Raving About Ravensburg

If you had to envision a quaint little German city, what would you come up with?

Would it include a castle? Or a medieval city center?

Would the town be nestled by the Alps? Or maybe along a winding, quiet river?

Would it also included cafe-lined, cobble stone streets meandering within a stone wall hundreds of years old?

Pretty spot on, don't ya think?! (source)

If that is what would have envisioned, then you just accurately described the town of Ravensburg, Germany. Our home away from home during the 2010-11 hockey season. 

Ravensburg is a town in Upper Swabia in Southern Germany. It is in close approximation to Lake Constance (Bodensee), the third largest lake in Europe, sits at the northern foot of the Alps. 

We are waaaay down there!

From Ravensburg, both Austria and Switzerland are less than one hour away. Munich is a short two hour drive. And the Alsace region of France is around three hours away. 

Pretty close to, well, just about everything! Sorry, I know this image isn't great, but you get the idea :)

Needless to say there is lots to do around this beautiful area of Germany. Not to mention, it has some of the warmest weather in the whole country. Really, who can beat that!?!

Anyone who has been to Germany, or Europe for that matter, knows that there are some towns here and there this picturesque. But for the most part, the country is made up of a lot of modern, hustle and bustle cities just like back at home in North America.

The first two years in Germany, we lived in a 'modern' city like that. And although it had everything we needed, it was missing that German charm that we knew certain cities had.

We didn't really get the full taste of how beautiful towns could be until we were lucky enough to live down here in the south. 

One of the towers of the city (source)

While it is not the biggest city, its population is around 50,000, it has everything we could need. Well, maybe except for a Zara, but I guess I will live :)

The city itself has a rich cultural background. The town was first mentioned in 1088 and quickly became an important center because of its location. It was literally in the crossroads of an important trade route, which solidified it as a useful area for merchants and artisans during the Middle Ages.

With a decline in the local economy after the 1500s, the town didn't grow as large as you might expect a major trading center to. But this helped preserve the town in its current medieval state. And it got lucky during WWII as well. Many other medieval towns in Germany, especially those in Northern/Western Germany were destroyed because of bombing raids. Ravensburg held no strategic relevance, so it was spared from any damage.

So now, this 'klein aber fein" (small but fine) town, is really known for its three town gates and over 10 towers remaining from the medieval fortification. 

Looking down over the town (source)

You might have also recognized the name from the Ravensburger game company. Ravensburger AG is an international company known for its board games, puzzles and children's books. And I especially like that Tekrum, a popular pastry and chocolate factory, is located in the town. That means I can visit their outlet store whenever I want, lol.

The Ravensburger company assembling the world largest jigsaw puzzle for its 125th anniversary (source)

And there are many other factories and manufacturing plants in the area. This area is known for low unemployment and a high quality of life.

Oh, and did I mention there is a hockey team here too?! Weird, guess I must have forgotten that tid bit :)

Yes, the hubs plays for the Ravensburg Towerstars

So yeah, that's basically it. There is your mini tour of Ravensburg. I hope you liked your arm chair trip. As you can probably tell, we have really enjoyed our time here this season :)

And if you ever find yourself wandering around in Swabia, you gotta stop by. With so much to do and see, you won't be disappointed!