Nationaler Geopark Ries

Germany's unique crater landscape: Nature and culture in the Ries National Geopark Rocks, witness mountains and caves, juniper heaths and beech forests make the landscape in the Ries crater and on the Ries rims spectacular. Eerily beautiful ruins, castles and palaces, village churches and monasteries, the traces of Stone Age people, Celts and Romans, bloody battles and Jewish communities are destinations in the Ries National Geopark. In the old towns of Nördlingen, Donauwörth, Oettingen, Harburg, Wemding, Monheim, Treuchtlingen and Bopfingen, in residences such as Wallerstein, Baldern, Amerdingen and Dischingen, in monasteries such as those in Maihingen, Kirchheim am Ries, Mönchsdeggingen and Heidenheim, monument follows monument and work of art follows work of art. This travel guide presents the sights. Buildings in the Geopark recall knights, counts and princes, farmers and citizens, craftsmen and artists, monks, nuns and witch hunters. The Ries Geopark lies partly in Bavarian Swabia, partly in Middle Franconia and partly in Württem berg: this scenic diversity enhances the cultural richness there. Twelve chapters also guide you to geotopes, nature trails and viewpoints.