The trail tells of the poet's life and works, highlights Scheffel's significance for Singen and tells of the town's history. The Scheffel Trail begins at the train station, leads through Scheffel- and August-Ruf-Str. past the Scheffelhalle to the upper fortress of Hohentwiel.
Joseph Victor von Scheffel, once a highly respected poet and writer of the 19th century, is known to only a few Germans today. The situation is different in the Hegau-Bodensee region, where many street names and buildings commemorate the poet and his novel characters.
The people of Singen still have a special relationship with Scheffel today. At the time, he liked to stay at the village inn Krone, but lived in the inn at Hohentwiel, where he wrote his novel “Ekkehard” in April and May 1854.
Autorentipp
The view of the town of Singen, Untersee, Hegau and the Alps from the Hohentwiel fortress ruins is well worth the strenuous climb!
Wegbeschreibung
1 Railway station
Beginning of the technical age in Singen. Scheffel uses the railroad, which also runs in Singen in 1863. Start of a future urban environment with the construction of the railroad station in 1877.
2 Scheffel Street
Scheffel worship in Singen in the 19th century. Naming of the street during the poet's lifetime. Description of the village at that time and the social structures up to the development of the town with Scheffelstraße as the main shopping street and large department stores.
3 Hadwigstraße
Introduction to Hadwig, the Duchess of Swabia and a short version of the Ekkehard novel.
4 Municipal libraries
From the first edition of Ekkehard to the bestseller in English and French. Reference to the municipal libraries, which hold around 200 editions.
5 Ekkehard School
The Scheffel cult gives rise to the naming of streets, fountains, squares and schools. Reference to the Scheffelbund and the Scheffel Prize for good performance in German.
6 Old village
Scheffel's connections to the Hegau region through his grandmother, his acquaintances in Singen society and his love of the Hegau landscape.
7 “Krone” inn
Scheffel's fondness for the Krone inn in Singen, where the village honorees frequented at the time. The artists' corner from 1926 and the unveiling of the Scheffel memorial plaque in 1929.
8 The halls
The festival hall built in 1906 and the reasons for its demolition as well as the construction of the Scheffelhalle for the 10th Hegau Sängerbund festival in 1925.
9 “Hohentwiel” inn
What were Scheffel's motives for writing Ekkehard? From his studies in the monastery of St. Gallen to the inn at Hohentwiel, where parts of the novel were written. The founding of the Scheffel community on Hohentwiel and the open-air plays.
10 Württemberg Hohentwiel Society
The reasons for the foundation of the medallions on Hohentwiel by Scheffel and Bismarck lay in the national self-confidence after the foundation of the Reich in 1871.
11 The Scheffel statue
The Scheffel statue by Singen artist Gero Hellmuth was exhibited in 2014 with a view of the Hohentwiel. It shows the poet at the moment of inspiration for his novel “Ekkehard”.
Buchempfehlungen des Autors
Reinhild Kappes, Joseph Victor von Scheffel. Einblicke in ein vielschichtiges Leben, Singen 2011 (Hegau-Bibliothek Bd. 150), downöoad of the Scheffelpfad catalog
Weitere Informationen
The city of Singen has the flyer, the texts of the panels and a catalog available for download on its website singen-kulturpur.
