After a short stop in Ulm to take some pictures, I continued driving to Tübingen which is a University town in the center of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river, around 30 kilometers south of Stuttgart.
The old town Tuebingen landmarks include the Rathaus (City Hall) at the Marktplatz (Market Square) and the castle, Schloß Hohentübingen, now part of the University of Tübingen
The picturesque Marktplatz is the heart of the town. The medieval City Hall was built in 1435 and was used also as a warehouse, court of justice and city council meetings. The colorful facade dates back ton 1876. It shows the Coat of Arms of Tübingen on the right hand side of the clock. Above it the remarkable astronomical clock of the 1511 and below is a picture of Eberhard “the Bearded” and founder of the University. The central landmark is the Stiftskirche (Collegiate Church)
Market Square an City Hall
The Neckar Riverfront
I enjoyed a lovely spot at the Neckar Riverfront. The plane trees are very old and were planted in 1828. You can see the spire and roof of the Collegiate church and in the middle the oldest University buildings. This is a late medieval ensemble that survived till this day without destruction.
Taking a boat ride on the Neckar River
Stiftskirche with the “Jörgenbrunnen” fountain
Along with the rest of the city, the Stiftskirche was one of the first to convert to Martin Luther’s protestant church. As such, it maintains (and carefully defends) several “Roman Catholic” features, such as patron saints.
In the Old Town at the Stiftskirche stands the statue of St. George (Jörgenbrunnen) slaying the dragon on a column in a fountain basin. The fountain was first constructed by Andreas lang in 1523, then demolished and rebuilt. The model for the reconstruction was the figure’s upper body, which was found in the Neckar in 1911.
Schloß Hohentübingen Castle was one of the seven fortresses in Baden Wuertemberg that were built in the 16th century. More or less untouched in the many wars it became a University building in the late 1800’s and is still used as such today.
The Wine Barrel (1549) in the cellar of Schloß Hohentübingen is believed to be the oldest and the largest existing barrel worldwide
After two full days of walking the town and taking a boat ride on the Neckar, I went to my hotel exhausted and tired. It was late in the afternoon, I rested and did not leave until the next morning to take a drive to my next adventure.
