The Renchtal located in Baden-Wuerttemberg in the Northern Black Forest.
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Regions
The Rench is a small tributary of the Rhine and rises as Wild Rench am Kniebis near the Black Forest high road in a popular hiking area. It then flows in a southerly direction through Bad Griesbach. The further course of the river is accompanied by the B28, and the one ending in Griesbach Renchtalbahn. The next town downstream is Bad Peterstal. The river then changes its direction to the northeast and flows through Oppenau, where the Lierbach flows as the most important tributary. The valley widens between Lautenbach and Oberkirch, the river leaves the wooded northern Black Forest and initially flows through the promontory, which is lined with vineyards. Below Oberkirch, the Rench flows through the fertile plain of the Ortenau by Renchen. After almost 57 km the Rench joins Lichtenau in the Rhine.
Adjacent valleys are Kinzigtal to the south / west and that Achertal in the north / east. In the east, beyond the Black Forest main ridge, the catchment area of the Murg at.
places
Other goals
- Knee to
- The originates at the knee wolf, formerly too Wolfach, and flows through Bad Rippoldsau-Schapbach to the Kinzig.
- refuge
- Wild Rench
- 1 All Saints Waterfalls
and 2 All Saints monastery ruins - Calicuttons
- Bottenau
- Ringelbach
background
The Renchtal has belonged to the bishopric of Strasbourg since the Middle Ages, which, however, pledged it several times to third parties such as the Duchy of Baden or Württemberg. Baden did not come into being until 1803. A trade route ran through the Renchtal between Strasbourg and Ulm, which left the valley in Oppenau and crossed the Oppenauer Steige (today's L 92) and the Kniebispass led further east. The Kniebispass was also of strategic importance and had been heavily fortified since the Thirty Years' War at the latest. Names like Alexanderschanze at junction B28 / B500 (Schwarzwaldhochstraße) or Schwedenschanze nearby refuge and related remains are a reminder of this. Today's Kniebisstrasse from Griesbach was not built until the 1930s.
Today the Renchtal is characterized by medium-sized businesses (sawmills, vehicle construction, paper industry), viticulture and fruit growing. On the other hand, tourism is of secondary importance compared to other regions of the Black Forest, so that one can still experience a comparatively pristine Black Forest.
Unlike many other parts of the Black Forest, the farms rarely have hipped roofs, but mostly simple saddle roofs. This is inheritance from the time in Strasbourg, as the chronically clumsy prince-bishop levied a special tax on hipped roofs. The distilling rights widespread in the courts are also a legacy of this time; here too the bishop legalized and certified the practice of distilling against tax; the rights still apply today.
language
German with a strong local (Baden) dialect that is not always easy to understand.
French is widely taught in schools and is often understood, also because of the large number of visitors from Alsace.
getting there
Closest airports are Karlsruhe / Baden-Baden airport
(IATA: FKB) or the Strasbourg airport(IATA: SXB).
From the autobahn 
54 Appenweier can be reached on the 
through the Renchtal, she meets at the Alexanderschanze on the Black Forest High Road 
. From the east you can also use the 
30 Horb and then over Freudenstadt, Kniebis (B28).
The Renchtal can be reached by train via the train of the same name, operated by the Ortenau S-Bahn. It is possible to change to long-distance traffic in Offenburg, to regional traffic also in Appenweier.
mobility
The Renchtalbahn runs every hour between Offenburg and Bad Griesbach during the day. In addition, buses run on the largely parallel B28. The neighboring valleys, on the other hand, can only be reached by public transport via the Rhine Valley, but not via the mountain passes.
Overnight guests receive the Konus guest cardwhich entitles, among other things, to free use of all public (local) transport in the Black Forest.
Tourist Attractions
You won't find the right "must-see hits" in the Renchtal. But always worth seeing
- Pilgrimage church "Maria Krönung" in Lautenbach
- Waterfalls and the ruins of the Allerheiligen monastery
- View from Roßbühl near refuge over the Rhine Valley to the Vosges; a new observation tower on the nearby Buchkopf allows a panoramic view
- Spa facilities in Griesbach and Peterstal
- Schauenburg castle ruins in Oberkirch
- City and Grimmelshausen Museum in Oberkirch
- Half-timbered houses around the market square, Oberkirch
activities
kitchen
In the Renchtal, visitors can enjoy the good cuisine that is widespread in the region, characterized by fresh ingredients from the farms and from the forest and streams, in the entire range from simple country inns to star cuisine. In all places there are inns with lunch and dinner. As is usual in rural areas, you shouldn't arrive too late, from 9 p.m. the offer quickly thins out.
The restaurant has two Michelin stars Le pavilion as part of the Dollenberg hotel complex near Bad Griesbach.
nightlife
The Burgbühne in Oberkirch plays there in Cheeky Hus.
Otherwise, nightlife should be limited to a quarter or a digestive schnapps after a good meal.
Pleasure addicts have to go at least to Offenburg, but better to Strasbourg or Karlsruhe.
security
The Renchtal is not known for a high crime rate, even if two spectacular attacks occurred here, in 1921 Matthias Erzberger near the Griesbacher Steige and in 1990 Wolfgang Schäuble in Oppenau.
The police station is in Oberkirch, Hauptstraße 48, phone: 07802 70260. A police station is in Oppenau, Poststraße 12, phone: 07804 910883.
climate
The Ortenau, part of the Renchtal in the Rhine valley, is one of the warmest regions in Germany. Especially in summer it can get uncomfortably hot and stuffy on the Rhine plain. But spring starts here a few weeks earlier than elsewhere in Germany and the golden autumn has a few days longer. The further you get into the valley, the cooler and more rainy it becomes. The temperature differences between Renchen and All Saints' Day can be up to 10 degrees, so you can quickly avoid weather that is too hot or too cold.
