baden and Württemberg regions. It lasts for about 10 days beginning in the last week of August. www.stuttgarter-weindorf.de

Baden is the third largest wine growing region in Germany and is also Pinot territory – Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris and Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc). But it also manages to grow other grape varieties, think Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Muskateller, Traminer and Gutedel.

Württemberg is Germany’s fourth largest wine growing region and grows predominately red varieties, especially Trollinger, but it also Lemberger, Schwarzriesling (Pinot Meunier),

Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Dornfelder. Wurttemberg’s most important white grape variety is Riesling.

Sekt, Germany’s sparkling wine’s history began in the cellars in France of Veuve Clicquot when a young man from Württemberg, Georg Chritian von Kessler, went to work there as an accountant. The story goes that he progressed rapidly through the company and was told that one day he would take it over. It was not to be and disappointed he returned home where he founded his own company producing sparkling wine in the méthode champenoise that he had learned in France. Sekt is still produced at Esslingen and the cellars are open to the public.

Prost! Raise a glass to Baden Württemberg!