Gengenbach Old Town
Gengenbach
A half-timbered small town in the Kinzig Valley of the Black Forest, with intact city walls and gates; in winter its town hall turns into a giant Advent calendar.
Gengenbach lies in the Kinzig Valley in the western Black Forest. It was once an Imperial Free City and sits on the Baden Wine Route, earning it the nickname 'Pearl of the Kinzig Valley'. The old town preserves many half-timbered houses and winding lanes, and most of its medieval walls still stand. The main gate towers are the Kinzigtor (which houses a museum), the Nägelestor (a carnival mask museum) and the Obertor. On the market square, the 18th-century neoclassical town hall has 24 windows. Since 1996, it has served as an Advent calendar every December: each evening at 6 p.m., one window is opened and lit, continuing until 6 January, and a Christmas market fills the square during this time. There is also the Log Rafting and Transport Museum, which tells the story of rafting timber down the Kinzig River (open on weekends in the warm season). The town is on the Black Forest Railway, with hourly trains to Offenburg, and the old town is about a five-minute walk from the station. It makes a good half-day trip and is often combined with river valley towns such as Wolfach.
Opening hours
Old town open all day; museum open seasonally
Nearby sights
- Allerheiligen Waterfalls & Abbey Ruins
- Mummelsee & Black Forest High Road
- Hornisgrinde
- Yburg & Rebland Vineyards
- Geroldsau Waterfall
- Gönneranlage Rose Garden
- Lichtenthal Abbey
- Museum Frieder Burda