Unterreitnau: Church, Pilgrimage and Cycling Tours

Unterreitnau offers two distinct themes for a trip: the parish church’s layered history and cycling tours that include the village as a possible detour or stop. The distinctions below provide specific points of reference.

Parish Church and Pilgrimage Tradition

The Catholic parish church of St. Urban and St. Silvester in Unterreitnau is a listed building. Its tower base probably dates from the 14th or 15th century; the choir and west wall of the nave date from the late 15th century. In 1690, the church was extended and the Joseph Chapel was added. These dates refer to different parts and phases of construction, not to a single year of origin.

The church traces its origins to an old Premonstratensian monastery and probably dates from before 1400. The side altar houses the miraculous image, which was probably created around 1420 and became the destination of numerous pilgrimages. Thus, the early origins of the church building and the later creation of the image represent two distinct stages in the local religious history.

Places of Remembrance and Church History

The plague cemetery on what is now the road from Unterreitnau to Bechtersweiler was established during the plague epidemics of the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648). In Unterreitnau, 341 people had died; not everyone could be buried in the cemetery at the parish church. The plague cemetery was established directly as a result of this limited burial capacity.

In the vicinity of Unterreitnau, the small Michaelskapelle on Taubenberg has belonged to Unterreitnau ecclesiastically since 1831. In 1830, Bruggach and Taubenberg had applied to separate from Wasserburg in ecclesiastical matters. King Ludwig I approved the request on July 9, 1831. The application and approval mark two separate steps in this ecclesiastical reorganization.

A recurring event in the village is the annual concert by the Unterreitnau music band, which is always held on the evening before the first Sunday of Advent. If you would like to plan your trip around the concert, check the date for your chosen year.

Cycling Routes with Different Connections to the Village

The Degersee-Badhütte Tour offers a possible detour to the church. The panoramic cycling tour along Lake Constance near Lindau passes through Hengnau and Rickatshofen to Unterreitnau, then heads towards Taubenberg and continues to Bodolz. Fruit orchards and vineyards line the route; in Unterreitnau, you can stop for a meal at a restaurant.

The difference is clear when choosing a route: on the Degersee-Badhütte Tour, the church is a possible detour, whereas Unterreitnau is part of the route on the panoramic cycling tour. This lets you decide whether to visit the church as an addition to a tour or plan the village as a stop on the cycling route.

Cultural History in the Wider Destination of Lindau (Lake Constance)

The wider destination of Lindau (Lake Constance) has its own cultural and historical focus: the Haus zum Cavazzen is a Baroque patrician palace in the middle of Lindau’s market square and a town house dating from 1729/30 on Lindau Island. It was built by the Swiss master builder Jakob Grubenmann and has housed the Lindau City Museum since 1930. Founded in 1538, the Former Imperial City Library of Lindau contains around 13,000 volumes from the early modern period and is the largest historic municipal and citizens’ library on the northern shore of Lake Constance. The library museum in the Old Town Hall displays the collection.

Discover more destinations: Aeschach, Reutin, Bad Schachen.

Back to the wider travel overview: Lindau.