Winterbach: Churches, Chapels and Local History

Winterbach offers a clear focus for travelers interested in church architecture and local history. The buildings differ in their period of origin, floor plan and architectural details. The municipality includes the districts of Waldkirch and Rechbergreuthen; the churches and chapels are spread across these places and the Winterbach area.

Winterbach’s History and Churches

Around 900, monks from the original Kempten monastery began clearing land in the upper Glött Valley, in the area where Winterbach and its fields now extend. After 912, Benedictine monks built a small wooden church in Winterbach and dedicated it to the saints of their monastery: Saint Gordianus and Saint Epimachus. These early dates relate to different periods in the village’s history.

The listed Catholic parish church of St. Gordian and Epimachus is a neo-Gothic brick building. Ferdinand Schildhauer built it in 1895–1896. Its features include a set-back three-sided choir, buttresses and a north-side tower with blind arcading and a pointed spire between triangular gables. A three-sided choir ends in three sides; buttresses project from the exterior wall. This church therefore combines a clearly defined floor plan with a distinctive tower design.

The listed Catholic parish and pilgrimage church of Our Lady of Sorrows is in Waldkirch. Its hall has rounded corners and a set-back three-sided end. The southern tower has a tall octagonal upper storey and an onion dome. The choir and lower sections of the tower are Late Gothic; the rest of the building is a unified new structure dating from 1745, attributed to Joseph Dossenberger the Younger. Its history combines older building elements with a later, cohesive new structure.

The also-listed parish church of St. Nicholas in Rechbergreuthen dates from 1681–1682. It is a hall building with a three-sided choir and a southern tower. Its octagonal upper storey, pilaster-strip decoration and onion dome create a different tower design from the pointed spire of St. Gordian and Epimachus. Taken together, the three churches reveal different building periods and forms, without conflating the individual places or their buildings.

Historic Village Center and Chapels

The historic village center of Rechbergreuthen is a listed Central Swabian land-clearing village dating from the 14th century, laid out according to plan as a green-centered village. The name refers to the deliberately planned settlement form around a village green. This adds another perspective on history alongside the churches: the subject here is not only individual buildings, but also the planning of the village.

The listed Frauenbrunn Well Chapel lies north-northwest of the village. The hall building with a three-sided end has an open, lean-to porch. It was built in 1838 on an older foundation. Another listed chapel is the field chapel near Eisingerhof: a small 19th-century rectangular building with a slightly set-back semicircular apse, a roof turret and furnishings. The two chapels differ both in their architectural form and in their stated period of construction.

More to explore in the wider Günzburg travel destination

The wider Günzburg travel destination also includes routes focused on the landscape. The DonAuwald Hiking Trail is the first premium hiking trail in Bavarian Swabia and runs for around 60 kilometers between Günzburg and Schwenningen. The DonauHänge is an 18.5-kilometer circular route through the hillside forest between Günzburg and Offingen. These routes offer a different thematic experience from Winterbach’s churches and historic village center. Check current trail conditions before setting out.

Address for Your Stay

Gasthof zur Post is located at Kirchberg 1, 89368 Winterbach. Check whether it is open and its opening hours before visiting.

Back to the wider travel overview: Haldenwang.