Off to the Landshut Shire

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

To get to the bike rental shop at the Tourist Information in the town hall, walk from the station or take bus line 3 in the direction of Kanalstraße. The bus takes you to the Altstadt bus stop every 20 minutes in just 12 minutes. From here it is only 300 metres to the town hall and the bike rental.

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

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

On the way to the bike rental at the town hall, you will have noticed the Ländtor. Now you can take a look at it at your leisure.

Of the once eight city gates of Landshut, two gate buildings are still preserved. One of them is the Ländtor.

The name comes from the term Lände and refers to the once nearby ship or raft landing. In the Middle Ages, raftsmen from the Isar used to land their goods here with their rafts and zills. The landing stage was a hive of activity.

At that time, the roads overland were unpaved and, depending on the weather, difficult to navigate with carts. Transport on the rivers was faster and safer. And it offered protection from thieves and looters, who tended to lurk on the country roads.

Today, only the outer gate of the Zwinger still stands. Towards the city there was once a higher gate, which was demolished in the 19th century. At that time, the city council was of the opinion that the medieval fortified building narrowed the adjacent theatre street too much. City gates and walls were considered unnecessary at that time and were an obstacle to the expansion of the city.

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

The route now continues southwards. At Dreifaltigkeitsplatz turn left and take your way through small alleys up to Trausnitz Castle.

Until the 16th century, it was Trausnitz Castle that bore the name "Landshut" - protection and shelter for the country and its people - even before the city was founded.

The castle was first mentioned under this name in 1150 and was probably built of wood in the earliest times. 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 that time.

The fact that the castle was called "Trausnitz" in the 16th century was probably intended to ward off all too brazen visitors, because it meant "don't dare".

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

From the 18th century, the castle housed the Electoral Rent Office Registry, later the State Archives for Lower Bavaria. Large parts of the Fürstenbau were destroyed in a devastating fire on 21 October 1961. The castle was subsequently extensively restored and reconstructed.

On a visit today, 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 Staircase of Fools 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 (Chamber of Art and Curiosities), a forerunner of today's museums in the 16th century, gives a clear impression of the understanding of the world at that time, according to which there were even more wonders than for today's sober modern man.

Continue down to the Isar cycle path. On Äußere Münchener Straße you will pass the Zollhaus brewery restaurant. (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 a short distance along the Eching reservoir.

This is the start of the "Mittlere Isarstauseen bird sanctuary", which you will pass through now and later at the Moosburg reservoir.

Both lakes offer the bird world very different living conditions and so very different bird species can be observed here.

Between Moosburg and Eching lies the core area of the "bird sanctuary Mittlere Isarstauseen". 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.

Various walking trails offer exciting birdwatching and other nature observations. The landscape has largely been shaped by man and re-appropriated by nature. The Eching reservoir is characterised by mud and shallow water areas that provide food especially for wading birds.

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 through special artificial nesting sites.

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

The floodplain forests with their fluctuating water levels and dry phases have developed a special flora and fauna. In the protection of the partly impenetrable thicket, not only countless species of small animals and insects live, but also birds of prey, woodpeckers and orioles.

The dams are habitats for heat-loving plants and animals. The dams are gently managed and cared for through grazing.

Even thyme, meadow sage, devil's claw and carthorse 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 option of stopping at the Kämper Bräu beer garden (Isarstraße 10, 85368 Wang, 087617298989, open from 4 pm).

Then continue eastwards over the Isar bridge. Along the banks of the flood channel of the Isar (Flutmulde) and along the banks of Landshut's flood basin you return to Landshut.

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

From here it is not far to the train station and the bike station.