Discover the Land of the Lion Man
The Swabian Alb is a romantically wild karst landscape, an upland region with juniper heaths grazed by migratory herds of sheep. The striking cliff edge of the Albtrauf with a height of up to 400 m separates the upland plateau of the rough Alb from the fruit orchards of the Alb foreland. In the south, the young Danube begins its long trip to the Black Sea, and over the millennia the river has dug a deep bed into the Jura rock of the Alb to create the scenic Danube canyon “Oberes Donautal”. The Swabian Alb is a fundamentally unique “Jurassic Park” that has developed over millions of years along with countless caves and subterranean dream worlds. It has also maintained its warm, thermal mineral water sources that bubble up from its depths in the form of precious healing springs. Veritable fairytale castles tower over cliffs and hilltops, documenting the former abundance of castles and palaces.
The Swabian Alb has always been a coveted region – the historical sites of Celts, Romans, Alemanni and the names of mayor royal and imperial families such as Staufer and Hohenzollern conclusively verify this and communicate a feeling of historical vividness. Besides the cities unite history and present. Those visiting and travelling here expose themselves to a fascinating trip through time, the history of both earth and humanity.
The secret however is to be found in the subterranean labyrinth of caves: it is here that the oldest work of arts in human history were found. The “Löwenmensch Figur” (Lion-man figure) wrought about 40,000 years ago is a truly magical symbol. It was carved by an unknown artist from the Ice Age and can be now viewed in the Museum of Ulm.
