Those wishing to get to know Mahlberg through its architectural and collection history will find a variety of perspectives: the unusual design of the castle church, the Radbrunnen well in the medieval town centre and a tobacco museum housed in a former cigar factory. The panoramic viewpoint extends the view to the Black Forest, Kaiserstuhl and Vosges. The themes range from medieval architectural design to a large collection; the panoramic viewpoint adds a sweeping perspective of the landscape.
Castle Church and Castle: Design and Planning Your Visit
The castle church is a rare medieval octagonal central-plan building; it acquired its Baroque appearance in 1734. A central-plan building is organised around a centre, and the octagonal shape makes this design particularly clear. Valuable stucco and eight paintings depicting the life of Saint Catherine of Alexandria provide specific subjects for the interior decoration. The building thus allows visitors to distinguish between an older spatial design and its later Baroque transformation.
The castle is a culturally significant listed building in private ownership and is not open to visitors at all times. If you are considering a visit, check visiting arrangements in advance. They may change if ownership or access rules change.
Radbrunnen and Radbrunnenhof
The Radbrunnen, Mahlberg’s oldest public well, is located in the centre of the medieval town. It probably dates from between 1200 and 1250; the dating therefore indicates a period, not a specific year of construction. Originally, a wheel was used to draw groundwater from the Rhine plain. The well thus links its probable period of construction with a specific historical method of obtaining water.
The similarly named Radbrunnenhof is a Franconian farmstead and is one of the last fully preserved Franconian farm complexes in the Ortenau district. Its Renaissance core is older; between 1783 and 1862, the farmstead was remodelled and gradually expanded. The dates therefore describe an extended period of remodelling and expansion, while the Renaissance core marks a different construction phase.
Tobacco History in a Former Cigar Factory
The Upper Rhine Tobacco Museum has been housed in a former cigar factory in Mahlberg since 1992 and displays more than 5,000 tobacco-related exhibits. The building’s former use and the collection provide the museum with two specific thematic anchors. This gives it a different focus from the church and farmstead: tobacco-related objects are at the centre here, while the other sites mainly invite visitors to explore architectural design and phases of remodelling.
Panoramic Views and the Landscape of the Ortenau District
The panoramic viewpoint offers sweeping views towards the Black Forest, Kaiserstuhl and Vosges. This perspective complements Mahlberg’s architecture- and collection-related themes with views of several different landscapes. While the well, church and farmstead bring individual historic places into focus, the viewpoint opens up a wider vista across the region.
The wider travel destination of the Ortenau district lies between the Rhine and the Black Forest. Its 23 nature reserves cover a total of around 3,110 hectares and stretch from the Rhine plain to the higher elevations of the Black Forest. This provides a broader regional perspective if you would like to include landscapes in your travel plans alongside Mahlberg’s local history.
This helps you decide what kind of stay you are looking for before comparing hotels.
Discover more destinations: Ettenheim, Hornberg, Oberwolfach, Ottenhöfen in the Black Forest, Lautenbach, Seelbach, Appenweier, Steinach.
Return to the main travel overview: Ortenau district.
