Markt Indersdorf: Monastic history and trails

Markt Indersdorf is a destination with a monastic history dating back to the 12th century. Other highlights include the Augustinian Canons Museum, markets and trails through the Glonn Valley and its rolling hills. When planning your visit, you can focus on historic sites, event dates and routes of varying lengths.

Augustinian Canons’ Abbey: History and Architecture

Indersdorf Augustinian Canons’ Abbey was founded in 1120 by Count Palatine Otto IV of Wittelsbach. Archbishop Konrad of Salzburg consecrated the monastery’s first church in 1128 in honour of the Mother of God and the princes of the Apostles, Peter and Paul. After the great fire of 1249, the church and monastery complex were rebuilt. The church was built as a three-aisled Romanesque basilica without a transept, with three almost equally high apses, a flat wooden ceiling and a north tower. The foundations of this basilica have survived beneath the church’s present Rococo exterior. The church was given its Rococo appearance under Provost Gelasius Morhardt (1748–1768).

Wittelsbach history is also tangible here: seven Wittelsbach counts palatine are buried within the area of today’s monastery walls. Along with Scheyern and Ensdorf, Indersdorf is one of the Wittelsbachs’ early family monasteries. With the support of the Bavarian dukes, more than 24 monasteries in Bavaria and beyond were reformed from Indersdorf as part of the Raudnitz-Indersdorf monastic reform.

The Augustinian Canons Museum and the History of the Town

The permanent exhibition at the Augustinian Canons Museum is dedicated specifically to the Augustinian Canons. The museum is housed in the former sacristan’s house and the adjoining north gate tower. Both buildings were part of the monastery complex and are now protected historic monuments.

The town’s history also includes the monastery’s changing uses after secularisation in the 18th century: it served as an orphanage run by the Salesian Sisters and the Sisters of Mercy, as a National Socialist reform school and, in the immediate post-war period, as an international UNRRA centre caring for foreign unaccompanied children and young people. After the end of the Second World War, Markt Indersdorf became a place of refuge for more than 1,000 young survivors of Nazi persecution. They initially found a protected environment there before returning home or emigrating.

Markets and Event Dates

The Indersdorf weekly market takes place every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon in the Unterer Markt area on Freisinger Straße. As a farmers’ market, it offers food as well as produce from fruit and horticulture, agriculture and forestry, and raw natural products. Check the weekly market date again before you travel.

The Christkindlmarkt Advent am Kloster takes place on the second weekend of Advent each year. The traditional Marktfest is scheduled for the first weekend in August, lasts two days and features a varied programme in the market square. If you would like to plan your trip around the Marktfest, check the dates for the year of your visit.

Trails Through the Glonn Valley

Markt Indersdorf lies in the varied rolling landscape of the Glonn Valley. Numerous hiking and cycling trails run through the valley and surrounding hills. The Indersdorf circular and audio trails share information during walks about places in the municipality that are of cultural-historical, geological or scientific interest.

Three routes of different lengths offer useful points of comparison: the Blicke auf Albersbach & Westerholzhausen walking route is 8.5 km long and starts and ends at Indersdorf station. A 9.5 km section of the Oxenweg via Langenpettenbach to Westerholzhausen starts and ends in Indersdorf’s market square. The Marterl cycling route covers 12 km to the Volksfest grounds and back. The route descriptions reflect conditions as of June 2021; check conditions for the Marterl cycling route in particular before setting out.

The eastern loop of the 7-Klöster-Weg can also start in Markt Indersdorf, where the first monastery on the route awaits visitors. The entire trail is signposted with a church logo and features information boards about its history. This description applies to the route as a whole; it does not imply that the entire route runs through the town.

Another leisure option in the municipality is Ainhofen outdoor swimming pool. It has two heated pools: a swimming pool with a constant water temperature of around 23°C and a children’s pool at around 26°C. As it is a seasonal facility, check current opening information before your trip.

Discover more destinations: Niederroth, Bergkirchen, Altomünster, Schwabhausen, Petershausen, Dachau, Hebertshausen, Haimhausen.

Return to the main travel overview: Dachau.