Open Monument Day in Bavaria: Which destinations are worth visiting on Sunday – Bavaria

Upper Franconia: Fichtelgebirge Museum in Wunsiedel

In Wunsiedel in the Fichtel Mountains, a former hospital has housed the Fichtel Mountains Museum since 1908. On Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., visitors can experience what makes the Fichtel Mountains historically and culturally special in 3,000 square meters and 56 exhibition rooms.

The former hospital was built in the 1450s and has housed a museum since 1908. (Photo: Fichtelgebirge Museum)

The hospital was built in the 1450s by the wealthy Wunsiedler merchant Sigmund Wann, who was known as the Fugger of Upper Franconia. Initially, the hospital served as accommodation for twelve artisans in need, who lived there in a monastery-like community with priests and had to pray every day for the salvation of Sigmund Wann’s soul. In today’s museum, the Black Smoke Kitchen and the Brothers’ Dormitory are reminders of this time.

On Open Monument Day, there is also a photo and camera flea market in the courtyard and the museum café is open. Families and children can take part in a rally around the museum grounds or they can experience the blacksmith’s craft live. Admission is free.

Middle Franconia: Hohenstein Castle in Kirchensittenbach

Hohenstein Castle towers over the Franconian-Upper Palatinate Jura in Kirchensittenbach and, at 634 metres above sea level, is the highest inhabited point in Middle Franconia. Hohenstein Castle cannot be described as a knight’s castle. Since it was probably built in the second half of the 11th century, it has served as an administrative castle and bailiff’s seat.

Hohenstein Castle, the highest inhabited point in Middle Franconia. (Photo: Jürgen Dorner)

Today, the Hohenstein Beautification Association owns the castle and is committed to ensuring that the complex remains accessible to the public. In the spring of 2000, the outer shell of the south wall of the palace collapsed due to frost damage, leaving a 40 square meter hole. A construction road was specially built to repair the damage. This was the only way the required construction crane could be brought to the construction site. Despite all the difficulties, Hohenstein Castle was reopened to visitors in the summer of 2001.

On Open Monument Day, the castle is open to visitors from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. In the upper castle, the beautification association offers tours of the castle’s history and members of the martial arts school demonstrate a historical sword fight followed by a question and answer session. In the lower castle, children and adults can try archery and stroll through the herb garden with local medicinal plants. There are hands-on activities for children at craft stands from the region.

Lower Franconia: Schönau Monastery Church in Gemünden am Main

The Schönau monastery church in Gemünden am Main was built in the Gothic style and rebuilt 500 years later by the Franciscan Minorites in the Baroque style. It has an eventful history and has (almost) always been in fashion.

At the end of the 12th century, the Counts of Rieneck and the Barons of Thüngen had the monastery built. The first order in the monastery were the Cistercian nuns. After just five years, the monastery was closed – there were too few “monastery staff”. For over three centuries, the noble family of Rieneck and other noble families from the surrounding area sent their unmarried daughters to the monastery. The so-called “Nuns’ Path”, which these daughters walked from Rieneck Castle to Schönau Monastery, is a relic from this time.

The Schönau monastery church has undergone many transformations. (Photo: Gerhard Köhler)

In 1564, the monastery was completely abandoned. It was not until 135 years later that the Franciscan order took over the monastery again and carried out the last major reconstruction. Since then, nothing has changed in the style and interior of the church. The monastery, however, was demolished in 1975 and completely rebuilt.

On Sunday, visitors can also take a look into the monks’ choir room, which is otherwise not accessible. The church is open from the service at 10 a.m. Free guided tours are offered at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Upper Bavaria: Memorial Chapel of St. Ludwig in Berg

The St. Ludwig Memorial Chapel is located in the castle park of Berg on Lake Starnberg. The so-called votive chapel was built between 1896 and 1900 in memory of King Ludwig II. He was found dead on the nearby lake shore in 1886. The same artists who had previously worked for King Ludwig on Neuschwanstein Castle near Füssen also built the votive chapel in the Byzantine-Romanesque style.

The St. Ludwig Chapel on Lake Starnberg was built in memory of King Ludwig II. (Photo: Franz Xaver Fuchs)

Today, the Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds (WAF) owns the chapel. On Sundays, visitors can view the votive chapel between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. A 45-minute guided tour begins at 2 p.m. under the motto: “Landmarks – Witnesses to History – A Chapel in Memory of Ludwig II” with art historian Claudia Wagner.

Upper Palatinate: Fronau School Museum in Roding

The old village school of Fronau is located in the middle of the Bavarian Forest. The small wooden log house, also known as the “Waldlerhaus”, was built in 1756. For almost 100 years, children from the village and the surrounding area were taught there in a room measuring around 35 square meters. The inventory: a slate board and massive wooden tables with inkwells.

The “Waldlerhaus”: The former Fronau school was built in 1756. (Photo: Karin Hirschberger)

There was no compulsory education yet, and so the requirements for teachers were very low. Most of the teachers were artisans who had been approved as suitable by the priest of the attached church (from the 12th century and also a listed building). The artisan families also lived in the school at that time, and their bedrooms were in the attic. There was not much money to be made from teaching, so the artisans went about their real jobs. A shoemaker’s workshop from this period is on display in the Waldlerhaus.

Compulsory schooling was introduced in 1805 – it was not until 45 years later that a new school building was built in which children were taught. Between 1850 and 1960, the old village school was privately owned, then bought by the district and renovated in 1981 in accordance with monument protection regulations. The schoolroom, the kitchen, a recreated bedroom, the workshop and the church can be visited on Sundays between 2 and 5 p.m. There is a one-hour guided tour from 2 p.m. Admission and the tour are free. The best way to reach Fronau is via the B16 federal highway via Neubäu.

Swabia: Tram car hall in Augsburg

In 1930, the old tram hall was built, which still stands today in Augsburg-Lechhausen at the “Schlößle” stop. The hall was in operation and the terminus of Gleisdreieck until 1994. Then line 1 was extended in Augsburg and the hall was no longer needed. Since then, the hall has been in a “sleeping beauty” state, says Walter Nusser, chairman of the Friends of the Augsburg Tram Association. The association is renovating the old tram hall and wants to turn it into a museum for local transport.

The old hall has not been used since 1994. An association wants to set up a museum in it. (Photo: Walter Nusser)

There are already old trams from the years 1898 to 1968 and buses that are over 50 years old in the hall. “There are many anecdotes that we can tell about the carriage hall,” says Nusser. Once a carriage drove through the closed gate of the hall because it couldn’t brake in time.

On Sunday, visitors can visit the carriage hall at Blücherstrasse 65 free of charge from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tours cost six euros for adults, three euros for children and last about an hour and a half. There will also be coffee and cake, a souvenir sale and a book flea market.

Lower Bavaria: Rock cellar in Bad Abbach

In the spa town of Bad Abbach, between the Danube and the castle hill, on which the Heinrichsturm tower stands, there is a rock cellar. It can be accessed from a parking lot through a gray retaining wall. It is not possible to date exactly when the 70-meter-long and eight-meter-wide rock cellar was built. What is certain, however, is that it has been used primarily for storing beer since the 18th century. During the Second World War, the underground walls probably also served as a protective bunker and classroom for students. The floor of the cellar is covered with Solnhofen slabs, a natural stone mined in the Franconian Jura.

It is unclear when exactly the rock cellar in Bad Abbach was built. Since the 18th century it has been used for storing beer, for example. (Photo: Tonia Lohr)

On Sunday, the rock cellar will be open to visitors free of charge from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Guided tours will also be offered at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. A visit to the rock cellar can also be combined with a trip to the Heinrich Tower and the archive. This year, there is a very special occasion: it is the 1000th anniversary of the death of Emperor Heinrich. On Saturday, at 7 p.m., there will be a lecture on Emperor Heinrich in the rock cellar (limited space). The art exhibition “Multiple Myths” on the significance of Heinrich will also be on display in the rock cellar on Sunday. Guided tours will also take place in the tower every hour from 12 noon to 4 p.m. A documentary film about the history of Bad Abbach will also be shown at the market church.

If that’s not enough for you, you can be chauffeured to three other monuments in the neighboring town of Dünzling: the old schoolhouse, the Marian column and the Marian grotto. A shuttle bus runs from the Felsenkeller as needed from 11 a.m.

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