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Hegau
Hegau
Say it with flowers
No tourist drum is whirling for him, many of them don’t even know his name. Even the young Danube cannot withstand the charms of the Hegau: it sinks devotedly into the gentle hills between the Black Forest and Lake Constance.
Sylvia Lischer
06/11/2001
Suddenly there is a gurgling noise in the air? as if someone had pulled the drain plug out of a bathtub. Below the forest path, covered by a man-high thicket, flows a Danube that has been drained to ankle depth. In the dying current stands a heron, motionless as a statue. A few steps further the river bed is empty. The Danube, Europe’s second longest river, is gone, submerged, swallowed by the ground ?? only 26 kilometers from the source in Donaueschingen. There are still a good 2,824 kilometers open to its confluence with the Black Sea, and I’ve already covered 200 kilometers on the Kawasaki ZX-6R. The infiltration scenario at Immendingen comes in handy to solve the crouching maintenance. While my limbs gradually find their way back to their natural shape, the holey limestone greedily drinks the Danube water into itself: 5000 liters per second, on average. At the time of the so-called full sinking ?? speak about 155 days a year ?? All the water flows through an underground karst labyrinth to the source of the Aach, twelve kilometers away, which finally flows into Lake Constance at Radolfzell. Side streams gradually fill the riverbed of the Danube again, so that something can still come of it. Not a bad idea, just dive into the landscape between the Black Forest and Lake Constance ?? into the Hegau. Then do ?? me with. The route leads in clear curves towards the south, through lush, dark mixed forest. Until a junction near Stetten leads out of the thicket up to the Hegaublick. The view from there is breathtaking. Over a dozen volcanoes shape the landscape. Rock towers with distinctive flanks that suddenly sprout like mushrooms from the wooded hills of the low mountain range: Hohenstoffeln, Hohenkrahen, Hohenhewen, Hohentwiel ?? they are all high by local standards, some over 800 meters. In contrast to Chubu & However, the Hegau volcanoes only represent the remains of the chimney tips of the former “blast furnaces”. Ice Age erosion eroded the much higher crater edges thousands of years ago. Imposing relics of a fiery time, when Baden was like it is today in Hawaii. A little road takes me from the Ice Age to Medieval Narrows. A lovingly restored half-timbered town, sitting exposed on a mountain ridge. Narrow alleys, painted house facades, overflowing flower pots and artistically forged tavern signs form a picture that is reminiscent of the layout of southern European cities in its unity. And all around there is a top-class winding curve, and soon Hohenhewen, Magdeberg and Hohenkrahen will fly past me. The cones are lined up closely one behind the other, each shaped differently, due to the constant action of water and ice over the course of millions of years. At Muhlhausen I catch a tiny lane in the direction of Aach. One of those tiny connections that make motorcycling in Hegau so appealing. Orchards line the way, extensive fields with sunflowers, wheat and barley. A red kite floats towards Hohentwiel. Clouds glide over the summit like smoke signals, as if the volcano had just erupted. Aach is enthroned high up on another mountain cone. The builders of the Middle Ages don’t seem to have left out a hill ?? on every hump there is a village, a castle or at least a tower. At the end of the town of Aach, the Danube water that has seeped away finally reappears. At around 8,600 liters per second it swells through the crevices of the Jurassic limestone and forms a small lake, the powerful eddies and currents of which turn harmless ducks into daring rafters. The Kawasaki is also making good progress on the Kawasaki. At Eigeltingen I loosen the throttle and leave the fast B 31 to stroll on a side route to Singen. The road bores through the park of Langenstein Castle, disappears into the forest and finally surprises with a fantastic view of Singen’s local mountain: the Hohentwiel, king of the Hegau volcanoes. “18 percent incline” reads a sign. Easy for the ZX-6R ?? however, she has to park underneath the fortress while I climb the ascent, panting. The builders must not have cursed badly when they carried tons of material upstairs over 1000 years ago. But the effort was worth it, because the bulwark was considered impregnable for centuries. Several sieges were casually repulsed until Napoleon came and literally ruined the fortress in 1801. From a height of almost 700 meters there is a panoramic view over volcanic chimneys, knight castles and Lake Constance to the glaciated peaks of the Alps. The German-Swiss border runs just a stone’s throw away and has more loops and arcs than a winding pass road. Just looking at the map creates confusion, and the journey via Gottmadingen to Schaffhausen becomes an orientation ride. Am I now in Switzerland or Germany? Does not matter. Flanked here and there by customs houses, the route dangles over the Rauhenberg and then along the Rhine, which already carries the waters of the breakaway Danube. At Schaffhausen I am greeted with Mediterranean flair. Below the Munot fortress, which is surrounded by grapevines, excursion steamers sail over the peaceful river, which thunders 25 meters two corners further down as Europe’s largest waterfall. Experience it up close from a viewing platform carved out of the rock near Laufen Castle. After this refreshment, it’s back on the motorcycle and through the Durach valley back to Hegau. A stone’s throw in the age of open borders ?? one should think. But the smooth transition from the non-EU state Switzerland to neighboring Germany is not yet going smoothly. On the way from Wiechs to Tengen, German customs officers park their VW bus across and check my papers by radio for 15 minutes. Understandable. Because who, besides the locals, uses the small branch lines? Illegal transport of people is the order of the day. Why not under the bench of a Kawa? The route via Tengen, Bublingen and Blumenberg lets the first Black Forest feelings germinate: dark fir trees, a rushing Muhlbach, crisp slopes. Behind Blumberg and Bonndorf it goes in serpentines down to the Wutach Gorge, where the Schattenmuhle lures with its shady beer garden and a multicultural menu: Swiss Rosti on an equal footing with Swabian Kasspatzle and Black Forest ham. After a long snack, I scramble along the Lothenbachklamm. Thick needle fur darkens the sun, the roar of water roars in your ears. Here, on the east side of the Black Forest, namely on the Feldberg, the two source rivers Breg and Brigach arise, which later merge to form the Danube. A visit to the river’s birthplace is of course not to be missed. Over the wide, almost treeless high plateau of the Baar, it goes to Donaueschingen to the so-called Danube spring in the castle courtyard, where the water is sent on its journey eastwards in a princely atmosphere. I leisurely follow the course of the young stream through the reed-lined bank landscape towards Geisingen. At Immendingen, the Danube will then leave the route intended for it ?? Princely descent or not? and dive down. For a short trip through the Hegau.
Info
Beautiful tiny streets, a vanished Danube, old volcanic hulls, mighty ruins and the largest waterfall in Europe make the Hegau a tour tip for a high-contrast motorcycle tour.
Arrival and travel time Via the A 8 or A 81 to Stuttgart and from there on the A 81 to Geisingen, Engen or Singen. Those arriving from the east can also take the A 96 through the Allgau to Lindau and from there on the B 31 along Lake Constance to Engen or Geisingen. Alternative from the west: On the A 5 to Freiburg and from there on the B 31 to Geisingen or Engen. Influenced by the mild climate of Lake Constance, a Hegau tour is possible as early as April and until the grape harvest in October. 34 castle ruins have been counted on the ridges and volcanic cones of the Hegau. The fortress ruins Hohentwiel near Singen are particularly impressive, with an area of almost ten hectares, one of the largest in Germany. Opening times from April to September: 8.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. October: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. November to March: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission: three Marks. A special kind of natural spectacle is offered by the sinking of the Danube near Immendingen, the Rhine Falls near Schaffhausen and the Aach spring near Aach ?? After all, the largest spring in Germany. Langenstein Castle with the Alemannic Carnival Museum is also worth a visit. From May to October only open in the afternoon, except on Sundays. Closed on Monday. November to April: Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: five marks. Literature and information The HB image atlas »Bodensee / Oberschwaben« offers a good overview of the region. The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Hegau, August-Ruf-Strabe 13, 78224 Singen, phone 07731/85262, fax 07731/85263, Internet www.Singen.de provides a lot of useful information as well as room records. The general map “Baden-Wurttenberg Extra «(With travel information booklet) in 1: 200,000 good offices.
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