Böhmfeld: Church History and the Herb Trail

Böhmfeld can be explored through a variety of themes: a long church history, art at St. Boniface, the Herb Trail and the Way of St. James. The history of the Kotterhof and the Hohle Stein nearby also add distinctive features. When planning your trip, it is worth distinguishing between the town’s enduring historical details and its cultural program, which is currently on hold. Also check the latest dates for guided herb walks.

Historical Traces in Böhmfeld

Böhmfeld is first mentioned in the founding charter of St. Walburg Abbey in Eichstätt, dated 24 July 1035. In it, the town is called “pemminveld,” and the nuns are granted the “possessions already held” by them. The charter links the town’s name to a specific date and an early landholding. Böhmfeld’s first church was built between 1057 and 1059 and dedicated to St. Boniface.

Another chapter in the town’s church history is St. Boniface’s Parish Church. It was built in the 16th century and expanded to its present size in 1793 by Domenico de Salle. De Salle was the last of the famous master builders from Graubünden in the Prince-Bishopric of Eichstätt. The building’s history thus links the church’s origins with a later expansion and the work of a master builder known by name.

Art and Furnishings at St. Boniface

In the Catholic parish church, late Gothic figures stand on early Baroque side altars dating from around 1650: St. John the Evangelist, dated to around 1475, and St. Mary, dated to around 1520. The furnishings therefore bring together works from different periods. A painting marked with the date 1760 depicts a view of Böhmfeld and the patron saints Boniface, Willibald and Walburga. The townscape and the three saints together make up the painting’s subject.

The Herb Trail and the Way of St. James

The Herb Trail runs through Böhmfeld’s northern countryside. Its themes also include the magical associations of herbs. The trail offers a different way to engage with the local landscape than the church history does: here, the focus is on how herbs are interpreted. Guided herb walks are also offered in Böhmfeld. Check the latest dates before your trip.

The Way of St. James also passes through Böhmfeld. A sign by the Catholic church points to the route, which leads from Böhmfeld into the Katzental valley. The sign and the route provide two concrete points of reference: the church in town and the direction of the path. They add another aspect of travelling on foot to the herb-related themes, without implying that the two routes are the same.

Cultural Program and the Hohle Stein

For over 20 years, the Kotterhof in Böhmfeld has been a regionally known cultural center. It has hosted exhibitions, readings, theater, cabaret and concerts. The cultural program is currently on hold. If you would like to include the Kotterhof in your plans, check with the municipality for any updates; the types of events held in the past are not a promise of an ongoing program.

Nearby, between Böhmfeld and Schambach, lies the Hohle Stein, an important Paleolithic cave site in Bavaria. More than 100 years of research there have brought to light numerous objects and tools, as well as bones and traces of mammoths, cave bears and woolly rhinoceroses. The site adds a much older timespan to the history of the area.

More Themes in the Wider Eichstätt Destination

In the wider Eichstätt destination, the Jura Museum offers a focus of its own: the exhibition is devoted mainly to fossils from the Solnhofen Plattenkalk limestone deposits; the museum also displays the original Eichstätt specimen of Archaeopteryx. Eichstätt is also home to Willibaldsburg Castle. Bishop Berthold Burgrave of Zollern had it built in 1355; it served as the bishop’s residence until 1725. Surviving features include walls and bastions, the arsenal, the 63 m-long gate hall and the Gemmingen building with its two towers.

Another distinctive place in Eichstätt is the 1,500 m² bastion garden at Willibaldsburg Castle. The Hortus Eystettensis, destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War, was brought back to life there after 400 years. Visitors can discover many of the garden’s original plant species. These Eichstätt attractions complement a visit to Böhmfeld, but they are separate destinations, not features of the town itself.

Discover more destinations: Mindelstetten, Wellheim, Kipfenberg, Pförring, Titting, Mörnsheim, Dollnstein, Nassenfels

Back to the wider travel guide: Eichstätt.