Heckengäu

The Heckengäu is a part of the Gäu, a region in the counties of Böblingen, Calw, Ludwigsburg and Enzkreis in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

It forms an elongated strip of land, over 50 km long, running from Vaihingen an der Enz in the north to Haiterbach in the south, and covers parts of the counties of Böblingen, Calw, Ludwigsburg and the Enzkreis.

The highest hills (with heights in metres above sea level (NN)) of the Heckengäu are found near Calw-Stammheim (Daumen, 611 m) and in and around the eastern Althengstett (Köpfle, 606 m and Jägerberg 591 m).

Other typical Gäu uplands are, for example, near the Sieben Tannen ("Seven Firs") with the villages of Deckenpfronn, Oberjettingen and Kuppingen and the Tannenäcker plateau between Althengstett, Stammheim and Gechingen, that climbs to a height of 580 m. The Heckengäu has some valuable flora and fauna.

There are bus connexions at the railway stations of Leonberg, Weissach (Württembergische Eisenbahngesellschaft – WEG), Mühlacker, Pforzheim, Böblingen and Weil der Stadt.

The Heckengäu near Weil der Stadt
The Heckengäu near Malmsheim
The wall brown is an inhabitant of the Heckengäu (location: Malmsheim)
The carline thistle blooms in the Heckengäu on heathlands (location: Renningen )