On the trail of the pilgrims

From the station, walk one and a half kilometres to Hotel Mühldorf. First follow Bahnhofstraße, then Bahnhofsfußweg southwards until you reach Stadtplatz street.

Depending on availability, Hotel Mühldorf offers to rent e-bikes, and a children's e-bike is also available for rent.
However, you should enquire in advance by phone or email whether rental bikes are available and should register for the rental.

Now start the ride to Altötting, which leads along the banks of the Inn for long stretches. At the height of Winhöring you will pass the Silbersee. In the summer months, the lake is popular for swimming and its shores for sunbathing.

At Neuötting you cross the Inn and cycle along the Prälatenweg, a nature discovery trail, along the Mörnbach into Altötting. At the end of the Prälatenweg, you come directly to the Papal Basilica of St. Anna.

With a length of 83 metres, a height of 24 metres and a vault width of 27 metres, the Basilica of St. Anna is one of the largest churches built in Germany in the 20th century. 8,000 people can be seated in the church. In 1913, one year after it was consecrated, Pope Pius X granted it the rank of a papal basilica. Visitors therefore see the coat of arms of the current pope above the portal.
Such a large church had become necessary because the number of pilgrims was increasing. There had already been plans for a large church building in Altötting in the 17th century. With the connection to the railway network at the end of the 19th century, even more people flocked to the place in the hope of finding spiritual answers to their respective questions of life.

The architect Johann Baptist Schott designed the church around 1909 in neo-baroque style.
The 12 side altars and the magnificent high altar are considered to be culturally special. The altarpiece is by Leonard Thoma, a Munich artist. It shows Saint Anne with the still youthful Mary. The ornate gable of the entrance façade rises three storeys. The sculptures on the lower level show the ancestors of Christ, but the highest point is decorated with a relief painting of St. Anne, Mary and the infant Jesus.

Just a few steps away from the basilica, you enter Altötting's Kapellplatz and approach the sites that pilgrims still visit today. But first you will learn everything about the legendary miracles of this place and the history of pilgrimages to Altötting in the diorama show.

The big world in miniature. As a visitor, you stand in front of it in amazement, like a giant and a time traveller at the same time. Scenes from Altötting's 500-year history of pilgrimage open up in vivid vividness. After the first miracle of the Virgin Mary in the 15th century, there were other events that were interpreted as expressions of special divine grace and are shown here in the diorama. The history of the pilgrimage itself, rituals and highlights with religious practice are also staged here.

22 spatial pictures, painted in colour, modelled from clay and other materials and illuminated with all depth - these works of art were created by the painter Hans List, the painter and sculptor Reinhold Zellner with his wife Dora in the years 1957-59.
In the film room of the Altöttinger Marienwerk there is a historical treasure of a completely different kind to marvel at: historical films. One of these is the famous Altöttinger Marienfilm from 1950, a documentary film that is probably the most frequently played film of its genre.

In the middle of Kapellenplatz you will find Altötting's historic place of pilgrimage, the Chapel of Grace. According to legend, this is where the first two miracles of Mary took place.

When exactly it was built can no longer be said with certainty. Early parts date back to the 8th to 10th centuries, such as the octagon of the baptistery. The nave and spire were added in the 15th century, the aisle around the octagon in the 16th century and the sacristy in the 17th century.

Altötting's first two miracles of the Virgin Mary are said to have taken place in the Chapel of Grace in the 15th century. A boy who had drowned in the Mörnbach is said to have been brought back to life in the Chapel of Grace. Later, another child who had fallen to his death under a horse-drawn carriage, and according to the legends, came back to life on the altar of the Chapel of Grace under the supplications of his mother.

The chapel is considered a Bavarian national shrine and still attracts pilgrims from Germany and abroad.The image of grace, a black Madonna made of lime wood, probably dating from the 14th century, has been carefully guarded by the local faithful over the centuries.
Pope Benedict XVI laid down his papal ring in front of her, which has now been attached to the sceptre of the Marian figure.

The Kapellplatz offers many more sights. For example, the "House of Pope Benedict XVI - New Treasury and Pilgrimage Museum", which houses a variety of art objects and liturgical equipment as well as a precious 15th century Marian altarpiece, the so-called "Goldene Rössl".

A stop at the "Zeitsprung" restaurant at Burghauser Straße 1 in Altötting is sure to fit in well with your journey through the ages. Your tour will take you along Bahnhofstraße past Burghauser Straße and the Zeitsprung restaurant. It is open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to midnight and on Sundays from 10 am to 10 pm.
For small and large appetites, you can get good home cooking here.

Out of Altötting you first cycle parallel to the railway line. Then follow the Way of the Cross along the Mörnbach stream to reach another place of pilgrimage, Heiligenstatt in Tüßling.

The church village of Heiligenstatt is a district of the market town of Tüßling.
The pilgrimage church of Heiligenstatt is located directly on the pilgrims' path. 650 years ago, on 20 April 1373, the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Lavant-Thal.

Pilgrims venerated a host, a figure of Christ with "living" hair and a relic of the cross, which the lords of Tüßling had once brought with them from the Holy Land. The church's treasure of relics also includes an approximately 70 cm high monstrance made of gold and silver from 1721 and the foot relic of an "innocent child". The relics can be viewed in the side altars. To this day, the church is also the burial place of the owners of Tüßling Castle.

A miracle legend grew up around the said host and ensured a lively influx of pilgrims. In the 14th century, a woman is said to have stolen a host from the church of St. Rupert in Burgkirchen am Wald in order to sell it. On the Easter meadow, however, the host fell to the ground and an angel appeared. The woman then ruefully carried the host back to the church, even three times, but each time the host was back on the Easter meadow, so that a church was finally built here in her honour, the Church of Heiligenstatt.

It is worth taking a look at the beautiful market square of Tüßling and also at Tüßling Castle on your way back. The castle was built between 1581 and 1583 by Johann Veit Graf von Tüßling and still exists in its original form today, with few changes that it underwent in the 18th century.

Via Polling you cycle back to Mühldorf where, after returning your bikes on the way to the station, you can stop for a bite to eat, for example at the Geigerhaus, at Stadtplatz 31, where they serve Bavarian beer and regional food. The Geigerhaus is open Monday to Thursday from 11:30 to 23:00 and Friday to Saturday from 11:30 to 24:00. Sunday is a day of rest.