Mühlhausen between the Ludwig Canal and Jura trails

Mühlhausen brings together canal history, trails and cultural attractions. If you’re looking for hotels in Mühlhausen, it helps to decide what you want to focus on during your trip: Are you especially interested in the Ludwig Canal, cycling, walking trails or culture?

The Ludwig Canal and horse-drawn canal boats

A horse-drawn canal boat trip, including passage through a lock, on the historic Ludwig Canal is one of Mühlhausen’s visitor attractions. The horse-drawn Alma Viktoria travels a 6.5-kilometre stretch of the towpath from Mühlhausen to Pollanten and back. Of the 178-kilometre-long Ludwig Canal, Lock 25 is the only lock still in operation.

Construction of the canal began in 1836, and it was completed in 1845 after nine years. The Ludwig Canal and its structures are protected as historic monuments. This makes the canal a subject that brings together a clearly defined historical period, heritage protection and a lock that is still in operation.

Walking and cycling routes

The Gehölzpfad (woodland trail) starts at the SV Mühlhausen-Sulzbürg sports grounds and runs 1.8 kilometres to Wappersdorf. As an educational trail, it is marked with German and botanical names. The stated distance therefore links a specific destination with an educational focus: you can think of the route not only as a way to reach Wappersdorf, but also as an educational trail.

The Energiepfad (energy trail) connects the municipal forest cemetery, a solar power plant, the Dürrlohspeicher reservoir and the Lände Bachhausen-Mühlhausen. It passes through the landscape of the Upper Palatinate Jura, described as scenic. At 1.8 kilometres, the Gehölzpfad is a route with a stated distance; the Energiepfad, by contrast, centres on several connected destinations.

Cyclists will also find a range of options: numerous cycle paths and tours run along the Ludwig Canal. The well-developed cycling network includes e-bike charging stations in Mühlhausen and Sulzbürg. When planning, you can therefore distinguish between using the canal as a reference point for cycling tours and following a themed route with several connected stops.

Churches, local history and sculptures

St Michael’s Church was built in the Baroque style between 1719 and 1723. In Sulzbürg, the Protestant Schlosskirche St. Michael and the neighbouring Catholic Church of Maria Sieben Schmerzen form a distinctive landmark. The Landl Museum presents local historical traces dating up to the mid-20th century.

The sculptures created at biennial sculptors’ symposia are associated with art at the Klenzebau. The cultural offering thus ranges from Baroque architecture and local history to sculptures made as part of symposium work. These themes offer different points of interest if you would like to focus your stay more on architectural history, local history or art.

Landscape and regional orientation

The Zeugenberge hills to the west and the Albtrauf escarpment to the east provide points of reference for exploring the local tourist landscape. Together with the trails and canal-related attractions, they offer a broader landscape perspective alongside the individual sights.

Within the wider destination of Neumarkt In Der Oberpfalz, Neumarkt i.d.OPf. district lies in the northeastern part of Altmühltal Nature Park and in the Bavarian Jura landscape. The Upper Palatinate Jura valleys are also in the Bavarian Jura and Altmühltal Nature Park, between Nuremberg and Regensburg, and invite visitors to relax. The Jurasteig and Wasser- und Mühlenweg share a stretch along the Weiße Laber from the Lengenbachtal valley near Deining to Dietfurt. These details provide a broader view of the landscape and routes across the wider destination.

Discover more destinations: Neumarkt In Der Oberpfalz, Berching, Velburg, Pilsach, Lauterhofen, Breitenbrunn, Parsberg, Postbauer-Heng.

Back to the wider travel guide: Neumarkt In Der Oberpfalz.