City hall

Nördlingen is a city in Swabia in the German state of Bavaria.

Understand

Nördlingen is located near a Roman settlement built on the road 70 km northwest from Augsburg (an important point on the Via Claudia Augusta route from Italy) and has a population of about 19,000.

The city lies within the Ries Basin, a 25km crater caused when a meteorite struck the earth 15 million years ago. This is one of the best preserved craters on earth and was used by US astronauts to train for the moon landing. In exchange for the use of the area, Nördlingen received moon rocks which are now on display in a museum in the city.

The city is surrounded by a wall, built in the 14th century, which tracks the rim of the crater. In the center of the city is St Georgskirsche. From here, 5 main roads radiate to the wall, which has 12 gates.

The "official" first mention of Nördlingen comes in 898 when "Nordilinga" is used - the 1100th birthday festivities took place in 1998.

Nördlingen grew to prominence because of its importance in trade in the area. It was a Free City and the local fair was one of the most important in this region in the Middle Ages. Testimony to that can be seen in the numbers of houses and buildings which still exist that used to house tradesmen's goods or a market for their wares.

The town walls and fortifications had been built in the 14th century and Nördlingen was the site of a battle between Catholic and Protestant forces in the Thirty Years' War in the 17th century. Nördlingen eventually lost its independence and became part of Bavaria at the start of the 19th century and is now the administrative centre of the Donau-Ries area.

Get in

By train

Nördlingen has a railway station to the east of the town. Nördlingen is on a regional rail line, which generally connects to the main rail hubs through the town of Donauwörth to the south. Deutsche Bahn operates hourly train service to Munich (€21, 2 hours), Augsburg (€12, 1 hour), and Stuttgart (€18, 2 hours).

By bus

See also: intercity buses in Germany

Touring Europabus operates daily service between all cities on the Romantic Road.

Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg (VGN) Regional Bus 501 operates between Nördlingen's Rathaus and Dinkelsbühl and Feuchtwangen with further connections to Nuremberg.

Get around

By foot

The city is very small and can be covered by foot. The tourist offices runs daily tours in the summer at 2pm and 8:30pm for €3.

By Bicycle

• Radsport Bockle, Remlinger Straße 19. Rents bicycles for €8 per day. 

See

Der Daniel

• St. Georgskirche. Built in 1499, it is one of the largest churches in Germany. Climb the 90m tower for the best views overlooking the city and the crater. Church: Free; Watchtower: €2. 

• Rieskrater Museum, Eugene-Shoemaker-Platz 1. 10:00-12:00 &13:30 - 16:30; Closed Mondays. Situated in an old barn, this museum shows the impacts of meteor collisions with earth. Moon rock, on loan from NASA, is on display. €4. 

• Bayerisches Eisenbahn Museum, behind the Hauptbahnhof. 100 trains on display. On Sundays in the summer, you can take a 2 hour return trip to Dinkelbuhl on an old-fashioned locomotive. Museum: Adult: €6, Child 5 - 14 years: €3; Train ride: Adult: €18, Child €12. 

• Stadtmuseum Nördlingen, Vordere Gerbergasse 1. til 5. November Tue - Sun: 13:30 - 16:30 h. Displays local costumes. €3. 

• Stadtmauermuseum Nördlingen, An der Löpsinger Mauer 3. Tue-Sun 10am-4:30pm April-October. Shows the history of the wall surrounding the city. €1. 

Do

• Walk Along the City Walls. It takes about an hour to circumnavigate the city. Free. 

Festivals

• Nördlinger Pfingstmesse. 14-day exhibition of local crafts, food, and beer. 

Eat

• 1 Brauereigasthof zum Fuchs, Bei den Kornschrannen 20, ☏ +49 9081 250 728 0, post@fuchs-noerdlingen.de. Tu-Su: 11:00-14:00 and 17:00-open end Mo: 17:00-open end. (updated Dec 2015)
• 2 Schlössle, Würzburger Straße 1, ☏ +49 9081 8056061, info@schloessle-noerdlingen.de. daily (except Tu): 11:00-14:30 and 17:00-23:00. mains 8€ to 15€. (updated Dec 2015)

Sleep

• Hotel Goldene Rose, Baldinger Straße 42, ☏ +49 9081 86019, info@goldene-rose-noerdlingen.de. single 35€ to 45€ double 55€ to 65€. (updated Dec 2015)
• Hotel NH Klösterle, Beim Klösterle 1, ☏ +49 9081 87080, fax: +49 9081 87081, nhkloesterlenoerdlingen@nh-hotels.com. It's a chain hotel, alright, but the location could be worse as could be the way it looks from the outside soingle / double: 99€. (updated Dec 2015)

Go next

• Munich (€21, 2 hours)
• Augsburg (€12, 1 hour)
• Stuttgart (€18, 2 hours).
• Nuremberg