BT1 - Großer Brettener Südweg

Hiking trails & Routes

BT1 - Großer Brettener Südweg

Moderate

4.5

(70)

234

hikers

BT1 - Großer Brettener Südweg

03:55

14.3km

220m

Hiking

Wonderful views, quiet forests, open meadows and panoramic views to the Palatinate and the Odenwald - all this awaits you on this 14 kilometer long hike. Starting point for the Brettener Südweg is at the zoo in place.

Right at the beginning you dive into the great landscape of the Stromberg-Heuchelberg Nature Park and hike through green forests and blooming meadows. The path leads you past the Rotenberger Hof and to Ruit.

In this Bretten district, you cross the idyllic Salzach Valley. Then you climb up to the plateau, where a lookout tower awaits you - on the former border between the Grand Duchy of Baden and the Kingdom of Württemberg. Then it goes back down to the Salzach Valley, on to the Burgwäldle, past the remains of the Eberstein Castle and back to the starting point. How about ending the tour with a visit to the largest petting zoo in Germany or the climbing forest Bretten?

You can stop off in the Rotenberger Hof and finish in the zoo. There you will also find plenty of parking.

by Land der 1000 Hügel: Kraichgau-Stromberg

Last updated: July 22, 2024

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

Naturpark Stromberg-Heuchelberg

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

115 m

Bretten Climbing Park

Highlight • Structure

Beautifully laid out climbing forest on the edge of the forest in Bretten.

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4.54 km

Hill sofa with a view of Aalkistensee, Maulbronn, and Aschberg

Highlight • Viewpoint

Throughout the hill country you will always find hill sofas where you can relax and enjoy the view. What's special: The sofas can be rotated 360 degrees and you can rock on them perfectly.

You will pass this beautiful hill sofa when you are on the “Wander3Klang Brackenheim” tour.

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6.66 km

Historic village center of Ruit

Highlight • Historical Site

Ruit was first mentioned in 1244. Ruit has been a district of Bretten since 1973. Around 1,500 people live in the tranquil village.

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8.09 km

Ruit Border Observation Tower

Highlight • Viewpoint

The observation tower in Ruit stands in the middle of the border between Baden and Württemberg. From the small wooden tower you can see the Palatinate Forest and the Phillipsburg nuclear power plant in good visibility in the northwest, the Ravensburg and the Derdinger Horn in the northeast and the heights of the Stromberg in the east.

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8.84 km

Benches under trees

Highlight • Viewpoint

Two benches under several trees above Ruit with a beautiful view towards Knittlingen, as well as of the surrounding hilly landscape.

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12.3 km

Gaugräfenburg ruins and view of Bretten

Highlight • Historical Site

The deep ring wall and the foundation of the defense tower can still be seen from the complex.

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14.3 km

Bretten Animal Park

Highlight • Rest Area

In several Internet sources, the park is referred to as Germany's largest petting zoo

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14.3 km

End point

Parking

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

10.7 km

1.63 km

1.17 km

649 m

< 100 m

Surfaces

4.97 km

3.47 km

2.76 km

1.53 km

847 m

784 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (300 m)

Lowest point (180 m)

Weather

Saturday 10 October

14°C

7°C

0 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 11.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

October 24, 2025,BT1 - Großer Brettener Südweg

Today was one of the few days of the week where you could predict the weather well. It was wonderfully windy and autumnal. Feeling motivated, I'd been wanting to hike the Bretten South Trail for a while. It starts at Bretten Ruit train station and leads up to the lookout point, with a beautiful panoramic view. Then I went back …

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August 30, 2022,Wander3klang Bretten

Start: Bretten town center/Rechberg
Destination: Bretten town center/Rechberg
Length: 17 kilometers
Altitude: 250 meters in altitude
Difficulty: medium
Nickname: view around Bretten

Directions:
My last 9€ ticket tour took me to the eastern Stromberg in the Melanchthon city of Bretten, where I start at the Stadtmitte S-Bahn station, you can also start at the Rechberg, the stations are only a …

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November 21, 2021,Wander3Klang Bretten - BT1 Großer Brettener Südweg (große Runde mit kleiner Routenänderung)

Further information: naturpark-stromberg-heuchelberg.de/erleben/wandern/wander3klang

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April 25, 2026,Großer Brettener Südweg & Innenstadt

Großer Brettener Südweg BT1 - you can do it, but you don't necessarily have to. Mainly field paths and forest highways. I then extended the tour a bit and looked at the Bretten city center - a few historical buildings and turrets. Especially the market square with the half-timbered houses and the Melanchthon Museum is definitely postcard-worthy!

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February 19, 2022,BT1 - Großer Brettener Südweg

After our "warm-up tour through Melanchthonstadt" (see separate publication from the same day under the same name) we finally came across the BT1 hiking route at the railway crossing at the town exit of Bretten - which we had planned for today. This is called the "Großer Brettener Südweg", which actually has its official exit at the "Wanderparkplatz Tier-/Kletterpark".

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March 28, 2019

Wonderful views, quiet forests, open meadows and panoramic views to the Palatinate and the Odenwald - all this awaits you on this 14 kilometer long hike. Starting point for the Brettener Südweg is at the zoo in place.
﻿
Right at the beginning you dive into the great landscape of the Stromberg-Heuchelberg

Translated by Google •