Aussichtsturm Mettstetten

Sulz am Neckar stands where the Neckar leaves the Black Forest, its old town wedged between the river and steep vineyards. The town spreads across ten valleys carved by the Neckar, Glatt and Mühlbach, with the highest point reaching 675 metres above sea level. Nine outlying villages cluster around the core, each built on land once shaped by salt springs and Roman roads. The river’s loops create quiet water meadows while the surrounding hills carry forests and orchards. From the town centre the ruined Albeck castle watches over the valley, its walls half swallowed by beech woods. The town’s history begins with Celtic graves and a Roman fort built in 74 AD. By the 11th century the counts of Sulz owned the saltworks that gave the town its name. In 1284 King Rudolf of Habsburg granted Sulz town rights, and the Geroldseckers built the Albeck castle to guard the valley. After fires and wars the town lost its salt monopoly in 1803 but kept its role as an administrative seat. During the Second World War an SS camp stood on the edge of town, and Gestapo officers tortured prisoners in the old courthouse. Visitors walk along the Neckar promenade lined with half-timbered houses painted in earth colours. The parish church of St Maria stands beside the market square where weekly farmers sell local fruit and honey. Above the town the Albeck ruin offers a short climb through beech woods to a stone platform overlooking the river loops. The Glatt valley path leads past old mill wheels and solitary farmsteads, while the Mühlbach trail follows a clear stream to a small waterfall. At the edge of the town the sole-filled outdoor pool glows green under the forest canopy, the only one of its kind in the region.