Is Sexau, Germany Safe? A 2026 Travel Safety Guide
A small Black Forest village near Freiburg — quiet wine country, hiking trails, and the practical realities of rural Baden-Württemberg.
Sexau is a village of around 3,000 people in the Emmendingen district (Landkreis Emmendingen) of Baden-Württemberg, in the foothills of the southern Black Forest about 20 minutes north of Freiburg im Breisgau. The unusual-looking name comes from old Germanic roots (roughly "stake meadow" or "fenced meadow by a stream") recorded as far back as the 13th century, and has no connection to its accidental English reading. The village itself is calm, vineyard-edged farmland on the western flank of the Black Forest where the Rhine plain begins.
Germany sits at the lowest advisory levels in both UK FCDO and US State Department guidance, and rural Baden-Württemberg is statistically among the safer regions in an already-safe country. Crime against tourists in Sexau itself is essentially nil.
The honest framing for first-time visitors: this is a base for hiking, cycling, and wine-tasting in the Breisgau and Black Forest, not a destination with its own risk profile. The genuine hazards are country-road driving, Black Forest weather changes, and ticks (FSME / tick-borne encephalitis is endemic to the southern Black Forest — vaccine recommended for serious hikers). The village's tiny size means you won't spend more than half a day in Sexau itself; the trip works as a base for the Elztal, the Kaiserstuhl wine region (~30 min west), and Freiburg.
| Scam / petty-crime risk | Low |
|---|---|
| Violent crime (tourists) | Low |
| Data sources cited | 4 |
| Last verified |
What the score means — 90/100
- Personal safety (92) — very low crime. Property crime is the main category, mostly opportunistic.
- Healthcare (90) — German universal system. Universitätsklinikum Freiburg is the major referral hospital ~25 min away.
- Transport (84) — Sexau station on the Elztalbahn (S2) line into Freiburg; quiet country roads.
- Air quality (90) — clean rural air; valley inversions on still winter days.
About the name — yes, really
Yes, the name reads oddly in English. No, it has nothing to do with that. Sexau is recorded in 13th-century documents and almost certainly comes from a Germanic place-name root meaning roughly "stake-meadow" or "fenced meadow" by a stream. The locals are entirely unbothered. Mention it once at a winery if you must, then move on.
Practically: there is nothing risqué about the village. It is a quiet wine and farming community with a baroque church, a few Gaststätten, and a station on the regional rail line. That is all.
Hiking, cycling, and the Black Forest weather
The realistic visitor risk in the Sexau area is outdoors-related, not crime-related. The Black Forest is genuinely beautiful and genuinely steep, and weather changes faster than most flat-country visitors expect.
- Trail markers — German hiking is exceptionally well-signed (Schwarzwaldverein yellow diamonds). Don't shortcut off-trail.
- Weather — afternoon thunderstorms common May–September. Start early; off the ridge by midday.
- Ticks — Baden-Württemberg is a high-incidence area for tick-borne encephalitis (TBE/FSME). Use repellent and check yourself; vaccination is recommended for serious hikers.
- Cycling — Elztal cycle path is excellent and flat. Climbing routes into the Black Forest start gentle and get serious quickly.
- Mushroom foraging — popular and dangerous without expertise. Don't.
Trains, country roads, Freiburg connection
Sexau is small but well-connected by southern-German standards.
- S-Bahn S2 (Elztalbahn) — Sexau station, half-hourly to Freiburg Hauptbahnhof in ~25 min.
- Driving — B294 runs through; A5 motorway via Emmendingen junction. German speed enforcement is camera-heavy in towns.
- Drink-driving — limit 0.05 % BAC for adults, zero for under-21s and probationary drivers. Strictly enforced.
- Winter — winter tyres legally mandated whenever conditions require (effectively November–March in the foothills). Black ice on shaded forest roads.
- Wildlife — deer collisions on dusk/dawn forest roads. Reduce speed through wooded stretches.
Emmendingen, the Elztal, and the southern Black Forest
Sexau itself is small but the surrounding Emmendingen district and Black Forest western flank are some of Germany's most rewarding rural travel.
- Emmendingen (5 km west) — the district capital, ~28,000 people, with a small Altstadt, the Hochburg castle ruin above the town (worth a short walk for the view), and the regional hospital. The functional town centre.
- Freiburg im Breisgau (~20 min south) — the regional anchor city. Gothic Münster cathedral, Bächle (the little water channels in the cobbled streets), university town atmosphere, the Augustinerplatz café scene, and the gateway to the central Black Forest. Universitätsklinikum Freiburg is the major referral hospital.
- Elztal — the river valley running east from Sexau into the Black Forest. The S2 S-Bahn line (Elztalbahn) follows it from Freiburg via Sexau to Elzach and beyond. Excellent for cycling on the flat-then-climbing routes; the Elzach Schuttig carnival in February is a regional folklore highlight.
- Kaiserstuhl wine region (~30 min west) — small volcanic hill range surrounded by vineyards (Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Müller-Thurgau); Endingen, Burkheim, and the Vogelsangpass scenic road. Day-trip from Sexau or Freiburg.
- Triberg (~1 hour east) — the iconic Black Forest tourist village with the cuckoo-clock shops and the famous Triberg waterfalls.
- Titisee + Schluchsee (~1 hour south-east) — Black Forest lakes, summer swimming, winter cross-country skiing.
- Strasbourg (France) (~1 hour west across the Rhine) — French day-trip; the cathedral, Petite France district. The border crossing is open and Schengen-trivial.
- Basel (Switzerland) (~1 hour south) — Swiss alternative; Kunstmuseum, Rhine swimming in summer. Border check still applies for goods (Swiss VAT differences) but otherwise straightforward.
- Europa-Park (Rust, ~30 min north-west) — Germany's largest theme park, family destination.
If it's your first time in the southern Black Forest
- Best arrival airport: EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (BSL/MLH/EAP) is the closest at ~75 minutes by car. Frankfurt (FRA) is ~2 hours north by train via Karlsruhe. Zurich (ZRH) is ~2 hours south. Stuttgart (STR) is ~2 hours north-east.
- Getting to Sexau: from Freiburg Hauptbahnhof, take the S2 (Elztalbahn) to Sexau station — half-hourly, ~25 minutes. From the autobahn: A5 to Emmendingen junction, then B294 east.
- Where to actually stay: Sexau has small B&Bs and guesthouses but limited proper hotels. Most travellers base in Freiburg (more variety, walkable old town) or Emmendingen and day-trip the Elztal. Black Forest spa-hotel options open up further east (Hinterzarten, Titisee).
- Money + cards: euro; cards accepted in most restaurants and supermarkets but rural Germany still has many cash-only smaller bakeries and Gaststätten — carry €50-100. Always pay in EUR, decline DCC. Sparkasse, Volksbank ATMs for safe withdrawals.
- SIM / phone: Telekom Deutschland has the best Black Forest coverage; Vodafone and O2 also work but signal drops in the valleys. eSIM via Airalo; EU roaming for EU residents.
- Best season: May-October for hiking and cycling; September is harvest season in the Kaiserstuhl wine country (Federweißer + Zwiebelkuchen tradition). November-March is cool, sometimes snowy at higher Black Forest elevations; Christmas markets in Freiburg and Emmendingen in December.
- Sunday closing — total in Germany, including small Sexau shops and most supermarkets. Plan supplies on Saturday. Restaurants and Gaststätten open Sunday lunch.
- Common rookie mistakes: tick-related (FSME vaccine for serious hikers; check for ticks every evening; remove with tweezers close to skin within 24h); skipping winter tyres on the L106 in shoulder season (legally mandated when conditions require, effectively November-March); making the name joke at every winery (the locals have heard it; don't); driving Black Forest roads after dark without slowing for deer; underestimating Sunday closing.
Practical info — emergency numbers and essentials
- Emergency: 112 (police, fire, ambulance — works EU-wide).
- Police (non-emergency): 110.
- Universitätsklinikum Freiburg: +49 761 270 0.
- Out-of-hours doctor (kassenärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst): 116 117.
Bring: a contactless bank card (cash still common in rural Germany — carry €50–100), an unlocked phone (Telekom, Vodafone, O2), good walking shoes, tick repellent in summer, and travel insurance documentation. Tap water is excellent. Sunday closing is total — plan supplies on Saturday.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sexau safe to visit in 2026?
Yes — Sexau scores 90/100 here. (The name is an old Germanic place-name meaning roughly 'stake meadow'; it has no connection to the English reading and locals will not appreciate the joke.) Germany sits at the lowest UK FCDO advisory level and US State Department Level 1, and rural Baden-Württemberg is among the safest regions in an already-safe country. The village (population ~3,000) sits in vineyard-edged farmland 20 minutes north of Freiburg. Crime against visitors is essentially nil. Real risks are environmental: rural roads (winding, narrow, fast tractors), Black Forest weather changes, and ticks (FSME/TBE-vaccine recommended for hikers in the southern Black Forest).
Is Sexau safe at night?
Yes — exceptionally so. This is a quiet village; the main risks at night are agricultural (loose-livestock encounters on rural roads, deer collisions on the L106 between Sexau and Emmendingen, fast tractors with poor lights at harvest time). The village itself has no late-night venues; one or two Gaststätten close by 23:00. The S1 S-Bahn between Freiburg and Offenburg passes nearby (stations at Emmendingen and Denzlingen, ~5 min by car); last trains around midnight. The Black Forest hiking trails are unlit and shouldn't be done after dark without proper gear and a headtorch.
What scams should I watch out for in Sexau?
Almost none — rural Baden-Württemberg doesn't have a meaningful tourist scam economy. The Germany-wide patterns to remember: DCC on card terminals (always pay in EUR, never in your home currency — DCC is 5-10% worse); fake-charity petition operators around Freiburg's Münster (not relevant to Sexau itself); and ATM-skimming at standalone machines (use Sparkasse or Volksbank branches). Country roads occasionally have 'Hilfe!' breakdown scams — be cautious of staged emergencies at night, particularly on the autobahn from Strasbourg.
Can you drink tap water in Sexau?
Yes — German tap water is regulated more strictly than bottled and is excellent in Sexau. The supply is drawn from Black Forest mountain springs and the regional Bergerhöfer aquifer, treated to Germany's Trinkwasserverordnung standards (which are tighter than EU minimums). Restaurants will look slightly bemused if you ask for 'Leitungswasser' instead of mineral water (German cultural quirk, not a quality issue), but they'll bring it free. Carry a refillable bottle. Many Black Forest hiking trails have marked 'Wanderbrunnen' fountains with safe drinking water; check the green-and-white 'Trinkwasser' sign.
How serious is the tick / FSME risk for hikers?
Real and worth taking seriously. Baden-Württemberg is one of Germany's high-risk areas for FSME (tick-borne encephalitis) per the Robert Koch Institute, and the southern Black Forest around Freiburg/Emmendingen is in the highest-risk band. The RKI recommends FSME vaccination for hikers, foresters and anyone spending time in undergrowth between April and October. Lyme disease is also present (no vaccine, treated with antibiotics). Practical protection: wear long trousers tucked into socks for off-trail walking, use DEET-based repellent, check for ticks every evening (groin, waistline, behind knees, hairline, behind ears), and remove any tick within 24 hours using tweezers close to the skin — don't burn or twist. Most pharmacies (Apotheke) in Sexau and Emmendingen sell tick-removal tools.