Benedict Trail – tour description for the 248 km tour by bike

Further information on the place of Interest

Altötting  Further information on the place of Interest

Our circular trail’s starting and finishing point is our now stately ‘pope’s linden tree’ planted on Bruder-Konrad-Platz by John Paul II in 1980. A signposted bicycle trail leads some 2km through Gries, a protected nature reserve, to the neighboring town of 

Neuötting Further information on the place of Interest

We now cross the bridge over the Inn and cycle downstream along the north bank through Auwald, passing the village of Perach with its Parish Church Maria Himmelfahrt dating to the 15th c. Riding a total of 16km and passing two bathing lakes we reach

Marktl a. Inn Further information on the place of Interest

Crossing Marktl’s bridge over the River Inn we traverse a section of Burghauser Forest along a historic road, the Alte Poststrasse, that was used on April 25th, 1782 by Pope Pius VI on his way from Vienna to Munich. After 8km we reach 

Hohenwart Further information on the place of Interest

We now continue for 7km along a side road and through the idyllic village of Mehring with its attractive Parish Church St. Martin built in 1445. We then reach

Burghausen Further information on the place of Interest

Starting at the new bridge over the Salzach River at the southern end of the old town, we follow the riverbank 2km to

Raitenhaslach Further information on the place of Interest

We now cycle some 19km west via the hamlets of Stadl and Irlhaid, as well as Plattenberg (with a view over the Salzach valley and the alpine range) and Asten with its 15th c. Maria Himmelfahrt Church to 

Marienberg Further information on the place of Interest

We pass the charming Storchen fountain and leave the town square through its Salzburg/Laufen gate to cycle 14km to Tengling. From there we continue above the lake of Taching and Waging, affording striking views, to 

Tittmoning Further information on the place of Interest

We now leave Waging and head southwest along the road up to St. Leonhard am Wonneberg where we find an interesting former pilgrimage church and to Oberwendling (5km). Here we fork off of the themed cycling route to negotiate a quiet rural road past the hamlets of Töfenreut and Geiersnest some 2km to Lauter. From here we bike only 3km west along the long-distance cycling trail to

Waging a. See Further information on the place of Interest

We resume our ride along the cycling trail for 2km before reaching the town center of

Traunstein Further information on the place of Interest

We now leave Traunstein’s town square and head east, down to the River Traun. From Hallbruck, a former salt trade bridge, we follow a long-distance cycling train via the town district of Bad Empfing 10km to

Chieming Further information on the place of Interest

Those who wish to take a shortcut to Fraueninsel Island, should use the lakeshore trail 9km to Gstadt. We, however, follow our themed cycling trail in the footsteps of the famed composers W. A. Mozart and Michael Haydn through ancient Celtic-Roman farmland via Truchtlaching an der Alz some 8km to

Seeon Further information on the place of Interest

We leave Seeon by biking along the cycling trail toward Chiemsee. We soon reach the village of Pavolding where we view large outdoor sculptures of the artist, Prof. Heinrich Kirchner (1902 – 1984) who resided here. 

Seebruck Further information on the place of Interest

Biking 17km over some gentle hills via Roitham, Stetten, Gollenshausen, Ed and Breitbrunn we reach 

Gstadt a. Chiemsee Further information on the place of Interest

Leaving Gstadt, we cycle a short ways back to Breitbrunn and then 6km along the cycling trail via Eggstätt through moraine landscapes carved by the ice ages to Eggstätt-Hemhofer Seenplatte☺, a nature preserve, 6km to Höslwang (Parish Church St. Nicolas) and 5km further to 

Amerang Further information on the place of Interest

Heading north along side roads, we cross through Asham, Evenhausen, Hebertsham and Wimpassing some 13km to Altbabensham. Here we turn west, circling Penzinger Lake and stop at the viewpoint from Huberwirt at Kellerberg (6km) from where we sight the ‘pearl on the Inn’ below and cross over the sometimes busy Salzburg road to the Rote Brücke bridge, passing through the richly frescoed bridge gate, into the old town of

Wasserburg Further information on the place of Interest

Leaving the center in the northern section of the river bend we follow Otto-Geigenberger-Weg cycling 2km downstream to cross the big new bridge over the Inn, eastward, towards Odelsham and Würmertsham (3km). Here we encounter the Innradweg ’that follows the river downstream. Our Benedict Trail now follows the European long-distance cycling route to our starting point at Altötting. We now pass through striking moraine landscapes 14km through the hamlets of Rieden, Bergham and Hochleiten down to Au im Wald and along the riverbank to the bridge across the Inn and into the town center of 

Gars Further information on the place of Interest

We bike by the monastery gardens and along the road toward Mühldorf. After 5km, including a short uphill ride and passing below the outlook point ‘Stampfl’ we reach

Kloster Au Further information on the place of Interest

We continue another 5km along the state road toward Mühldorf before arriving at 

Aschau a. Inn Further information on the place of Interest

We follow a signposted cycling trail 2km along a quiet county road down to the Inn dam at Klugham and continue along the trail that hugs the Inn Canal 5km into the outskirts of Waldkraiburg. Going through the district of Pürten, we visit the Pilgrimage Church Maria Himmelfahrt with its sumptuous high altar of 1680 and a ‘beautiful Madonna’ (Salzburg, around 1425), as well as noteworthy wax votive offerings.

Mühldorf Further information on the place of Interest

Alternative: Following the Inn Canal up to the eastern edge of town with its industrial complexes we join the cycling trail through the forested area of Mühldorfer Hart to Ampfing, featuring an industrial showpiece, the ‘Alte Dampfmaschine’ (steam engine), as well as the ‘Grüne Lagune’, Bavaria’s largest natural swimming pool. Passing the Convent of the Salesian Nuns, Zangberg, (Field F1), a castle complex of 1687 with a ‘hall of ancestors’ (Ahnensaal, group tours on request) and Mettenheim – Hart, we continue toward Mühldorf (22km).

Our ‘Benedict Trail’, though, takes us 12km to the Inn River marshes near Rausching and, via Ebing (15th c. Daughter Church of St. Martin with a rococo pulpit), through woodlands to Ecksberg Abbey (today a center for the handicapped) with its attractive Pilgrimage Church of St. Salvator from 1683-1684. We cross Bundesstrasse 12 over a bridge and reach the town district of Altmühldorf with its Parish Church St. Laurentius from about 1500 and featuring major historical artwork and wood sculpture. Another 2km along the road we reach the center of the medieval town on the Inn:

We leave the town square through the Inn Gate (Inntor) and cycle across the right hand side of the bridge, crossing the Inn, turning somewhat towards the right through Lohmühle. Following the course of a stream for 4km we come to Polling with its Parish Church Maria Heimsuchung and after some 2km we come across

Tüßling Further information on the place of Interest

Passing the old 14th c. Pilgrimage Church Heiligenstadt with its baroque décor and its collection of valuable relics, we follow the old pilgrimage trail with its 18th c. Stations of the Cross and the Mornbach stream some 7km back to our starting point, Altötting.

(Total length of the route 224km)