Discover Waldkirchen
Accommodation in Waldkirchen
If you’re looking for a hotel in Waldkirchen, planned activities can help provide a framework for your stay: options include local history and museums, seasonal leisure activities, and trails of varying lengths and types. The following highlights can help you plan your visit around your interests and the time of year.
City History, Trade Route and Culture
The Goldener Steig Museum presents the origins and development of Waldkirchen in connection with the Goldener Steig across five sections on two floors. The trade route was an economic as well as cultural link between Bavaria and Bohemia. History is also present in the townscape: substantial sections of a fortification have been preserved. Together with the long market square, they bear witness to Waldkirchen’s former importance as the main town of the “Passauer Abteiland.”
Another museum explores a topic that extends beyond the region: the birthplace of poet Emerenz Meier in Schiefweg houses a museum about emigration from the Bavarian and Bohemian Forests to America. It focuses on the period from the 19th to the early 20th century. If you would like to visit the museum, check its current opening hours in advance.
The Waldkirchen Rauhnacht is a special event. It takes place every year on January 5 in the market square. During the torchlit spectacle, figures such as souls, robbers, treasure hunters, witches, Death and the Devil appear; howling and noise create a spooky atmosphere. Check current event information before your trip.
Leisure Activities at Different Times of Year
The Waldkirchen Forest Rope Course offers six courses at varying heights and difficulty levels. Check the operator’s current seasonal availability before your visit.
The outdoor pool at Karoli Badepark features a climbing wall, a wide water slide, a waterfall, a current channel and a swimming pool. There are also massage jets, three shaded paddling pools and a playground right next door. The outdoor pool is scheduled to open in 2025. Karoli Badepark, including the Mediterraneum, invites visitors to swim in both summer and winter. As offerings may change, check current operating details and outdoor pool facilities before your visit.
At the Waldkirchen ice rink, visitors can go ice skating, play Bavarian curling and watch or play ice hockey from October to February. This seasonal period provides a guide for planning; operating details may be updated. Check the latest information before your visit.
At the Penninger headquarters in Waldkirchen, visitors can get a free look around the visitor center, which includes a brasserie, exhibition and cinema. The exhibition covers the history of spirits production, as well as raw materials and how they are processed. You can also book a distillery tour online to learn more about how Penninger products are made. The tour also includes a visit to the whisky barrel warehouse. Check the latest visitor information and booking arrangements before your trip.
Trails and Nature Nearby
The four-kilometre Gartenschau Weg circular trail starts either at the town park or the town square. For a longer route, the 25-kilometre Adalbert-Stifter walking and cycling trail starts at the train station and follows a former railway line to HaidmĂĽhle. The two trails differ clearly in length and format; check the current conditions on site when consulting the Adalbert-Stifter trail description.
Nearby, a nature trail connects Waldkirchen with the Kurpark Erlauzwieseler See. It is used for hiking, walking, jogging and cycling. The Saußbachklamm gorge also lies south of Waldkirchen; it was designated a nature reserve in 1939. Alongside trails in the Waldkirchen area, you’ll also find a distinct natural area with permanent protected status.
Discover more destinations: Saldenburg, Innernzell, Neureichenau, Freyung, Sankt Oswald, HaidmĂĽhle, Hohenau, Grafenau
Return to the main travel overview: Freyung-Grafenau.
