Burkau: Circular Walk, History and St. Mary’s Church

Burkau combines hiking with local history: the Burkau Circular Walk is a marked loop around the town, and St. Mary’s Church has medieval connections as well as dated furnishings. The Taucherwald Circular Walk focuses specifically on the history of the Cold War. For planning your trip, these themes are easy to distinguish: the Burkau Circular Walk centres on the route and its approximate duration, while the Taucherwald Circular Walk is shaped by the site’s former use and its named stops.

Hiking the Burkau Circular Walk

The Burkau Circular Walk is a marked loop around Burkau. A route description published by Bautzen District on 20 May 2025 gives the distance as 13.4 kilometres and the approximate walking time as 3.5 hours; the route is rated challenging. It follows quiet side roads, forest and meadow paths, and part of the former railway embankment of the Bischofswerda–Kamenz railway line. The distance, estimated time and rating give you a concrete framework for fitting the hike into your day’s plans.

Historic Routes and St. Mary’s Church

The Taucherwald Circular Walk passes through the former Soviet missile base, known as Operations Base Bischofswerda. The facility was in operation from 1981 to 1984. Abandoned bunkers and other surviving structures lie along the route; it also takes in the Birkenberg viewpoint, the Kreuzstein wayside cross and the Taucherwald hut. The circular walk thus combines the former base’s historical context with traces of its buildings and named destinations along the route.

Burkau was first mentioned in writing in 1312; a church there is recorded in 1495. St. Mary’s Church therefore has documented medieval origins. Its historic furnishings include a wooden altarpiece from 1677, a Staupitz epitaph in the western entrance hall, and a later pulpit dating from 1898. The dates distinguish Burkau’s first written mention from the later record of a church. Together with the dates of the furnishings, they provide several points of reference for the history of the town and its church.

Getting There and Trip Planning

Burkau has direct motorway access via two junctions on the A4 Dresden–Görlitz: Burkau and Uhyst am Taucher. If you are travelling by car, you can include both names in your route planning. Temporary closures or roadworks are possible; checking current traffic conditions before setting off can help you prepare for the journey.

This makes the different focuses clear for your planning, without treating them as the same kind of activity.

More Tours in the Broader Bautzen District Destination

The broader Bautzen District destination offers independent cycling routes with different itineraries. The Bautzen North Tour is 43.1 kilometres long and runs from Bautzen via Quatitz, Großdubrau, Milkel, Klix and Malschwitz, returning to Bautzen. It passes through the heath and pond landscape and along the nature trail in Crosta. The Hill and Valley Route is a regional circular tour through the West Lusatian Hills in Bautzen District. The Krabat Cycle Route is also a regional circular tour; it follows in the footsteps of Krabat, the hero of Sorbian legend.

The Central Route is a long-distance cycling route from Zittau to Aachen; one section passes through the Upper Lusatian Highlands in Bautzen District. The Spree Cycle Route runs from its source in Upper Lusatia to Berlin; its section from Taubenheim to Zerre is in Bautzen District. The regional selection therefore includes both circular tours and long-distance routes with named sections in the district. The broader destination also has a cultural connection to Upper Lusatian carnival: its strongholds in Bautzen District are in Schirgiswalde and Wittichenau.

Discover more destinations: Bernsdorf, Steinigtwolmsdorf, Frankenthal, Elstra, Oßling, Haselbachtal, Schwepnitz, Schmölln-Putzkau.

Back to the broader travel overview: Bautzen District.