Ehekirchen: Hiking, Churches and Nature

Ehekirchen offers two distinct themes for a stay: hiking routes through varied landscapes and village churches with their own architectural histories and individual works of art. When planning, you can choose what matters most to you: trail length, landscape or historical details.

Hiking routes by length and landscape

The “Baierner Flecken” hiking trail starts and ends at the community center in Hollenbach and is 6.34 km long. It crosses the Längenmühlbach and leads through the forest along the final section of the embankment. The route also passes a flood retention basin, where you can observe many birds, water buffalo and a large herd of Murnau-Werdenfels cattle. The description thus combines specific waypoints with an opportunity to watch animals at the basin.

The 2.8 km “Leitenbachweg” trail runs near Bonsal along a slope covered with hedgerows, as far as the eastern edge of Illdorf. A detour crosses flower-rich dry slopes above Illdorf that are protected nature areas. The shorter “Ambachrunde” is 3.17 km long and offers views across the wide-open Donaumoos; in föhn conditions, the Alpine ridge is visible to the south. The two trails therefore differ not only in their scenery, but also in the visibility conditions described.

If you would like to explore a loop around the main village, “Rund um Ehekirchen” is a 7.28 km route with views of the Donaumoos, the Alps and the surrounding rolling countryside. The “Bucher Wandertour” is also 6.34 km long; the Haselbachtal along this trail is predominantly meadowland. The 8.85 km “Gumppenbergrunde” and the 14.2 km “Lorenzi-Donaumoos” route round out the selection. The latter connects the open expanses of the upper Donaumoos with the wooded Aindling terrace steps and offers long-distance views to the east and south.

At 15.2 km, the “Streichholzrunde” is the longest loop in Ehekirchen’s hiking program. At the edge of Bonsal, it passes a stone cross. Compared with the 2.8 km Leitenbachweg, it marks the other end of the route lengths mentioned here; the remaining routes fall in between. For planning, the municipality provides route maps as PDFs and GPX files for smartphones with a GPS-enabled app.

Village churches and historical details

The churches in the local districts each tell a different part of the architectural story. The new parish church in Ehekirchen was solemnly consecrated on August 25, 1896, by diocesan bishop Petrus v. Hötzl, with 26 clergy taking part. In Hollenbach, the tower of a larger church dating from the 15th century has been preserved. The nave was rebuilt several times, then renovated and given a Baroque interior in 1720. These two churches thus highlight different aspects: the consecration of a new building in the 19th century and the history of alterations to an older church.

The church in Bonsal contains two sculptures dating from around 1480 and around 1500, respectively: “The Death of Mary” and the valuable “Lamentation of Christ.” The village church in Holzkirchen preserves a different historical detail on the outside of the building: the torso of a Roman funerary monument is embedded in its exterior wall. Art enthusiasts can compare these two works in Bonsal with the fragment of the Roman monument in Holzkirchen, while keeping their different periods in mind.

The church in Buch was built around 1500; its nave was extended in 1787. The church in Ambach was built in 1450, ravaged by the Swedes during the Thirty Years’ War and rebuilt around 1690. Local memory also has a named landmark: the Imperial Oak, also known as the Peace Oak, was planted in Ehekirchen in 1871. Together, these details give an overview of different building periods and historical events to consider when choosing what to visit.

Discover more destinations: Rennertshofen, Schrobenhausen, Neuburg an der Donau, Weichering, Karlskron.

View the broader travel guide: Neuburg-Schrobenhausen.