Main-Tauber District: Monasteries, Castles and Wine

Bronnbach Monastery brings wine and culture together in the Main-Tauber District: you can book wine tastings at the vinotheque, while the Bronnbach Kultouren programme includes concerts, readings, exhibitions, wine and culinary events, as well as lectures. There are also castles, museums and activities for cycling and hiking enthusiasts, with a range of themes to explore as you plan your own trip.

Wine and culture at Bronnbach Monastery

Bronnbach Monastery is a former Cistercian monastery in the Main-Tauber District. At the Taubertal Vinotheque, more than 20 winegrowers and wineries present selected wines from Baden, Württemberg and Franconia. Wine tastings can be booked there, offering a specific reason to include Bronnbach in your travel plans if you would like to combine wine and culture.

The Bronnbach Kultouren programme covers a wide range of events: it features concerts and readings as well as exhibitions, wine and culinary events, and lectures. The cultural programme therefore extends beyond any one type of event. If you would like to plan your trip around a particular event, check the dates in advance; you can book a wine tasting through the vinotheque.

Museums and history at the castle

In Bad Mergentheim, the Teutonic Order Castle served as the residence of the Grand and German Masters of the Teutonic Order from 1525 to 1809. Today, it houses a museum covering around 3,000 square metres, dedicated to the 800-year history of the Teutonic Order and the history of the town. The history of the residence and its present-day use as a museum offer two different reasons to visit the castle with a cultural focus.

The museum also includes the Mörike Cabinet, a collection of dollhouses, the Adelsheim Antiquities Collection and an exhibition about the Neolithic period in the Tauber Valley. The Tauber-Franconian Landscape Museum is housed in the Electoral Mainz Castle in Tauberbischofsheim. The district thus offers a range of museum themes, from the Teutonic Order and local history to the Tauber-Franconian landscape.

Discover castles and fortresses

Weikersheim Palace was built around 1600 on the site of a moated castle. Its Renaissance Knights’ Hall is 40 metres long and 12 metres wide; life-size animal sculptures and a freestanding ceiling decorated with hunting scenes define the room. The palace also features fully preserved Baroque living quarters. The palace gardens invite you to take a leisurely stroll, giving you different ways to appreciate the site’s architecture and gardens.

Wertheim Castle stands high above Wertheim’s old town at the confluence of the Tauber and Main rivers. The stone castle ruins date back to the 13th century, combining a striking location with a medieval history. Wertheim is also home to the small castle in the Hofgarten: the Rococo building dates from the 18th century, is surrounded by an English landscape garden and once served as the summer residence of the Counts of Wertheim.

Another historic building is the great hall of Gamburg Castle in Werbach-Gamburg. It dates from the 12th century and is considered unique in Europe. In Ahorn, the former Bettendorf Castle was built in 1566 and extensively restored in 2009. Today it serves as the seat of the municipal administration and is considered a cultural monument of particular importance. These buildings differ in age, use and character; they offer several ways to explore the district’s history, without every castle serving the same purpose.

Ahorn also offers smaller attractions with a different character: the local history museum in Berolzheim is among the municipality’s sights, as is the Refugium with its oriental garden in Schillingstadt. Together with Bettendorf Castle, they highlight different aspects of the municipality’s cultural offerings.

Plan cycling routes and trails

The Main-Tauber District cycling map lists 18 circular and point-to-point tours ranging from 24 to 240 kilometres. They include the five-star cycling route “Der Klassiker”, the Taubertal Cycle Route, the Wine Cycling Tour and the Main-Tauber-Franconian Cycling Figure Eight. The broad range of distances listed can help you compare the tours according to the distance you have in mind. Check the route details before setting off.

The 2,000-hectare Ahorn Forest, between the Lovely Tauber Valley and the Odenwald, offers another way to find outdoor activities. You can explore it on cycling and hiking trails, as well as walking routes. When planning, you can distinguish between the circular and point-to-point tours listed on the cycling map and the different types of trails in the Ahorn Forest; conditions may vary from one route to another.

Discover more destinations

Werbach, Reicholzheim, Wittighausen, Wertheim, Weikersheim, Tauberbischofsheim, Niederstetten, Neubrunn, Külsheim, Kreuzwertheim, Königheim, Igersheim, Großrinderfeld, Creglingen, Boxberg, Bieberehren, Bad Mergentheim, Assamstadt, Freudenberg Am Main, Schwarzenbronn, Grünsfeld, Lauda-Königshofen, Ahorn

Return to the higher-level travel overview: Baden-Württemberg.