Discover Ringelai

Ringelai brings together distinctive church architecture, a lively pilgrimage tradition and Gabreta Celtic Village. For your travel planning, the churches’ construction dates, the Christkindl pilgrimage held in December and the Celtic village’s holiday programme offer different insights into the town.

Churches and pilgrimage tradition

St Michael’s was built as a new church in the centre of Ringelai between 1749 and 1752. The parish church of the Ringelai parish was built much later: church architect Michael Kurz from Augsburg designed it and oversaw its construction in 1919/20. The dates show two distinct periods in the town’s history; the central location of St Michael’s can also be distinguished from the hilltop site of the parish church.

Another tradition is the Christkindl pilgrimage, which takes place in December. In 2024, the 30th pilgrimage weekend was celebrated. During this documented procession, pilgrims walked by candlelight, with prayers and singing, from the school to the parish church, where they attended a pilgrimage service. This information relates to the 2024 weekend and describes what happened at the time.

Gabreta Celtic Village: hands-on activities in the holiday programme

Gabreta Celtic Village offers a rotating programme of hands-on activities during the school holidays. For 2026, the programme is listed for Wednesday to Friday, from 2 to 4 pm each day. Examples include pottery, archery, bread baking and herb walks. As this is a holiday programme with specific times, it is best to check the latest programme details before visiting.

In the wider Freyung-Grafenau destination, the Gabreta Archaeological Adventure Park features buildings reconstructed from original Celtic structures. They symbolise Celtic artefacts found on the hill of Paul Freund. Expert-led tours about Celtic life can also be booked. The Celtic village therefore combines practical activities with an engaging look at Celtic buildings and their archaeological significance.

Freyung-Grafenau: nature and cultural landscape

The Bavarian Forest National Park extends into the Freyung-Grafenau district. It opened on 7 October 1970 as Germany’s first national park. The distribution of land within the protected area is also of interest: in the zoning plan dated 2024, natural zones account for 75.37 percent of the area.

One distinctive landscape feature is the Buchberger Leite wild-stream gorge. There, steep rock ridges force the boulder-strewn, cascade-filled Wolfsteiner Ohe into a deeply confined channel. Remnants of primeval forest survive in the gorge’s moss- and fern-rich woodlands. An eight-kilometre themed hiking trail runs through the gorge between Freyung and Ringelai; information boards and an accompanying brochure explain the route. Historic timber-floating walls, tunnels cut into the rock and above-ground canals also reveal centuries of human activity in the Buchberger Leite.

Cultural attractions in the wider destination

In Freyung stands the Schramlhaus, built around 1700. It is the town’s oldest farmstead and, in its original condition, one of the oldest in the district of Freyung-Grafenau. The Wolfstein Local History Museum is housed in the building. On display are more than a hundred original examples of reverse glass painting, a form of sacred folk art.

Near Neuschönau, the treetop walk and the animal enclosure are part of the Lusen National Park Centre. The animal enclosure offers information about the national park and its native wildlife. Its circular trails are also suitable for small children who are not yet able to walk long distances. If you are exploring the region with children of this age, its suitability for short walks is a useful point to bear in mind.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Zenting, Perlesreut, Hinterschmiding, Thurmansbang, Schöfweg, Röhrnbach, Waldkirchen, Sankt Oswald.

Go to the wider travel overview: Freyung-Grafenau.