City walk through Annweiler am Trifels

Show on Map

Rundtour

The starting point of the tour is the Messplatz The Messplatz with the reopened Queich is a popular meeting place for young and old. The town hall of the Annweiler am Trifels municipality from 1991/92 and the tourist information office of the Trifelsland holiday region are located here. The Queich flows under the building and comes to light again in artistically designed surroundings. With your back to the building of the association municipality, you walk along the Queich to the next station.Schipka Pass is the name of the narrow passage to the medieval old town. It supposedly got its name because an old man recounted his experiences from the Russian-Turkish war here. As a mountain pass, the Shipka Pass was fiercely contested at the time. More accurate, however, is the fact that in the Middle Ages the Shipka Pass was the narrowest entrance to the city and was reminiscent of a mountain pass. Here, the load of carts had to be transferred to wheelbarrows. Passing through the Schipka Pass, you will find the Museum unterm Trifels on the left.The Museum unterm Trifels offers an interesting presentation of Annweiler from prehistory to the industrial age and is particularly dedicated to the history of the Trifels and the Staufer. A historic tanner's workshop illustrates this old trade, which once played a role in the town's history. Changing special exhibitions.

You are now in the WassergasseAt the beginning of Wassergasse, next to the museum, are the remains of the old city walls that marked the eastern boundary of the medieval city here. The mill wheel once drove a tan mill. Pass through Wassergasse and cross the main street to reach Gerbergasse.Town mill - The water wheel used to drive a flour mill. It is a reminder of the former importance of the mills along the Queich, which were important for the economic development of the town. The tour continues through Gerbergasse.The Gerbergasse bears its name with good reason. Tanners have been documented in Annweiler since the 16th century. The tanning trade was brought here by the Huguenots. At times, up to 36 tanners were resident in Annweiler, who found sufficient water here on the Queich to practice their trade. You can recognise the tanners' houses by the stepped roofs, which served as drying storerooms for the hides. Excursion: When you reach the end of Gerbergasse, you have the opportunity to visit the chapel of Our Lady. To do so, turn right across the Villa Gotthold car park and continue left along Zweibrückerstrasse. Cross the road just before the level crossing and you will find the chapel on the right after the level crossing. The chapel was consecrated in 1429 and is thus the second oldest building in the town. It is decorated with lavish Gothic wall paintings. Forgotten for centuries, the valuable paintings were only rediscovered in 1930, uncovered and lavishly restored. At the end of Gerbergasse, keep left and walk through the alley to Storchentor.

The half-timbered house from 1560 is the oldest inn on the Southern Wine Route. The Storchentor, the western city gate of the destroyed city fortifications, used to stand on this spot. You are now in the Altenstraße. With the inn on your left, continue on to the Prangertshof, which is about 100 metres further on the left-hand side of the road. In the Middle Ages, punishments of honour were carried out at the pillory. For example, a baker who baked rolls that were too small had to stay there. However, the pillory did not serve as an instrument of torture. The billy goats at the well are not here by chance - they give the citizens of Annweiler their nickname. Leave the Prangertshof on your left and continue along Altenstraße until you reach the Keysereck after about 50 m at the corner of Hauptstraße.The jewel of the town hall square is the Keyser'sche estate, a beautiful half-timbered building with a richly decorated oriel dating from 1634. Tip: Opposite, in the courtyard of the former Trifelsapothek, there is an interesting herb garden. 

With the Keysereck behind you, you look out onto the town hall square and the town hall of Annweiler am Trifels.Built in 1950/51, the town hall of Annweiler am Trifels is surprisingly young. All the older is its guardian, Emperor Frederick II (grandson of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa), enthroned in sandstone on the left corner of the building (created by O. Rumpf). In the town hall there is a fresco from 1952/53 by the painter Adolf Kessler: on the left it shows the granting of the town charter to Annweiler by Frederick II and on the right the entry of Emperor Heinricht VI into Palermo. It can be viewed as part of a guided tour of the town. The town hall square, rebuilt after the destruction of 1944, is lined with houses with arcaded fronts. A fountain gives a busy impression: water is being drawn, a tanner steps into the oak trough, one sees a town watchman and a linen weaver. The figures are by the artist Karlheinz Zwick from Gräfenhausen. The town church towers above the town hall square opposite the row of arcaded houses. After being destroyed in 1944, the Protestant town church was built in its present state in 1952. However, the oldest building in the town, the church tower from 1153, has been preserved - the stained glass inside is worth seeing. Pass the town hall on the right and you will come to a small fountain. This fountain is the old market fountain, which used to stand directly on the market square. Next to the fountain on the wall of the town hall, you might wonder today about the signs pointing towards Ambert and Gorgonzola. These are twin towns of the town of Annweiler am Trifels.

Continuing straight ahead with the fountain behind you, you reach the main road. Turn left and after about 150 m you can turn left and return to the starting point, the Messplatz.Further possibilities to extend the tour:I. You continue walking and reach the Hohenstaufensaal (Landauerstr.) at the end of the Hauptstraße on the opposite side of the street.The Hohenstaufensaal is the city's event and cultural centre, hosting concerts, readings, exhibitions and much more. It also houses some of the Kessler frescoes and a modern 3D digital cinema. II. Coming out of the main street, turn left into Saarlandstraße and follow the road for about 170m. Before the left-hand bend, turn right into the street Am Bangert. After about 100 m you will reach the entrance to Ambert Park.The park, formerly privately owned, was dedicated to Annweiler's French twin town, Ambert, in 1998. The old trees are worth seeing here. After a round through the small park, you can continue along Saarlandstraße and reach the church of St. Josef on the right. The church, built in 1866-68 in the simple neo-Gothic style, contains a fresco painting by Adolf Kessler. On the left seventh it shows the crusade sermon of Bernard of Clairvaux. 1146 and the departure of the Crusaders for the campaign against Jerusalem, and on the right side the Eußerthal Cistercian monks at their service to the imperial jewels at Trifels Castle. III Alternatively, you can also reach the Markwardanlage, the town's spa park, from the main road on the right via Burgstraße.

The spa park of the climatic health resort Annweiler with a pond and beautiful walking paths, rare trees, plants and flowers, as well as a playground, water treading pool and miniature golf course is dedicated to Markward of Annweiler (1140 - 1202). Under the Hohenstaufen dynasty, he rose from the status of "servant" to become one of the most powerful representatives of the middle class. Markward of Annweiler was appointed Imperial Princess, Duke of Romagna and Ravenna, Imperial Administrator of Sicily and guardian of Frederick II.