Town history at the town hall and town tower

The façades of Windsbach’s new town hall, built in 1749, still feature two iron pillories. Their construction includes fold-down platforms and movable neck irons. This makes a very concrete detail of the town’s history visible at the town hall.

The town tower was built in the 12th century and served as a watchtower in the Middle Ages. The second line of defence, the Amtsburg, can still be identified around it. The tower thus brings together its former function as a watchtower and a still-visible part of the fortifications.

The former Windsbach Castle is now home to, among others, the Rezat-Mönchswald Music School and the Windsbach Adult Education Centre; it also serves as a community centre. Its current uses give the historic building a present-day role in the town.

Windsbach and its town church have been Protestant since 1530. Another historic address is today’s Heinrich-Brandt-Straße 2: a new synagogue was built there in 1848. As early as 1790, the last Margrave, Karl Alexander, decided to have a stone bridge built in Windsbach.

Sightseeing and culture

The town tower can be visited on market Sundays and by prior telephone request. Before your visit, check locally whether these visiting arrangements are still in place. Concerts are held regularly in Windsbach throughout the year, where the Windsbach Boys’ Choir can be seen and heard in its home town. Dates and venues vary; if a concert is important to your trip, check the dates for your travel period.

Small celebrations and concerts can be held in the castle garden by the town tower. These offer additional opportunities to enjoy cultural events alongside the regular concerts held throughout the year.

Cycle route and natural swimming pool

The Hohenzollern Adventure Cycle Route has a marker in Windsbach’s historic town centre, directly in front of the town hall at Hauptstraße 15. For cyclists, this is a clearly identified point of reference when including the town and cycle route in your travel plans.

The listed Waldstrandbad is a natural swimming pool with a sandy beach, diving tower, water slides and a large play ship for children. Its 1930s fabric has been preserved largely in its original form. Here, the facilities of a natural swimming pool meet a remarkable well-preserved structure. Check the latest opening and facility information before you travel.

More cultural perspectives in the wider Ansbach destination

In the wider Ansbach destination, the 2.2 km-long, barrier-free Literature Route Franconia in Wolframs-Eschenbach runs in a loop around the town fortifications. Its 15 panels explore authors from the Middle Ages to the present day whose works deal with Franconia. In Königshofen, the “wiegen & messen” (“weighing & measuring”) museum displays more than 4,000 exhibits, including historic scales, associated weights, measuring rods, folding rulers and vessels for measuring grain. The route and the collection focus on different subjects: Franconian literature on the one hand, and historic measuring instruments and vessels on the other.

Discover more destinations: Hesselberg, Röckingen, Ehingen, Geslau, Leutershausen, Gebsattel, Langfurth, Insingen

Go to the wider travel overview: Ansbach.