Ostfildern combines contemporary art with green spaces, a geological exhibit and trails through the Körschtal valley. The different highlights can help you plan your trip: the Municipal Gallery offers a changing cultural focus, while the community gardens and the Landscape Staircase bring their own themes to Scharnhauser Park, and the orchard and nature trail leads through a landscape of meadows and fields. This lets you shape your stay around art, local history or the landscape.
Art at the gallery and in public spaces
Since 1976, the Municipal Gallery Ostfildern has presented five to six changing exhibitions of contemporary art each year. The program changes from one exhibition to the next. If you are planning to visit for a particular show, check which exhibition will be on during your stay before you travel.
Ostfildern’s public art includes Rosalie’s large-scale sculpture “Sitting and Darting Hares” and Sol LeWitt’s monumental sculpture “Structure.” These two named works complement the gallery with artworks that are part of the city’s public art collection. Together, the gallery and sculptures showcase different sides of the local art scene, without requiring one single theme to shape your whole trip.
Community gardens and green spaces in Scharnhauser Park
The Scharnhauser Park Community Gardens were created after local residents took it upon themselves to continue tending parts of the Dream Fields from the 2002 State Garden Show. This history is part of the gardens’ character: they grew out of a commitment to caring for part of the former garden show grounds.
The Scharnhauser Park Community Gardens include the Geotreppe, a rock collection that offers a hands-on way to explore Earth’s history. Another feature in Scharnhauser Park is the Landscape Staircase: this 1.4-kilometer green park consists of meadows and offers views of the Swabian Alb. The Geotreppe focuses on rocks and Earth’s history; the Landscape Staircase is a larger green space with a view. This can help you choose between a geological theme and a landscaped green space.
Nature trail, chestnut avenue and local history
The orchard and nature trail in Ostfildern runs through the Körschtal valley, along meadows and fields, and passes the Temple of Amor. Possible starting points include Scharnhauser Park at the Kreuzbrunnen stop, Scharnhausen at the Körschtalhalle, and Nellingen near the cemetery. These are several landmarks in Ostfildern that you can use to orient your visit to the trail.
The chestnut avenue offers another point of reference, leading to Scharnhauser Schlößle and the Temple of Amor. Philipp Matthäus Hahn is associated with Scharnhausen: he was born in 1739 in the old parsonage. The Ostfildern Municipal Cultural Office also holds an annual kite festival. If you would like to plan your trip around this festival, check the exact date in advance.
Esslingen in a broader context
In the wider travel destination of Esslingen, six landscape regions define Esslingen District: Schurwald, Schönbuch, Fildern, the Neckar Valley, the Alb Foreland and the Alb Escarpment. The region’s orchards are also part of this landscape: they comprise 1.5 million fruit trees and shape the district’s scenery.
Since 2020, cyclists have had around 1,200 kilometers of district cycling routes at their disposal in Esslingen District, and the entire district has continuous bicycle route signage. These figures provide a regional perspective beyond Ostfildern’s individual art, garden and trail stops. This lets you distinguish between specific destinations in Ostfildern and a broader view of the Esslingen travel destination.
Discover more destinations: Dettingen unter Teck, NĂĽrtingen, Wendlingen, Nellingen, Neuffen, Altbach, Esslingen, Beuren
Back to the main travel overview: Esslingen.
