Special churches
16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham
The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham is a Baptist church which was built between 1880 and 1884. However, the current building dates from 1911. The church became famous through a bomb attack on September 15, 1963, which was associated with the Ku Klux Klan and in which 4 girls were killed and 23 other people were seriously injured.
Contact | 1530 6th Avenue North Birmingham, Alabama 35203 |
Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery
In the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery is the pulpit from which civil rights activist Martin Luther King spoke as a pastor from 1954.
Contact | 454 Dexter Avenue Montgomery, Alabama 36104 |
Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile
This basilica in Mobile was built from 1835 to 1850 in the architectural style of the Greek Revival. The basilica particularly impresses with its very beautiful stained glass. Throughout its history, the basilica has suffered some damage from fire, hurricanes, and even an airplane accident. Nowadays, the basilica is one of the tourist highlights of the city.
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Contact | 2 S Claiborne Street Mobile, Alabama 36602 |
Church of St. Michael & All Angels in Anniston
The Church of St. Michael & All Angels was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The church was built in 1888. Due to the high number of immigrants from Cornwall, the church is particularly impressive due to its Norman influences.
Contact | 1000 West 18th Street Anniston, Alabama 36201 |
Zoos, parks and amusement parks
Montgomery Zoo
The Montgomery Zoo was founded in 1935 as the Oak Park Zoo and reopened in its current location in 1974. The zoo is home to over 500 animals from over 150 different species on an area of approximately 17 hectares. Highlights of the zoo include zebras, gazelles, hippos, tigers, rhinos, jaguars, lion monkeys, bisons and red kangaroos.
opening hours | Daily: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM Closed: Thanksgiving, December 25th and New Year |
Entrance fees | Adults $ 10; Children (3-12) $ 7 |
Contact | 2301 Coliseum Parkway Montgomery, Alabama 36110 Tel: 001 – (0) 334 – 240 49 00 |
Birmingham Botanical Gardens
The botanical garden of the city of Birmingham offers over 3,000 different plant species on a total area of approx. 273,000 m² in 20 different themed gardens. The Japanese garden with the Gateway to Heaven and the tea house is particularly recommended. With around 300,000 visitors annually, the Botanical Garden is one of the top attractions in the city, if not the state.
opening hours | Daily: As long as it is bright. |
Entrance fees | Free admission. |
Contact | 2612 Lane Park Road Birmingham, Alabama 35223 Tel: 001 – (0) 205 – 414 39 50 Web: www.bbgardens.org |
Vulcan Park in Birmingham
The Vulcan Park in Birmingham is a 4 hectare park which, in a visitor center, uses an interactive exhibition to familiarize visitors with the history and, above all, the industrial change in Birmingham. The park is named after the Vulcan statue which is located in the middle of the park. With a height of 17 m, the Vulcan statue is the largest cast iron statue in the world. The statue was made in 1903 for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. The statue weighs an incredible 55 tons. The tower on which the statue is located can be accessed by elevator and offers excellent views of the city.
Contact | 1701 Valley View Drive Birmingham, Alabama 35209 |
Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham
The park is very close to the 16th Street Baptist Church. Because of this, the demonstrations of the civil rights movement organized by Martin Luther King also took place here. The park covers an area of approx. 16,000 m², on which are also worth seeing statues by Martin Luther King, Fred Shuttlesworth and other well-known figures from the civil rights movement.
Contact | 5th Avenue North Birmingham, Alabama 35203 |
Mobile Botanical Gardens
The Botanical Garden in Mobile was founded in 1974 and now covers an area of approximately 40 hectares. The garden is divided into the rhododendron garden, Japanese garden, herb garden and a pine area.
Contact | 5151 Museum Drive Mobile, Alabama 36608 |
Birmingham Zoo
The city of Birmingham’s zoo was opened in 1955 and is home to around 800 animals from over 200 species on 50 hectares. The highlights of the zoo are alligators, kangaroos, giraffes, rhinos. The sea lion show is also particularly amusing.
opening hours | Daily: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. |
Contact | 2630 Cahaba Road Birmingham, Alabama 35223 Tel: 001 – (0) 205 – 879 04 09 Web: www.birminghamzoo.com |
Alabama Adventure Theme Park
The Alabama Adventure amusement park in Bessemer was opened in 1998 and is the state’s second largest tourist attraction with approximately 350,000 visitors annually. The park offers its visitors over 30 attractions on an area of approx. 80 hectares including 3 roller coasters and 7 water rides.
Contact | 4599 Alabama Adventure Parkway Bessemer, Alabama 35022 Tel: 001 – (0) 205 – 481 47 50 Fax: 001 – (0) 205 – 481 47 58 Email: info@alabamaadventure.com Web: www.alabamaadventure.com |
Major festivals and events in Alabama
Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery
The annual Shakespeare Festival is the world’s seventh largest festival, which is probably the most famous author. About 12 to 14 performances will be performed during the festival. Not all of them come from Shakespeare, but modern pieces are also presented. The festival attracts up to 300,000 visitors every year.
Contact | www.asf.net |
Big Spring Jam
The Big Spring Jam is an annual 3-day music festival in Huntsville. The Big Spring Jam Festival took place in 1993 and usually takes place on the fourth weekend of September. The Big Spring Jam Festival is not, like other music festivals, fixed to a certain musical genre, but offers the visitor a good cross-section that ranges from rock to Christian music to music by young local artists.
Contact | www.bigspringjam.org |
National Shrimp Festival
This festival, held in Gulf Shores, is dedicated to shrimp in all culinary forms. The festival takes place annually on the second weekend of October and attracts up to 300,000 visitors. Craftsmanship is also offered and musical entertainment is provided on two stages.
Contact | www.nationalshrimpfestival.com |
State parks
Lake Lurleen State Park
With an area of approx. 6.8 km², Lake Lurleen State Park is a huge park around Lake Lurleen with modern campsites, picnic areas, swimming areas and boat rentals. The park is located near the city of Northport in the west of the state.
Contact | 13226 Lake Lurleen Road Coker, Alabama 35452 |
Oak Mountain State Park
The Oak Mountain State Park is the largest state park in Alabama with an area of approximately 40 km² and is located south of the city of Birmingham. The park in which Double Oak Lake is located also offers visitors excellent opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, golf, swimming and fishing. Pedal boats and canoes can be rented on site. Of particular interest is the Alabama Wildlife Center, a breeding station for animals. The park also has very good camping facilities, some of which even have water and electricity.
Cheaha State Park
The Cheaha State Park has an area of approximately 11.3 km² and is located northeast of the state near the city of Birmingham. The park is the highest point in Alabama, Cheaha Mountain. The park was founded in 1933 and is the oldest of all state parks in Alabama. Today the park offers visitors camping opportunities, a restaurant and very good hiking opportunities. Of particular note is the Pinhoti Trail that runs through the park.
Rickwood Caverns State Park
Rickwood Caverns State Park is located in northern Alabama between Birmingham and Huntsville. The highlight of the park is certainly the 260 million year old stalactite cave, which can be hiked. At the campsite located in the park you can relax from hiking through the cave or the park.
Cathedral Caverns State Park
The Cathedral Caverns State Park is located in the northeast of the state of Alabama and is particularly impressive with its huge stalactite cave. The cave can be hiked for more than 3 km and has spectacular attractions such as an underground lake.
Other natural beauties
Sipsey Wilderness
This nature reserve in northern Alabama is located in the Bankhead National Forest and is the third largest wilderness area east of the Mississippi with an area of 101 km². Because of the limestone floor, many streams form waterfalls in this area, which is why the Sipsey Wildeness is also known as the “Land of 1000 Waterfalls”. Since the area should be protected as far as possible from human interference, there is only one picnic area and campsites are completely absent. However, hiking on the various trails of the Sipsey Wilderness offers hikers an almost incredible nature experience.
Noccalula Falls Park
The Noccalula Falls Park is an approximately 1 km² park in the city of Gadsden in the northeast of the state. The waterfalls in it have a fall height of 27 m and invite visitors to linger and be amazed. The water falls over a cave in which remains of the past, such as wall engravings can be found. In the park there is also a botanical garden with over 25,000 azaleas.
Contact | 1500 Noccalula Road Gadsden, Alabama 35902 |
Wetumpka Crater
This crater near the small town of Wetkumpka in eastern Alabama is a crater formed by a meteorite impact. The diameter of the crater is an impressive 7.6 km and its age is estimated to be approximately 83 million years. The crater was only discovered in 1970 during surveying and mapping work.
Little River Canyon National Preserve
The Little River Canyon National Preserve is located in northern Alabama and covers an area of 57 km². The Little River flowed over millions of years over the Lookout Mountain formation, digging deeper and deeper, creating today’s canyon, which is considered the deepest in the Southeastern United States. Nearby is the DeSoto State Park where a campsite is available and from there offers visitors the opportunity to “hike” the canyon.
Beaches in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach
The beaches in these two cities are among the best in the whole Gulf region. If you want to relax on the beach and let the sun shine on your fur, this is the place for you. But anglers also get their money’s worth here
Natchez Trace (“Devil’s Backbone”)
The Natchez Trace is an approximately 8,000 year old Indian trade route of 714 km in length. It runs from Natchez in Mississippi across the far northwest of Alabama to just before Nashville in Tennessee. Today, the Natchez Trace Parkway follows the original path almost exactly and is managed by the National Park Service. This road is designated a National Scenic Byways, which means that there are numerous attractions along its course.
Contact | www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm |
Special animals in Alabama
Alabama Coastal Mouse
The Alabama Coastal Mouse is a subspecies of the Coastal Mouse and only occurs in the coastal area of Alabama. The species is threatened with extinction. It lives in the sand dune areas on the sea coast and feeds primarily on plant seeds and small insects. The coastal mice are an important part of the “dune beach ecosystem”.