Braunau am Inn: Culture, History and Cycling Routes

Explore Braunau am Inn through tangible traces of its history: from medieval bathing culture and evidence of the town’s past to places associated with Franz Xaver Gruber. Paths along the Inn and regional cycling routes add their own character to the landscape. This gives you a range of themes to explore on your trip, depending on your interests.

Museums and the Town’s History

The Historische Badestube Vorderbad has been open to the public as a museum since November 2004. Illuminated display panels, projections and audio stations share information about medieval bathing, various healing practices, life in the town and archaeological finds. The topics span everyday life in earlier times and the traces that have survived.

The Bezirksmuseum Herzogsburg documents the long and eventful history of the town of Braunau am Inn and the district. Its exhibitions showcase art and culture from prehistory to the present day. Among the archaeological objects are the Hallstatt-period gold neck ring from Uttendorf and a rare clay spouted vessel. These specific finds add individual examples to the broad historical sweep.

Historic Places and Public Art

The Stadterlebnisweg in Braunau am Inn leads to original historic sites in the old town and is marked by eight pylons. For a different view of the town, the Skulpturenweg runs from Palmplatz via Malerwinkel to the town wall. The eight steel sculptures were created for Braunau am Inn in 2023 as part of a sculptors’ symposium.

Through the Wassertor, you reach the banks of the Inn and the imposing walls of the town’s former fortifications. Here, access to the river meets the architectural traces of the former defenses. The Stadterlebnisweg stops, the sculptures and the Wassertor each offer a different perspective, representing distinct aspects of Braunau am Inn’s history and design.

Music History and Places of Remembrance

The Franz Xaver Gruber Gedächtnishaus offers insights into rural domestic and working life of the period, information about the composer’s life and the origins of the song “Silent Night, Holy Night.” It is housed in a wooden building more than 200 years old, whose style, form and design correspond to his birthplace. Items on display include the loom on which Franz-Xaver Gruber learned to weave.

Nearby, in Hochburg-Ach, the Franz-Xaver-Gruber-Friedensweg is a circular trail featuring seven elements in total. Information boards describe important places in the life of the young Franz Xaver Gruber: the site of his birthplace, the baptismal font and the place where he first received organ lessons. The trail focuses on different stages of his life, while the memorial house offers insights into domestic life, work and music history.

The Jägerstätter-Haus, at the former home and workplace of Franz and Franziska Jägerstätter, is both a museum and a place of remembrance. The approximately 1.5-kilometre-long Franz-Jägerstätter-Weg partly follows the route Franz Jägerstätter walked to church each day and passes a peace memorial. Since 2016, the parish church of St. Radegund has housed the relics of Franz Jägerstätter, who was beatified in 2007. The church itself is a Gothic building consecrated by Bishop Englamar of Chiemsee in 1422.

The parish church of St. Pankratius in Ranshofen and the monastery also tell the story of earlier architecture and art: both were renovated in the Baroque style in 1699 to mark the 800th anniversary of their founding. The church’s six side altars feature elaborate acanthus decorations, known as the “Acanthus Avenue.” Together, these different places offer several ways to explore regional history, from remembrance and music to architecture and decoration.

Cycling and Nature Along the Inn

The landscape along the Inn in the Braunau am Inn district is enjoyed by locals and visitors for cycling, hiking and water sports. In the Innviertel region, the Innradweg is consistently flat and runs through floodplain landscapes; its level terrain also makes it suitable for families. The Innradweg can be reached by train via Braunau am Inn.

The R203 Entdecker-Radtour is a 180-kilometre loop. It starts in Braunau am Inn, passes through the Ibmer Moor and returns to Braunau via the Tauernradweg. About 90 percent of the route runs on paved paths, and about 70 percent on secondary roads. Route information can change, so check the current route before setting out. The R203 and the Innradweg offer different cycling experiences: a long loop with a specified route and a regional trail through floodplain landscapes.

On foot, the Moorlehrpfad-Panoramarunde passes through different areas of moorland and climbs to the Seeleiten hill. From there, you can look out over the moorland and the Seeleitensee lake. Naturium am Inn is the visitor and environmental education centre for the Unterer Inn European Nature Reserve. It provides information about habitats along the Lower Inn, the floodplain forests and the river islands. Together, these attractions offer different ways to discover river and moorland landscapes.

Insights into Farming and Craftsmanship

At OberGut, guided farm tours are available by appointment. Topics include tree identification, soil science and demonstration distilling. Tours with an Apfelport tasting and Brettljause are offered for groups of 15 or more. If you are planning this kind of visit, confirm the date and arrangements in advance, as booking details may change. This helps tailor the visit to the planned group size and the experience you want.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Haigermoos, Franking, Hochburg, Polling im Innkreis, Aspach, Helpfau-Uttendorf, Kirchberg bei Mattighofen, Sankt Veit im Innkreis, Roßbach, Lengau, Braunau am Inn, Ostermiething, Maria Schmolln, Ach, Sankt Radegund, Wimpassing, Altheim, Mauerkirchen, Moosdorf, Eggelsberg, Lochen, Gilgenberg am Weilhart, Aufhausen, Mining, Mattighofen, Höhnhart, Sankt Pantaleon, Tarsdorf, Geretsberg, Sankt Georgen am Fillmannsbach, Sankt Johann am Walde, Schwand im Innkreis, Schalchen, Pischelsdorf am Engelbach, Pfaffstätt, Perwang am Grabensee, Palting, Neukirchen an der Enknach, Munderfing, Moosbach, Jeging, Handenberg, Feldkirchen bei Mattighofen, Burgkirchen, Auerbach, Sankt Peter am Hart, Treubach, Überackern, Weng im Innkreis, Lehrsberg, Hagenau, Friedburg.

Go to the overview of the wider region: Upper Austria.