Feldkirchen: Castle Loop Trail

Description:

INTERESTING POINTS ALONG THE WAY:

Legendary cultural life:

• Castles 


• Kneipp herb garden

Nature (t)space & movement:

• 4 Feldkirchen bathing lakes


• Motor park


• Pesenbach Valley

 

SPIRITUAL HIKING ON THE DONAUSTEIG:

BAD MÜHLACKEN

Once again we meet the Sisters of Mary of Mount Carmel, who run the traditional Kneipp spa, on the Donausteig. They are people who put their lives at the service of following Jesus.

The dynamic of withdrawing and committing oneself out of a listening heart is their guiding principle. According to the motto "Let the soul breathe", they offer therapies to bring life back into order and to feel new vitality.

Their motto is to revitalise the body, calm the mind and nourish the soul. They rely on their spirituality and on the five pillars of Sebastian Kneipp's health teachings, thus coining the term "holistic health holiday".

There is the possibility of living in the monastery as a guest:"Time out for yourself, let go and draw new strength".

On the hike on the Schlösserrunde (Castle Circuit) I trace the living in me, let the great Danube stream, the refreshing Feldkirchen bathing lakes, the babbling of the brook in the Pesenbach valley, quiet forest paths, lush meadows, the monastery herb garden in Bad Mühlacken have an effect on me.

 

Directions:
From the starting place in Oberlandshaag we hike downstream towards Unterlandshaag. We walk under the Danube bridge to Aschach (We take a right turn at the bike information point, bike storage.) and hike past farms and houses. From there we continue straight until we take a left turn at the last farm house. Before we get to Feldkirchen we take a left turn and follow the country lane to Bergheim Castle, where the Agricultural Technical College is accommodated (attention: school in operation, the castle can only be visited from the outside).  From there we hike into the centre of Feldkirchen. We cross the village and keep the direction. Before we get to the Danube the trail makes a left-hand bend and leads to the bathing lakes of Feldkirchen. These are five artificial lakes with a total surface of 630,000m². The water of the lakes is ground water of the Danube. Sports activities: swimming including nudist area, fishing, surfing, water skiing, diving; there is also a campsite. After the lake on which one can enjoy water skiing, we take a left turn and follow the trail until we leave the lakes on the road. We keep to the right and pass the golf course. After passing another lake we take a left turn towards Mühldorf. Once more we meet the golf course area before we get to Mühldorf Castle. From Mühldorf Castle we hike to Pesenbach (Pesenbach Castle is privately owned and can only be visited from the outside) and cross the village. We cross the federal road and take a left turn towards Bad Mühllacken. From there we hike into Pesenbachtal Nature Reserve. We do not cross the valley completely, but climb down to the left to Prälatensteig Path. We follow Donausteig Trail from there and soon get past Fausschlössl (hotel restaurant) to our starting point.

Tip:
The Kerzenstein is located in the wildly romantic and legendary Pesenbach Valley and is the landmark of the nature reserve.Adventure and action can be found around the 4 Feldkirchen bathing lakes.

Safety guidelines:

ACHTUNG: Kein Winterdienst!

Equipment:
Hiking backpack (incl. rain cover), sturdy shoes

Additional information:

 Feldkirchen an der Donau Tourist Board
Tel.: 0043(0)7233/7190
Fax: 0043(0)7233/6504
E-mail: tv.feldkirchen.donau@direkt.at
www.feldkirchenanderdonau.at