Über Brücken gehen

Hike along the Salzach between Ach - Burghausen
The relationship between Bavaria and Austria is characterised by a friendly neighbourhood - two bridges over the border river Salzach connect the two historically and culturally related countries. From Austria, you can enjoy the most beautiful view of the old Bavarian ducal town.

START: ALTE BRÜCKE over the Salzach, which has been the border river between Bavaria and the Innviertel, which became Austrian at the time, since 1779. To the left of the Pachler inn, the path leads relatively steeply up the Salzach slope.

OUTLOOK CHANCEL WITH PANORAMIC VIEWS The effort of the climb to the viewing platform (with kiosk and WC) is rewarded with an unforgettable panoramic view of Burghausen's old town and the world's longest castle towering above it: between the Salzach and the elongated castle, which is divided into individual sections by moats, the town houses are closely packed together, with the church towers of St Jakob and Heilig-Geist rising above them.

GARDENS ON THE RIVER AND A METALLIC HOROSCOPE Back down by the Old Bridge, the path follows the Salzach upstream on the Austrian side. Along the way are metal sculptures of the 12 signs of the zodiac and the small "Gardens by the River", which date back to the transnational State Garden Show in 2004. The cross garden, harvest garden, meditation garden and herb garden in front of Maria Ach church are well-tended and varied.

MARIA ACH WALLISTRY CHURCH WITH FINE STUFF DECOR Behind the gardens rises the Maria Ach pilgrimage church, whose origins are said to go back to an image of the Virgin Mary that washed ashore on the Salzach. The late Gothic church from the first half of the 15th century was baroqueised around 1640 with fine stucco decoration, extended in 1771 and decorated with frescoes by Johann Nepomuk della Croce. Opposite the vicarage is the "Goldbrünnl", which, like the miraculous image in the church, is the destination of pilgrims. The "Goldbrünnl" spring in Wanghausen is already mentioned in the Meier-Helmbrecht epic (around 1270).

WANGHAUSEN CASTLE (Gothic pearl) The four-storey building with a slender gabled roof and pointed arched arcades is now privately owned. From the New Bridge, which leads back to the Bavarian side of the Salzach, you can enjoy a beautiful view of the Gothic Wanghausen Castle, whose gardens were redesigned in the Baroque period.

BRÄU-GARTL AN DER NEUEN BRÜCKE The "Bräu-Gartl", which was only completed in 2012, entices children to rest and play in a seemingly paradisiacal little park with unusual resting and seating areas. SALZLÄNDE The Salzlände riverside road was built in 1971 as part of the flood relief programme for the old town and relieved the pressure on the "Grüben", until then the only north-south traffic route.

RENAISSANCE-PERLE MAUTNERSCHLOSS An eye-catcher on the open space of the Platzl, at the beginning of the "Grüben", is the Renaissance pearl Mautnerschloss, which served the Mautners as an official residence in the 16th century and in which Ludwig Thoma later (1877-1879) lived as a pupil.

IN THE GREENS, THE STREET OF FAME Burghausen has been a centre of jazz since 1970 with the "International Jazz Week" and other events. World-famous musicians who have performed in Burghausen are immortalised on bronze plaques in the pedestrian zone "in den Grüben" - also known as the "Street of Fame". As the cultural and event centre of the old town, but also as a gastronomy and craft mile, the Grüben offer special "Gassenhauer".