Parking garage, Münster and Romanesque church

A Romanesque church from the century that looks brand new, the largest parking garage of a small town that we have ever seen, and a Münster square where there is no Münster at all – today’s trip has it all.

But let's take it step by step. We actually wanted to hike in the Hartwald. The forest is huge by our standards, great for biking, but not necessarily suitable for hiking. Everything is flat, everything is perfectly straight... Therefore, we are driving through this time. With an unintentional detour – thanks to the GPS – through the state forest of Ottmarsheim...

Our destination is the Romanesque church of the Benedictine Abbey of Ottmarsheim, founded in 1049 by Count Rudolf of Altenburg. However, those expecting a early medieval building will be met with some question marks in front of and inside the church: The reason is that a large part of the complex was severely damaged by fire in 1999 and was painstakingly rebuilt only in 1999. It no longer looks really old, but still looks great. Particularly special is the octagonal floor plan of the abbey church. Some of the very beautiful old frescoes have also been preserved.

Since it's nearby, we go across the Rhine to Neuenburg. A charming little town located on a plateau from which one can look over to the Rhine meadows. The first thing that impresses is the spacious, modern and practically empty parking garage where we park our car. On top of it, there is a similarly modern observation tower with a fantastic view all the way to the Black Forest in the east and the Vosges in the west. We assume that this was built for the state garden show that took place in Neuenburg in 2022 and now stands somewhat oversized in the landscape.

In the town center, on the cozy Münster square, we treat ourselves to some tasty ice cream. The square is a reminder of the former Liebfrauen-Münster, which was completely destroyed by a flood of the Rhine in 1525. After that, the area was redesigned into a spacious square facility. However, no new construction ever took place, but the square kept its name. We take a walk down to the riverbank, where various facilities from the state garden show are now available as a park for the people of Neuenburg. Neuenburg am Rhein is, by the way, a Zähringer town, like Bern, Burgdorf, or Murten.