Off to the Landshut Shire

There are 950 parking spaces in the immediate vicinity of the railway station.

You can get to the Tourist Information bike hire centre in the town hall on foot from the train station or by taking bus number 3 towards Kanalstraße. The bus takes you to the Altstadt stop every 20 minutes in just 12 minutes. From here it is only 300 metres to the town hall and the bike hire shop.

If you choose to walk from the main station, you should allow around 25 minutes. You first walk through the lively residential and business district of Luitpoldstraße, then across the Kleine Isar river into the old town. Walk through the picturesque Hauptwachgäßchen to the town hall. There you will find the tourist information centre and e-bike hire, where you have already reserved your bikes online.

In addition to good tourist services, the city of Landshut also offers its guests the opportunity to hire an e-bike at the tourist information centre. The supply is limited to 6 bikes, so visitors should book the bikes via the homepage before starting their excursion.
The tourist information centre also has an e-cargo bike available for hire.
In addition to an identity card, visitors must also bring a bicycle helmet. Child seats are not available.
The batteries are of course charged. However, repairs and technical services cannot be carried out by the Tourist Information Centre.
It is important that the bikes are returned within the opening hours.

You've probably already noticed it on the way to the bike hire shop at the town hall - the Ländtor. Now you can take a look at it at your leisure.

Two of Landshut's eight former town gates have been preserved. One of these is the Ländtor.

The name comes from the term "Lände" and refers to the once nearby ship or raft landing stage. In the Middle Ages, raftsmen from the Isar landed their goods here with their rafts and barges. There was a lot of activity at the landing stage.

The roads over land were unpaved at the time and, depending on the weather, were difficult to navigate with carts. Transport on the rivers was faster and safer. And it offered protection from thieves and looters, who were more likely to lurk on the country lanes.

Today, only the outer gate of the kennel remains. There used to be a higher gate facing the town, which was demolished in the 19th century. At the time, the city council felt that the medieval fortifications narrowed the adjacent Theatre Street too much. City gates and walls were considered unnecessary at the time and stood in the way of the city's expansion.

It was only with intensified historical research, archaeology and the emergence of tourism that some people regretted the fact that historic town walls fell victim to the pickaxe in the 19th century.

The route now continues southwards. At Dreifaltigkeitsplatz, turn left and make your way through small alleyways up to Trausnitz Castle.

Until the 16th century, it was Trausnitz Castle, which bore the name "Landshut" even before the town was founded - guarding and protecting the land and its people.

The castle was first mentioned under this name in 1150 and was probably built of wood in its earliest days. The oldest parts of today's castle building date back to 1204, the year Landshut was founded. Minstrels such as Walter von der Vogelweide and Tannhäuser lived and worked here at this time.

The fact that the castle was called "Trausnitz" in the 16th century was probably intended to ward off overly brazen visitors, as it means: "Don't dare".

The Wittelsbach dynasty lived here until 1530. In 1516, the castle was remodelled into a Renaissance palace. Between 1568 and 1579, William V brought artists and comedians to the castle and built the first Bavarian Hofbräuhaus here in 1573.

From the 18th century, the castle housed the Electoral Rent Office Registry, later the State Archives for Lower Bavaria. A devastating fire on 21 October 1961 destroyed large parts of the princely building. The castle was subsequently extensively restored and rebuilt.

On today's visit, the tour leads through medieval halls, the impressive vaulted hall of the Old Dürnitz and the castle chapel with its sculptural decorations and winged altars. Vaulted cabinets, panelled parlours and the famous Fools' Staircase with its monumental painted scenes from the Italian Commedia dell'arte represent the Renaissance era. The crowning glory of the castle tour is the view of the city from the Söller.

The Kunst- und Wunderkammer, a 16th century forerunner of today's museums, conveys a clear impression of how the world was understood at that time, according to which there were even more marvellous things than for today's sober-modern man.

Continue down to the Isar cycle path. On Äußere Münchener Straße you will pass the Zollhaus brewery pub. (Äußere Münchener Str. 83, 84036 Landshut, Tel. 0871 27552263) It is worth booking a table in advance.

You then cycle along the Isar cycle path to Viecht and along the Eching reservoir.

This is where the "Middle Isar reservoirs bird sanctuary" begins, which you cycle through now and later also at the Moosburg reservoir.

Both lakes offer very different living conditions for birdlife and so a wide variety of bird species can be observed here.

The core area of the "Mittlere Isarstauseen" bird sanctuary lies between Moosburg and Eching. It is one of the most important protected areas for water birds in Bavaria. The entire area is part of the European Natura 2000 network of protected areas.

Exciting bird and other nature observations can be made on various walking trails. The landscape has largely been shaped by man and reappropriated by nature. The Eching reservoir is characterised by silt and shallow water areas, which provide food for wading birds in particular.

The extensive reed beds are good nesting sites for reed dwellers. Great reed warblers, heron species and swallows can be observed here in large numbers. The common tern has been reintroduced thanks to special artificial nesting sites.

The Moosburg reservoir is home to thousands of ducks of various species and coots. They all find food and shelter in the constant water conditions here.

The alluvial forests with their fluctuating water levels and dry phases have developed a special flora and fauna. Not only countless species of small animals and insects live in the protection of the sometimes impenetrable thickets, but also birds of prey, woodpeckers and orioles.

The dams are a habitat for thermophilic plants and animals. The dams are carefully managed and maintained by grazing.

Even thyme, meadow sage, devil's claw and carthusian pink still grow wild here. Butterflies love the numerous wild flowers and herbs, and the sand lizard, which has become rare elsewhere, can also be found here.

In Volksmannsdorf you have the opportunity to stop at the Kämper Bräu beer garden (Isarstraße 10, 85368 Wang, 087617298989, open from 4 pm).

The route then continues eastwards over the Isar bridge. On the banks of the flood channel of the Isar (Flutmulde) and on the banks of the Landshut flood channel, you cycle back to Landshut.

If you want to round off the tour, it is worth stopping off at the Landshuter Hof (Löschebrandstraße 23, 84032 Landshut, Tel. 0871 962720).

From here it is not far to the railway station and the cycle station.