Around Bad Wörishofen

There are bicycle parking spaces in the immediate vicinity of Bamberg railway station.

Just a few steps away from Bad Wörishofen railway station, in Rosenstraße, you will find the Osswald bike shop, where you can hire a touring bike with or without an electric drive.

Fahrrad Osswald offers a wide variety of bikes and accessories: new and used, for sale and for hire, for a day, a weekend or a whole week. Of course, there is also a repair workshop, so the touring bikes, which are available in various sizes and with or without electric drive, are always perfectly maintained.

Now you're ready to go! Pass the railway station and head south along Bahnhofstrasse and Hauptstrasse. A short detour to the left gives you a view of the first public men's bathing establishment dating back to 1888. From the main road, turn right into Obere Mühlstraße, which takes you past a small park with an old orchard, natural water treading facility and several works of art. On the southern edge of the town, you may notice the oak grove with the large needles of the Allgäu Hiking Trail, perhaps the forest lake will entice you...

You now cycle southwards through the most beautiful countryside. The Zusam cycle path takes you through Untergammenried, Großried and Baisweil and along signposted cycle paths to Eggenthal. Here you make a short detour up the hill to see the Marien-Seelenkapelle chapel.

The first idea for a chapel on this site came from children. After a plague cemetery was established on the hill in 1628, they built a modest wooden chapel in 1645 with the help of a carpenter. It was to last for three decades and was then replaced by a stone building for the first time in 1683. The current Baroque splendour of the chapel dates from the turn of the 18th century, with the ceiling paintings following half a century later in 1758. The building, which is hidden behind trees, has been a place of pilgrimage and the landmark of the village of Eggenthal since the 17th century.

On the next stage, the route continues southwards and also goes up and down a little. You cycle through Blöcktach and Friesenried and head for the bird nature trail near Aschthal. Treat yourself to a breather near the highest point of your tour with a short, educational walk through the forest.

If you've always wanted to take a closer look at birds, this is the place for you. Lifelike clay replicas can be seen in display cases along this educational trail, making it easier to recognise native birds in the surrounding nature. The information boards along the 4.5 kilometre circular trail tell you more about the individual species.

Native wild bees breed in an insect clay wall, a listening funnel captures the silence of the forest, and the wooden pavilion at the heart of the nature trail is not just an inviting place for a picnic. Here you can look inside bird nesting boxes and observe the family life of the birds without disturbing them. Once they have all fledged, an egg and nest exhibition shows the diversity of nature.

Whether big or small, if you like and have a pen with you, take the bird quiz with you right at the beginning or download it as a pdf file.

Continue along the road towards Oberbeuren. After a few hundred metres, turn left towards Großkemnat. The next nature trail is located on this section of the route. Via Aqua is a themed trail that focuses on the forest and our drinking water.

Does this make you thirsty or are you hungry by now? Then stop off at the Burgstüble café. In the former official residence of Kemnat Castle, you will find a rustic and historic ambience, a beer garden, a hot or cold snack or a slice of cake with the right thirst-quencher or coffee to go with it.

Café Burgstüble
At the Römerturm 15
87600 Kaufbeuren
083419614961

Opening hours: Sun 14.30 - 17.30

The next highlight of your tour is quite literally the Roman tower, which, like the former office building, is also part of the Kemnat castle ruins.

The name "Roman Tower" is misleading. The high medieval keep was not built by the Romans, but by two servants of the Count of Ronsberg with the illustrious names Volkmar and Markward von Apfeltrang.

The tower belongs to Kemnat Castle, built in 1185, one of only a few castles in the Allgäu that were not captured in the Peasants' War of 1525. In addition to the keep and the office building, the castle well located 20 metres to the east is still preserved today and is 24 metres deep. The other buildings of the castle complex were demolished in the 19th century, the dilapidated castle tavern finally in 1978.

The entire region can be seen from the tower. A detailed panorama board provides orientation for the view of the entire Alpine chain from the Karwendel mountains to the Allgäu Alps.

On this stage, you cycle largely downhill and on the Zusam cycle path via Kleinkemnat straight north to Irsee. A monastery church awaits you there, the origins of which date back to the time of the Roman tower you have just visited.

In 1182, the hermits of the hermitage in the Eiberger Forest on the Eiberg initially built a chapel. However, the water supply in the valley was less difficult, and so the Benedictines settled in the valley from 1187, where the Irsee monastery still stands today. On 3 May 1195, Bishop Udalschalk of Augsburg consecrated the newly built church and chapel there, which soon became a popular burial place for the monastery's benefactors.
The medieval basilica was destroyed in 1525 during the Peasants' War, but was rebuilt by 1534. War and plundering took their toll on the region and the monastery. The building's dilapidated church tower collapsed in 1699 and the choir was destroyed. The subsequent building in the Baroque style, which was started immediately, was completed in 1704. A century later, the monastery was dissolved in the course of secularisation and the former monastery church became the Catholic parish church of St. Peter and Paul.

The splendidly decorated baroque monastery church is open to visitors during the day.
It is possible to book a guided tour of the monastery church via the parish office.
Duration of the tour approx. 30 minutes

Before you make your way back, you have the opportunity to fortify yourself in the monastery brewery with the unfiltered, untreated beer that has been brewed here for more than 800 years. The Kolsterbraugasthof also serves Bavarian-Allgäu dishes with ingredients from the brewery's own production and from farmers in the region. Perhaps you would also like to take a look at the beer museum? Irseer Klosterbräu, Klosterring 1-3, 87660 Irsee, tel. 08341 432200, www.irsee.com.

When you are ready for the return journey, cycle down to the Wertach and follow the little river to Schlingen. You can then cycle back to Bad Wörishofen on the Bäderradweg or the Allgäu cycle route.