Guided Tours in and around Guttenberg Castle

The family of the Barons of Gemmingen has lived in Guttenberg Castle since 1449, and members of the family personally visit the museum or the castle chapel throughout the year. Alternatively, an individual introduction to the history of the castle can be booked in the castle courtyard.

Guided Tours Through the Museum

Members of the owner’s family take you on a journey through time from the Middle Ages to the 19th century and guide you through 5 rooms, each illuminating an era using the example of a castle dweller.

Guided Tours of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation

The family offers special guided tours through the museum and the castle chapel from the 15th century.

2017 marked the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Lutheran Reformation. In the Neckar valley and the Kraichgau, the Reformation found a strongly growing group of followers, especially after Luther’s appearance at the Augustinian convent in Heidelberg in 1518. At Guttenberg Castle the Protestant teaching was preached from Christmas 1521. This makes the castle, together with the villages that belonged to it at that time, the first Protestant sermon in the area of today’s Badische Landeskirche.

The then lord of the castle Dietrich von Gemmingen promoted and protected together with his two brothers in the turbulent years many reformers on Guttenberg and in the surrounding villages. The family also played an important role in the theological discussions between the followers of Zwingli and Luther. The support of the Protestant side in the Schmalkaldic War finally brought the family the threat of the Imperial Eight of Emperor Charles V, from which they had to buy themselves out with a lot of money. The family of v.Gemmingen is Protestant at Guttenberg Castle.

Guttenberg Castle offers a special program with different modules especially since the anniversary year of the Reformation.

A historically pleasurable journey to the beginning of the Reformation at Guttenberg Castle: Chapel and museum tour to the beginnings of the Reformation in the south-west by the owner family.

Duration: About 2 hours
Price per person: 7,50 €
Minimum price: 112,50 €

„… ein fromer, erlibeder, gotz forchtiger man, ein libhaber gotlichs wortz und fürderer evangelischer ler…“
Lecture by the lord of the castle Bernolph v.Gemmingen on the beginnings of the Reformation in the Kraichgau region.

Duration: About 1 hour
Price per person: 5,00 €
Minimum price: 100,00 €

In cooperation with the city of Bad Wimpfen we offer

  • Guided tour “How the letter of indulgence got into purgatory” through the old town of Bad Wimpfen
  • “Herrgottsbscheißerle” for lunch (delicious “dumpling-like” pasta snack with smelted Maultaschen and salad)
  • Pilgrimage on the Neckarsteig to Guttenberg Castle
  • “The strong castle…” A historically pleasurable journey to the beginning of the Reformation at Guttenberg Castle: Chapel and museum tour to the beginnings of the Reformation in the south-west by the owner family

Price per person: 29,50 € (from 10 persons)
Bookable all year round at the city of Bad Wimpfen

Woodtours

In cooperation with the association WaldNetzWerk e. V. we offer six different guided tours through the castle forest. The contents of the 2 or 3-hour tours are adapted to the age and target group. Discover our enchanted forest places!

Duration: 2 or 3 hours
Contents are adapted to suit the target group
Bookable from April to October

Price for 2 hrs. per person from 20 to 35 children 6,- €
Price for 3 hours per person from 20 to 35 children 9,- €
Prices for guided tours for adults on request

The animal world of the forest often acts in secret and you usually do not encounter the animals of the forest. Despite their size, deer, wild boar and fox are skilled at being invisible to the eyes of forest visitors, while squirrels, mice and many a bird are encountered time and again. The animal world has a wide variety of strategies: they are active at different times of the day, know how to hide or are well camouflaged. But if you look closely, there are numerous indications that a variety of animal species live in the forest.
An adventure programme all about native forest animals including tracking brings us closer to different animal representatives.

Contents:

  • Selected forest animals and their way of life
  • Animal tracks in the forest
  • Relationships in the animal kingdom

Duration: from 2 hours
Target group: Kindergarten, primary school from class 1 onwards

The number of living creatures in the forest floor is unimaginably large and many of them are tiny. These mostly inconspicuous animals perform crucial tasks in the forest ecosystem. We explore the animal world in the soil, get to know different species in more detail and deal with their tasks as well as their important role for the growth of plants.

Contents:

  • Structure of the forest soil
  • Exploring and collecting soil animals
  • Categorising soil animals

Duration: from 3 hours
Target group: Kindergarten (preschoolers), primary school from grade 1, secondary schools (all types of schools) up to grade 7

Not all trees are the same, and what else is needed for trees to become forests? We will look at the details of trees and the links to the ecosystem. In particular, we will also deal with the questions: How does a tree function and what else can be discovered on closer inspection? Which tree species can be found here, which structures are still present in the forest and how does “old forest” become “young forest” again? What do some markings on trees mean and what is special about this part of the forest? We go on an adventure tour around the forest trees and the forest habitat.

Contents:

  • Different types of trees
  • How a tree works
  • Stages of the forest
  • Tree growth in different stages

Duration: from 3 hours
Target group: Primary school from grade 3, secondary schools (all types of schools) up to grade 7

A rich diversity of species can be found in our forests – in all areas of the forest: tree species, soil plants, animal species and soil organisms. Depending on the conditions, certain species are represented, but always in an interplay. The forest habitat functions as a sophisticated network in which each partner has its task and its purpose.
Together we will get to know different species and deal with selected network partnerships in the forest ecosystem. Where the focus will lie will be determined in advance.

Contents:

  • Tree species with requirements and preferences
  • A closer look at a selected sub-area of the forest
  • Examples of networks in the forest ecosystem
  • Humans as part of the forest network?

Duration: from 3 hours
Target group: Primary school from grade 4, secondary schools (all types of schools) from grade 5 onwards

The term sustainability is used frequently and in many areas, but it has its origins in the forest. Where can sustainability be found in the forest and what does this term mean in practice? How can sustainable management be measured and where can everyone act sustainably themselves?
Practical examples in the forest make the ideas of “sustainability” tangible and show why sustainability in the forest is the most important basis for forestry activities. The observations and acquired knowledge can be “translated” into one’s own environment.

Contents:

  • The forest and its functions
  • Basics of sustainability, especially sustainability in the forest
  • Basics of forest management and wood utilisation

Duration: from 3 hours
Target group: Secondary schools (all types of schools) from grade 5 onwards

The term sustainability is used frequently and in many areas, but its origins are in the forest.
Where can sustainability be found in the forest and what does this term mean for forestry practice? Which factors of sustainability are in the focus of forestry and how can sustainable management in the forest be transferred to other areas?
Learn, using various forest images as examples, how forests, forest functions, forest management and legal principles interact in practice and why sustainability must also be an important basis for decisions in forest management.

Duration: from 2 hours
Target group: Adults