Lengau: Churches, Trails and Nature

Lengau combines ecclesiastical heritage, historic architecture, themed trails and a natural area with wetland habitats. For planning your trip, the main attractions can be clearly distinguished: the parish church and the Old Timber House Ensemble offer different perspectives on cultural history, while the themed trails and pilgrimage route add their own distinctive features. The Teichstätt – Retention Basin nature reserve adds hiking and nature watching to the mix. This lets you decide whether sacred art, architectural history, pilgrimage, or nature experiences should be the focus of your stay.

Churches, Places of Remembrance and Architecture

Lengau Parish Church is dedicated to Saint James the Greater. Its interior furnishings date predominantly from the Rococo period of 1730 to 1770. The church’s dedication and its stylistic character are two different points of reference for understanding its history. The dating applies to most of the interior furnishings, so it should not be applied broadly to the entire building history.

Tombstones inside the church and on its exterior walls commemorate members of the noble families of Friedburg and Erb, as well as clergy who lived in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Thus, in addition to the church’s dedication and furnishings, the site also commemorates people from several centuries.

A relic of the True Cross from 1434, enclosed in a monstrance, is still kept in Heiligenstatt Church. This specific date differs from the Rococo classification of the parish church: here, the focus is on a single sacred object, while there it is on a stylistic period of the interior furnishings.

The Old Timber House Ensemble in Lengau is an outstanding example of local craftsmanship and carpentry from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It consists of several historic timber houses that reflect the region’s traditional building style. The ensemble’s character draws attention to several buildings rather than a single house. Unlike the churches, the focus here is on carpentry and historic timber construction.

Themed Trails and Pilgrimage

The Giant Museum in Lengau opened in April 2014 as a memorial to Franz Winkelmeier. Two similarly named trails can be distinguished by their details: the Giant-themed Trail starts at the Giant Museum and features six memorial plaques; the Giant Hiking Trail runs from Lengau to the church in Friedburg, is about four kilometres long and features three memorial plaques.

A total of five hiking routes can be explored on Schlossberg. The Bible Trail on Schlossberg is listed as 2,300 metres long, with an approximate duration of 60 minutes. The number five describes the choice of routes on Schlossberg; the length and time, by contrast, refer to the Bible Trail. This distinguishes the route options from the specific measurements for that trail.

From Munderfing, the Innviertel Way of St. James follows the Via Nova pilgrimage route to Lengau Parish Church. There, the route description connects with the dedication of the church to Saint James the Greater. For those interested in pilgrimage, the route and the church’s dedication offer a distinct focus alongside the themed trails.

Wetland Habitats and Nature Watching

The Teichstätt – Retention Basin nature reserve covers about 26.4 hectares. A variety of wetland habitats characterise the area, which is also an important habitat for many animal and plant species. Nature-related leisure activities include hiking and observing local flora and fauna. If you enjoy combining exercise with nature watching, this offers a different way to experience Lengau than its churches and historic timber houses.

Discover more destinations: Perwang Am Grabensee, Sankt Peter am Hart, Treubach, Friedburg, Gilgenberg Am Weilhart, Sankt Georgen Am Fillmannsbach, Weng im Innkreis, Mattighofen

Go to the broader travel overview: Braunau Am Inn.