Discover Straubing-Bogen: Pilgrimage, Trails and Culture

Pilgrimage and Museum Culture on the Bogenberg

The Bogenberg is one of Bavaria’s oldest Marian pilgrimage sites that is still active today. Every year at Pentecost, the Holzkirchen candle pilgrimage takes place at the pilgrimage church. The Bogenberg District Museum explores the site’s religious significance, presenting the mountain as Lower Bavaria’s Holy Mountain and as the location of one of Bavaria’s oldest Marian pilgrimages.

Another key focus of the museum is the history of the Bavarian lozenges: from the Counts of Windberg-Bogen, through their use by the Wittelsbach family and in the Bavarian state coat of arms, to their status as a symbol of Bavaria. The museum offers tailor-made guided tours about the Bogenberg for groups of ten or more and school classes. Tours can also be booked outside opening hours by telephone or in writing in advance.

Compare Circular Trails in Wiesenfelden

Two circular trails in Wiesenfelden differ both in length and in their stated accessibility. The accessible circular trail around the Beckenweiher is 2.3 kilometres long and suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs. Five information points with benches and information panels cover the local flora and fauna, the pond’s protected status and its history. The trail also includes a 110-metre-long nature observation boardwalk.

At around 4.5 kilometres, the Kobelberg Nature Experience Trail is considerably longer and features nine stations. It is suitable for pushchairs and is cleared in winter; wheelchair accessibility is not stated for this trail. When choosing between the two routes, therefore, consider not only their different lengths but also the features specifically listed for each.

Cycling and Experiencing Nature

Bogen has three routes described as day trips for families with children: the “Culture Tour”, the “Beer Garden Tour” and “Left and Right of the Danube”. The Labertal Cycle Route offers a different option: in the Straubing-Bogen district, it runs through the Gäuboden along flat cycle paths and quiet side roads. As trail conditions can change locally, check the current route before setting out.

Natural sciences and wildlife are also among the local highlights. At Bayerwald Xperium, visitors can explore natural phenomena and science by trying things out for themselves at more than 100 interactive stations. The bee education trail in Bogen’s Europapark Bayern-Böhmen offers information about honeybees through display panels and a real bee colony.

Windberg and Sankt Englmar

The medieval village of Windberg stands on a hill at an elevation of 420 metres and offers panoramic views of the mountains of the Bavarian Forest, the Bogenbach valley and the Danube plain. Its medieval monastery complex is largely preserved. It includes the basilica, the prelature, the court office building and the craftsmen’s house.

The WaldWipfelWeg in Maibrunn near Sankt Englmar is an accessible walking trail above the treetops that reaches heights of up to 30 metres. The Nature Experience Trail features hands-on stations, climbing opportunities and animals such as alpacas, llamas, sheep and kangaroos. A special attraction at the WaldWipfelWeg is the unique “Upside-Down House”, found nowhere else in Bavaria: it stands entirely on its roof, and everything inside is upside down.

In Sankt Englmar, the toboggan run offers the Bayerwald-Bob and the Bayerwald-Coaster; each track is 1,000 metres long, and both can be used in any weather. The park in Sankt Englmar also features the Bayerwald-Fox. Express bus route 58 runs hourly to the WaldWipfelWeg from Viechtach and Bogen railway stations. Check the current timetable before travelling.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Mitterfels, Sankt Englmar, Wiesenfelden, Rattenberg, Konzell, Schwarzach, Rattiszell, Hunderdorf.

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