Catch a regional train from Stuttgart up to Bad Friedrichshall, then catch an S-Bahn another fifteen minutes through the Neckar Valley, and you arrive at the town of Bad Wimpfen, clinging to the valley ridge.
Congratulations, you’ve found one of southern Germany’s underrated treasures.
Bad Wimpfen has a very illustrious past. It was what is known as a kaiserpfalz, or imperial palace.
See, around 900 years ago, the Holy Roman Emperors of the German-speaking lands didn’t have a fixed capital from which they ruled. Instead, they roamed the country with huge baggage trains, either staying with a powerful local count or duke, or at a designated palace, built to be inhabited temporarily.
This mobile rule had two benefits: First, it tied up those powerful local lords, putting the onus on them to house and feed their God-anointed Emperor. It’s hard to make trouble when half the imperial elite is staying with you. Second, it gave the Holy Roman Emperor a close-up look at what was going on. Message networks in the 12th century were rudimentary at best, and the only way to gather real valuable intelligence on the state of the empire was to be there, on the ground.
The kaiserpfalz of Bad Wimpfen is most closely associated with the Hohenstaufen dynasty, who ruled as Holy Roman Emperors from 1138 to 1254. Think the Lannisters, without being quite so feared. Brutal and conniving, sure, but they had a few figures such as Frederick Barbarossa who had the charisma and presence (as well as the chroniclers) to make sure they were remembered well.
Once the Hohenstaufen died out, the kaiserpfalz largely fell out of use, before being destroyed during the 13th century in one of the many local feuds that filled the era. From the shell of the palace, the town of Wimpfen developed, becoming a powerful local centre, full of artisans and traders who profited from the town’s position on a couple of trade routes and the Neckar river. These burghers built new towers to supplement the remaining imperial fortifications, as well as a number of beautiful churches.
We can thank war, plague, pestilence, and poverty for the beautiful condition in which we find the town today - as they say here ‘Armut macht denkmalpflege’, or ‘Poverty conserves monuments’. The 17th century, especially, was not great for southern Germany, and Bad Wimpfen had the misfortune of one of the most important battles of the Thirty Years War happening on its doorstep.
The Battle of Wimpfen, occurring on the 6th of March, 1622, saw the Lutheran forces of the Margraviate of Baden routed by Catholic Spanish forces. It must be said, however, that the Margraviate put up a hell of a fight until a lucky Spanish cannon shot set off the gunpowder store of the Protestant forces. Duke Magnus of Württemberg, who lent his aid to the Badeners, was unlucky enough to get a musket ball between the eyes, as his death portrait shows.
The aftermath of the battle was not great for the town. Ransacking, crop burning, and subsequent outbreaks of illness led the population to either die or seek elsewhere to start afresh. The town wouldn’t fully recover for several decades, and there simply wasn’t the capital to build a grander town. Fachwerk (half-timbered buildings) and winding laneways it was to be for the next few centuries until they became all the rage again.
Today, Bad Wimpfen is a government-certified health resort (that’s what the Bad part of the name means), thanks to some local springs, and the town makes a good revenue from its link to the Hohenstaufen and its quaint storybook charm. If you choose to visit, check out the Stadtkirche*, the Red and Blue Towers*, and the Steinhaus*, which houses the town’s museum. I can also recommend Restaurant Meilenstein* for some truly outstanding Swabian specialties.
* - Links in German
Want to see more of my pictures of Bad Wimpfen?
Address: Carl-Ulrich-Straße, 74206 in your GPS will get you really close to the gate to the old town. There’s a car park there.
Alternately, from Stuttgart take the RB 8 towards Würzburg and get off at Bad Friedrichshall. From there, take the S42 to Bad Wimpfen
More information:
*- Links in German