Bromberg: Fortified Church, Witches’ Trail and Hotels

Bromberg brings together a fortified church, chapels and sacred art with traces of history, a themed trail and cycling routes. You can choose different focuses for your stay: architectural history, local history or exploring the landscape. The sights and trails each offer their own way to discover the town.

The Bromberg Witches’ Trail and the Witches’ Spring

The Bromberg Witches’ Trail starts in Bromberg-Au and follows the Schlattenbach stream for about three kilometres. This historic themed trail was created in 1999 as a village renewal project. It thus combines a stretch along the stream with a cultural theme. The Witches’ Spring lies behind Bromberg’s Bergkirche. A gently rising forest path leads there in about 15 minutes. Bromberg can therefore be explored on foot in different ways, from a longer route with an approximate stated distance to the path leading to the spring.

Fortified architecture and audio guide

Bromberg’s fortified church, also known as the Bergkirche, is distinguished by its loopholes and unique “Bergeturm” (mountain tower). Its upper floors contain hidden vault rooms for the secure storage of valuables; these floors are very difficult to access. These details show the special combination of fortified architecture and protected interior spaces. The Bergkirche is also part of the Bucklige Welt Fortified Churches Route.

A free smartphone audio guide with 14 chapters is available for the Bergkirche. Each chapter includes an image, and the total running time is about 26 minutes. Anyone wishing to learn more about the church will find a clearly defined audio offering, with a duration distinct from both the walk to the Witches’ Spring and the length of the Witches’ Trail.

Chapels, frescoes and local history

At Dreibuchenhöhe, the Dreibuchen Chapel offers panoramic views of the surrounding hills. The first steps towards its construction are dated to the period from 1683 to 1720. The chapel has two distinct facets: it is both a viewpoint and a place with a long history dating back to its origins.

The sacred art in Bromberg also spans several centuries. The parish church of St Lambert contains an important cycle of murals created around 1580. The Lambertikirche is adorned with a huge fresco of St Christopher from the 14th century. The old rectory, dating from the 15th century, also stands in the town centre. The attached Florian Chapel has magnificent 16th-century frescoes, which were not discovered until after the 1972 earthquake.

Further traces of history can be found in various places across the municipality. The plague cross, erected in 1681 west of and opposite the parish church, commemorates a plague epidemic. In the upper Schlattental valley, in what is now the southeastern part of Bromberg municipality, the field name “Schloßberg” and some wall remains point to a castle. The Lords of Slat built it around 1250 on a hilltop. The town’s history thus ranges from visible works of art in churches and chapels to traces of a former castle.

Cycling and planning your stay

Cyclists can enjoy scenic routes through meadows, fields and forests, climbing up to the surrounding hills. This adds a focus on the landscape to the cultural and historical attractions. If you are looking for a hotel in Bromberg, you can first plan your stay around your interest in fortified churches and frescoes, historical sites or cycling tours. This lets you choose the focus of your trip based on what you would like to explore in the area.

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Go to the main travel overview: Wiener Neustadt.