Heilbronn Travel Guide
A detailed destination guide for your next Germany vacation
Heilbronn Overview
Heilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 120,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state.
The city on the Neckar is a former Imperial Free City and current independent city (i.e. not part of any county) and seat of Heilbronn County. Heilbronn is also the "major economic centre" of the Heilbronn-Franken region that includes almost the entire northeast of Baden-Württemberg.
Heilbronn is known for its wine industry and is nicknamed Käthchenstadt after Heinrich von Kleist's play Das Käthchen von Heilbronn.
Heilbronn is located in the northern corner of the Neckar basin at the bottom of the Wartberg (308 m). It is spread out on both banks of the Neckar on a fertile terrace and the highest spot inside city limits is the Schweinsberg with a height of 372 m. Heilbronn is located adjacent to the Schwäbisch-Fränkischer Wald State Park and is famous for the vineyards that surround it.
Heilbronn and its surroundings are located in the northern part of the larger Stuttgart (Stuttgart vacation rentals | Stuttgart travel guide) metropolitan area. The city acts as the economic centre of the Heilbronn-Franken region and is one of 14 cities referred to in the Baden-Württemberg master plan of 2002 as major economic centers. In addition, it serves the cities and towns of Abstatt, Bad Rappenau (Bad Rappenau vacation rentals | Bad Rappenau travel guide), Bad Wimpfen (Bad Wimpfen vacation rentals | Bad Wimpfen travel guide), Beilstein (Beilstein vacation rentals | Beilstein travel guide), Brackenheim (Brackenheim vacation rentals | Brackenheim travel guide), Cleebronn (Cleebronn vacation rentals | Cleebronn travel guide), Eberstatt, Ellhofen (Ellhofen vacation rentals | Ellhofen travel guide), Eppingen (Eppingen vacation rentals | Eppingen travel guide), Flein, Gemmingen, Güglingen (Güglingen vacation rentals | Güglingen travel guide), Ilsfeld, Ittlingen, Kirchardt (Kirchardt vacation rentals | Kirchardt travel guide), Lauffen am Neckar (Lauffen am Neckar vacation rentals | Lauffen am Neckar travel guide), Lehrensteinsfeld, Leingarten, Löwenstein (Löwenstein vacation rentals | Löwenstein travel guide), Massenbachhausen, Neckarwestheim, Nordheim, Obersulm (Obersulm vacation rentals | Obersulm travel guide), Pfaffenhofen (Pfaffenhofen vacation rentals | Pfaffenhofen travel guide), Schwaigern (Schwaigern vacation rentals | Schwaigern travel guide), Siegelsbach, Talheim, Untergruppenbach, Weinsberg (Weinsberg vacation rentals | Weinsberg travel guide), Wüstenrot and Zaberfeld as an intermediate economic centre.
Where to stay in Heilbronn?
Check out our selection of hand-selected and quality Heilbronn vacation rentals and holiday apartments.
People, Culture and Architecture
Theater and music
- Stadttheater Heilbronn, built in 1982, mixed repertoire
- Theaterschiff Heilbronn, mixed repertoire
- Württembergisches Kammerorchester e.V. Heilbronn the chamber orchestra, founded in 1960, plays mostly baroque and classical music.
- In a shut-down part of the Steam power plant Block-E has put on events since 1998.
Museums
- Museum of Natural History
- Neckarschifffahrtsmuseum (closed indefinitely)
- City Galery Deutschhof
- Museum of archeology
- Kleist-Archiv Sembdner
- South-German Train Museum Heilbronn
Buildings
- Historic manual crane
- Bollwerksturm
- Deutschhof
- Steam power plant
- Community center "Harmonie"
- Court and Fleischhaus
- Götzenturm
- Hafenmarktturm (pot market tower)
- Haus Zehender at the market place
- Käthchenhaus at the market place
- City Hall with historic astronomic clock
- Schießhaus
- Trappenseeschlösschen
- Weinvilla
Churches
- Kilianskirche (Protestant): The tower from the early Renaissance is the logo of the city. The high altar by Hans Seyffer was completed in 1498.
- Deutschordensmünster St.-Peter-und-Paul (Catholic)
- Nikolaikirche (Protestant)
Other Sights
- Old cemetery (created in 1530, a park since 1882)
- Outlook tower on the Wartberg
- Ehrenfriedhof for the victims of the air raid on December 4, 1944
- Fleinertorbrunnen
Events
In February the citizens of Heilbronn and the surrounding area have an opportunity to enjoy themselves at the Pferdemarkt. In May the Trollinger marathon takes place. July brings the Gaffenberg Festival and the Unterländer Volksfest takes the city from July into August. It is the largest festival of its kind in Heilbronn and takes place on the Theresienwiese. Each year it begins on the last Friday in July and ends on the second Monday in August. In September, patrons enjoy themselves at the Heilbronner Weindorf, in October at the Hafenmarkt and in November and December at the Weihnachtsmarkt by the Kilianskirche. Every other year the Neckarfest and Traubenblütenfest are added to this already full schedule.
[ source:Wikipedia ]
Maps and Driving Directions to Heilbronn
Heilbronn
[ source: Flickr]
Related Sites
We collected some useful links related to Heilbronn. If you know a few more sites not listed here, or also know some insider tips or point of interests for this destination? Please share and submit your Germany travel tip. If approved it will be shown on this page!
- Homepage of Heilbronn: Heilbronn (official home page)
- Wikipedia: Heilbronn
More about the History of Heilbronn
Heilbronn became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the unification of Germany. With the dissolution of monarchy in the German Reich as a result of World War I, Heilbronn became part of the Free People's State of Württemberg in 1918.
Starting in 1942 during World War II, the salt mines in and around Heilbronn were used to store art and artifacts from Germany, France and Italy. Similarly, important producers of the war industry were moved into the mine shafts. The expansion of the shafts was undertaken by labour brigades of the concentration camp branches in Kochendorf and Neckargartach. From Heilbronn all the way to Neckarelz numerous subterraneous complexes, some of them gigantic, were constructed and as of November 20, 1942 the Heilbronn Bureau of Labour had 8,000 forced labourers registered in its district.
What makes this Live Like a German Heilbronn Travel Guide special...
This Heilbronn travel guide provides you with an overview of Heilbronn, Heilbronn pictures, and a local travel guide that suggests many special trips, unique activities, and vacation ideas, that you can't find in a typical Germany travel guide.
Some of this information is compiled from popular and well-known sources (e.g., such as Wikipedia, Wikitravel, and great pictures from Flickr). However, what makes this Germany travel guide special is that most of the travel suggestions and insider tips are provided by local residents, property owners, and our readers, who share and submit their travel tips with us. All submissions are then editorially reviewed to ensure high quality. All this information is logically organized within this destination guide to make it easy for you to find things quickly.
In addition, the Heilbronn destination guide features restaurant recommendations, restaurant reviews, where to go for grocery shopping, sports activities, getting around, cultural events and highlights, entertainment, and health related information - so you are informed for your travel to Germany, and you can learn about all the cool things you can do during your Germany vacation!
