Discover Waldneukirchen

Waldneukirchen offers a range of themes to consider when planning your trip: forest trails and educational opportunities, religious art, archaeological traces and local commemorative culture. You can decide in advance whether to focus on forest knowledge and the landscape, the history of individual sites or small cultural monuments.

Forest Trails and Special Viewpoints

The hunting and forest nature trail runs for 1.5 kilometres through Waldneukirchen’s local recreation area. Its length gives you a specific point of reference if forest trails are among your travel interests. Visitors can learn about wood growth and the function of the forest along the forest nature trail. An information point provides insights into plants, fungi and trees. The topics therefore range from growth and the function of the forest to the different subjects of plants, fungi and trees.

The forest nature trail leads to St. Nicholas Chapel. This is distinct from the forest chapel built by the Waldneukirchen hunters in 2003: it stands in an idyllic spot at the edge of the forest and is visible from far away. The two chapels therefore offer different points of interest: St. Nicholas Chapel is the destination of the forest nature trail, while the forest chapel stands out for its year of construction, its builders and its location at the forest’s edge.

The Gucklochbaum (Peephole Tree) also offers a unique view of the landscape: through its openings, you can see various mountains. While the forest nature trail provides information about the forest, here the focus is on the view through the openings. Waldneukirchen thus combines educational forest topics with a distinctive viewpoint, without suggesting that the two are the same experience.

Fresco, Castle Complex and Tradition

A fresco in Waldneukirchen Parish Church depicts the Archangel Michael with the scales of souls; it dates from 1337. Its subject and precise date make the church a point of interest for travellers interested in religious art and medieval depictions.

The Devil’s Tower offers a different perspective on the history of the area. An archaeological excavation in 2002 confirmed the presence of a high medieval castle complex there. Pottery shards from tiled stoves and tableware dating from the 14th century were found in the Devil’s Tower’s 30-metre-deep well shaft. The two dates refer to different aspects: the high medieval classification applies to the castle complex, while the 14th century is the date of the finds.

Alongside this is the tradition: the Devil’s Tower is described in detail in the Book of Legends of Steyr as a supposed robber-knight castle. This allows the archaeological classification to be distinguished from the storytelling tradition. The castle complex is supported by the excavation evidence; its interpretation as a robber-knight castle remains explicitly a supposed attribution. Both perspectives are relevant when exploring the Devil’s Tower, but the legend does not replace the archaeological findings.

Small Monuments and Regional Travel Ideas

Waldneukirchen has a high concentration of small monuments, including wayside crosses, roadside shrines and chapels. A commemorative plaque also honours the dialect poet Norbert Purschka. The cultural focus therefore extends beyond the parish church and the Devil’s Tower: smaller memorials and local dialect culture are also part of what the area has to offer.

For a regional trip, you can combine a ride on the Steyr Valley Heritage Railway with a cycling tour on the Steyr Valley Cycle Path. This option focuses on combining the heritage railway and cycle path, offering a different kind of trip planning from the local forest and cultural highlights.

Discover more destinations: Garsten, Laussa, Rohr Im Kremstal, Aschach An Der Steyr, Wolfern, Goldberg, Bad Hall, Sierning

For the overall travel overview: Steyr-Land.