Schwäbisch Hall Old Town

Few old towns in Baden-Württemberg are built as steeply as Schwäbisch Hall. Half-timbered houses climb the slopes of the Kocher valley, lanes turn into staircases, and above the market square St. Michael's Church sits on top of a huge flight of steps. The town grew rich from a single salt spring. And because coins were minted here in the Middle Ages, one of Europe's best-known small coins bears its name: the Heller.

History: salt, silver and a great fire

At Haalplatz, down by the river, salty groundwater with 4 to 8 per cent salt welled up. With the nearest salt works far away, Hall had virtually no competition for centuries. The town is reliably recorded in 1156, became a Hohenstaufen royal town in 1204 and a Free Imperial City in 1280, a status it kept until 1802. The silver pennies minted here were named after their place of origin, "Haller pennies", or simply Heller.

On 31 August 1728 a fire broke out in an inn below the town hall. It destroyed two thirds of the old town, including 294 houses, the town hall and the salt works. That is why the market square now has a Baroque town hall, while the southern old town around the Herrngasse lanes kept its older look.

What to see

• Market square and St. Michael's: The church was consecrated in 1156, its Gothic hall nave begun in 1427 and the choir completed by 1525. From 1523 Johannes Brenz, the town's reformer, preached here. Since 2013 the church has held the European Heritage Label.
• The ossuary: Beneath the choir, behind a glass panel, lies the medieval charnel house, only rediscovered during building work in 1963.
• The great staircase: Its 53 usable steps have been the stage for an open-air theatre festival every summer since 1925.
• Along the Kocher: From the Sulfersteg footbridge you see the row of half-timbered houses above the river, and a few steps on are the covered Henkersbrücke bridge and the Unterwöhrd island.
• Johanniterkirche: This Romanesque-Gothic church displays Old Masters from the Würth Collection, including Hans Holbein the Younger's Madonna of Mayor Meyer and works by Lucas Cranach. Admission is free.
• Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum: Housed in the Hohenstaufen Keckenturm tower and six other buildings, with wooden synagogue panelling painted by Elieser Sussmann in 1738/39.

Kunsthalle Würth and festivals

The Kunsthalle Würth, designed by Henning Larsen and opened in 2001, closed for an extension and, according to the town, reopens in autumn 2026, daily 10:00–18:00 with free admission. At Whitsun the salt makers celebrate their Cake and Fountain Festival, documented since the 16th century.

Tours and timing (as of October 2026)

From May to October a public 90-minute old-town tour starts on Saturdays at 11:30 and 14:30, covering the lanes, the Kocher island and Haalplatz. For your own walk with the church and one museum, allow half a day; add the Kunsthalle and Comburg Abbey and it fills a whole day. Expect lots of steps and steep lanes, which makes it hard going with a pushchair.

Getting there

Schwäbisch Hall is about 60 km north-east of Stuttgart and 37 km east of Heilbronn. By train, get off at Schwäbisch Hall station, which faces the old town from the other side of the Kocher.

Tripto tip

The classic postcard view is from the Sulfersteg footbridge looking at the riverside houses. In the evening, the market square is at its best at blue hour, when the façade of St. Michael's is lit. A good excursion nearby is Comburg Abbey, a castle-like monastery on a spur above the Kocher valley.