The best traffic-free bike rides around Albstadt

The Church of St. Peter and Paul in Nusplingen, also known as the Old Cemetery Church, is dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul. It dates back to a proprietary church of the local nobility from 650. Archaeological excavations uncovered foundations that are likely to originate from a secular building, but remains of a church space with graves also came to light. This suggests that it was a noble residence with its own church. The current church building was constructed around 1000. The western extension and the three-story choir tower date from 1250 and can thus still be attributed to the Romanesque period. Around 1300, the choir and the nave were rebuilt, incorporating Gothic style elements. The valuable lime paintings, which were uncovered in 1972–1975, date from this period. The tower was extended around 1500 with a half-timbered upper floor and received its current form with a hipped roof. The church contains valuable wooden sculptures from the Ulm School, Renaissance frescoes, and a Baroque coffered ceiling from 1711, which comes from the former Church of St. Catherine and was installed here in 1868. In the Middle Ages, the church was the parish church of Nusplingen and a large parish district. However, the church was located outside the walls of the town, which was considered a city at the time. In 1463, the chapels in Unterdigsheim and Hartheim belonged to the Nusplingen church. In 1459, the tithes in Ensisheim belonged to the church. In 1759, the parish rights were transferred to the Church of St. Catherine in the town, and the church remained only a cemetery church, where only funeral services were held. In 1829, the church was handed over to the secular community for a symbolic thaler, and its use initially remained unchanged. In 1950, the building also lost its function as a cemetery church and subsequently threatened to fall into disrepair. A support association for the preservation of this cultural monument ensured that a thorough restoration could be carried out from 1997 to 2003. The deconsecrated building was blessed again, but not consecrated. Since then, sacred and cultural events have been held here again. The church was designated "Monument of the Month March 2019" by the Monument Foundation of Baden-Württemberg. Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter_und_Paul_(Nusplingen)

Really nice campsite. We had our "base camp" here during our hiking week on the Albtrauf. All Traufgänge are easily accessible from here. The pitches are sufficiently large. We had an "Eco" pitch, i.e. with a coin-operated machine for electricity supply. That was good for us, because with our solar module and the LiFePo battery, we hardly needed any electricity. The sanitary facilities were very clean and modernly designed. In addition to pitches for motorhomes and a tent meadow, there are sleeping barrels, stilt houses and apartments. During the week, the first tiny house was being set up. There is also a bread roll service at the reception.

The Schlichemtalsperre (also known as Schömberger Stausee, mostly just called Stausee locally) east of Schömberg in Baden-Württemberg dams the Schlichem, a tributary of the Neckar coming from the Swabian Jura. The 90.6 ha Schömberger Stausee mit Palmbühl landscape protection area surrounds the Schlichemtalsperre. The approximately 1.35 km long and initially narrow reservoir, widening to about 175 m towards the end, with an area of 10.4 ha at 643.8 m above sea level (NHN), begins at the hamlet of Untere Säge and extends to the old town center of Schömberg. It has a catchment area of about 33.5 km², to which the Schlichem, over 11 km long at its inflow, contributes almost 90%. The watercourses Hölzlegraben from the forest to the right of the lake and Scheubühlgraben and Räßentälebach from the left, up to 1.2 km long, flow into it from the sides. A fish ladder leads from the Vorsee pre-reservoir near Untere Säge to the reservoir. There is also the only bridge over the lake that can be walked and driven on. The Schlichem Viaduct can only be used by the railway. The Schlichemtalsperre was built between 1940 and 1944. The Portlandzementwerk Rudolf Rohrbach KG (today Holcim (Süddeutschland) GmbH), based in neighboring Dotternhausen, which was the client for the dam, initially used it for cooling water supply and power generation. An outdoor swimming pool built in 1935 was flooded. After World War II, the facility was taken over by the state of Württemberg-Hohenzollern in 1948. The reservoir was renovated from 1975 to 1983. The barrier structure is an earth dam, and the hydropower plant within it has an output of 60 kW. There is a pre-reservoir, the Vorsee, which was built from 1975 to 1977. Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlichemtalsperre

The Roman Catholic parish church of St. Afra stands in Obernheim, a municipality in the Zollernalb district of Baden-Württemberg. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart. The building is listed as a historical monument by the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Baden-Württemberg. The hall church, originally built between 1753 and 1755 according to plans by Johann Caspar Bagnato, was incorporated into a new building in 1924 as a transept, based on a design by Wilhelm Friedrich Laur. The former nave, spanned by a barrel vault, and the chancel are decorated with frescoes by Giuseppe Appiani. The Assumption of Mary is depicted in the nave, and the Trinity in the chancel. Four Church Fathers are depicted on the pulpit parapet, and Saint Wendelin on the sounding board. The organ on the gallery was built in 1973 as Opus 149 by Stehle Orgelbau. Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Afra_(Obernheim)

On the market fountain in Albstadt-Ebingen is a Renaissance knight statue from 1545, popularly known as "Duke Ulrich." Source: https://www.outdooractive.com/mobile/en/poi/swabian-alb/marktbrunnen-albstadt-ebingen/800786631/#dmlb=1

Actually, it's a great climb for a road bike, if it weren't for the overly motivated motorized two-wheeled counterparts. Sometimes it's very, very loud, and often annoying, the constant ups and downs. But there are decent bikes, too, so thank you for that.

Here, the cycle path winds its way through the ensemble of buildings, and the church/chapel seems to be standing right in the middle of the cycle path, as if it wanted to say: "Look, I am your rock in the storm!"

From Tuttlingen to Sigmaringen is the most beautiful section in the upper Danube valley