The Nördlinger City Wall is the only city wall in Germany that has a completely preserved walkable and partially covered battlement. It encloses the entire medieval old town of Nördlingen and can be walked continuously over a length of 2.6 kilometers. The city wall includes five gates with four gate towers (Baldinger gate tower collapsed in 1703), eleven other towers and two bastions.
The construction of the city wall began in 1327 on the orders of Ludwig of Bavaria. It replaced the old defensive wall, the parts of which can still be seen today on some of the old town streets. Between 1536 and 1613, four gates and two towers were completely rebuilt. In addition, seven oven towers, three strong bulwarks and two bastions were built during this period. During the Thirty Years' War in 1634, the Nördlingen city fortifications withstood a siege by imperial troops in the run-up to the battle of Nördlingen. From 1803 the Nördlinger began to remove parts of the now superfluous city wall. In 1826, King Ludwig I of Bavaria placed the wall under his protection and prohibited its further demolition.
We have King Ludwig I to thank for our pleasures of walking on the entire city wall around this fantastic medieval town. It's a must stop when you are visiting this area. There is a free parking lot available outside the city wall at every town gate for your convenience. read more