Prälaten hike
The "Prälatensteig" passes by the market church, uphill until just before the end of the town. The path goes left between the houses to the Mühlbach. At the level of the abbey, it turns right into the monastery forest to the "Haselmaus" hut. Then on to the "Sausenden Bach", down to the old hammer mill. At the federal road, turn left along the edge of the forest to Engelszell Abbey and to the market town office.
Recommended season:
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- Loop
- Refreshment stops available
- Family friendly
- Cultural/historical value
- Insider tip
The "Prälatensteig" leads from the market town office up the stairs to the market church, which can be visited during the day. Over the cemetery to the street and further uphill until just before the end of the town. The path turns left between the houses and leads along garden fences to the Mühlbach. At the level of Engelszell Abbey, it turns right into the monastery forest and further to the "Haselmaus" hut, which somehow resembles the fairy tale of "Hansel" and "Gretel". The path continues through the forest to the "Sausenden Bach". Here it goes down to the "former" hammer mill. At the federal road, turn left along the edge of the forest to Engelszell Abbey and back to the market town office.Directions:
THE HASELMAUS STORY
In 1955, a violent storm tore a wide path here in this romantically situated part of the monastery forest near Engelszell Abbey.
While processing the wood, the hunter and hobby carpenter Friedrich Bernhofer (born 1920) had the idea, together with his son Friedi (born 1951), to build a small hut here for resting, snacking, and as shelter in bad weather. With much love and skill, a small hut was created from the wood of hazel shrubs.
By chance, during the "construction work," hazel dormice kept appearing. The cute, brownish animals with a long, bushy tail, reminiscent of a miniature squirrel, proved to be very tame. Since they showed no fear of humans, Friedi later took a hazel dormouse home and also to elementary school, where it was enthusiastically admired by his classmates. After a "short vacation" of the hazel dormouse with the Bernhofers, the small forest resident was brought back to its original environment in the Trappist monks' forest.
THE NEWLY ERECTED HUT WAS NAMED AFTER THIS SMALL RODENT AND HAS SINCE CARRIED THE NAME "HASELMAUS". IT THEN BECAME A POPULAR HIKING DESTINATION FOR THE PEOPLE OF ENGELHARTSZELL AND THE MANY SO-CALLED SUMMER GUESTS.
Not only next to the hut, but also inside the small hut itself, hikers found a table with two benches for snacking and resting. Sometimes the monk from Engelszell Abbey probably took a break here, as he regularly had to travel the path day and night to the monastery's power plant at the nearby stream in the village of Saag to manually perform various switchings, which have long since been done automatically.
The fact that the "Haselmaus" was frequently visited was proven by a guestbook with many entries. Opposite the hut on a tree right next to the hiking trail, there was a picture of Mary by the academic painter Käthe Herrmann-Bernhofer, showing the Mother of God surrounded by the animals of the forest. This original picture, the hut, and the resting benches were one day completely destroyed by unknown persons and thrown into the adjacent spruce forest.
Later, a new hut was rebuilt on this site by the forest owner, Engelszell Abbey, which had become very dilapidated over the years. Only on the initiative of private individuals and the association "Culture & Tourism on the Danube" was a renovation phase of the "Haselmaus" and the hiking trail completed in 2021 in agreement with the abbey under the leadership of the very committed trail sponsor Gertrud Schneider.
Tip:The "Prälat" is an ecclesiastical dignitary in the Christian church. The Trappists of Engelszell Abbey, Austria's only Trappist monastery, gave the hiking trail its name. In the monastery shop, Trappist beers and monastery liqueurs are available for purchase!Equipment:
normal hiking equipmentAdditional information:
www.stift-engelszell.at
Paths covering:
further information:
- Circular route
- Board possible
For this purpose diverse opportunities for free and independent exploring and experimenting are offered at different stations.
The stations are suitable for children and adolescents of all ages.
Six sections from the spring to the estuary give an insight and information about the river dynamics, landscape and life by the water with interactive building games.
1. Station: Spring of the Danube
“Here our guests can guess on which underground they are wading.” So: Take off your shoes and go into the fresh water in the traditional “Kneipp” way. Four different types of stones are incorporated into the stream and massage your feet while walking.
2. Station: Alpine mountain river with a storage power station and a barefoot pathway for your senses
“Here mill wheels are integrated into the river stream and during flooding their functionality is tested”
Everyone, who has enough strength and braveness to go onto the walls of the storage power station, can open the floodgates and cause a flooding of the mini Danube. The mill wheels, incorporated into the river stream, are starting to turn. The mineralogical lab “Geologisches Gesteinslabor” presents different types of stones of the Danube region.
3. Station: Natural attraction “Schlögener Schlinge” and run-of-river power plant
“Here you can easily test how passing through the locks functions.”
Small rafts and ships can be guided through self-made floodgates. Easily pictured, the guest understands how the locking of ships functions.
4. Station: River construction in the basin landscape
“Here river builders can design individually the river stream’”
Shovels, rakes, buckets…just everything you need to change the stream of the small river is provided at the cash area. You can design individually which path the water follows through the riverbed. Great fun for children and for the young at heart.
5. Station: Iron Gates
„At the Southern Carpathians the Danube has no choice but to go through the narrow breakthrough valley between Rumania and Serbia."
It gets also narrow for everyone, who dares to go on our balance path! Those, who fall into the water, should better have some clothes for changing. Across the Iron Gates lies the “Donauländer Kinderkreis.” Here all emblems of the ten Danube countries are visualized.
6. Station: Danube Delta, Black Sea, with cable ferry and Huso (sturgeon)
“Here lies the sturgeon species Huso – with a length of 9 metres especially impressive!”
Nymphs and water spirits, painted by children, welcome guests to the Danube Delta by the Black Sea. Anyone who likes can enjoy the view from the market house. On the other side you can find the “Huso”, which is a wooden and climbable sturgeon. Brave ones dare the passage to the other shore.
“The aliens are coming“
Who are these aliens that mingle with our native flora and fauna and represses them?
How could they spread out and which effects have they on the balance of species? This and many more questions are discussed in the exhibition “The aliens are coming”.
1. Gigantic aquarium with fish of the Danube
Centre piece of our exhibition is our gigantic aquarium. Also the Huso (our sturgeon is 2 metre long!) – the giant of the Danube – and starlets can be experienced closely. While the Huso species doesn’t exist anymore in the Upper Danube valley, the starlet survived in a self-reproduced species.
2. Plants on tour
In the entrance area of the exhibition we present non-native plants (neophytes) whose appearance influenced partly our cultural landscape. Other ones are crop plants whose promotion in turn displaced certain native plants from their natural habitat.
3. Interactive playing areas
Watching – understanding – creating
In “Wassererlebnis mini Danube” the Danube can be experienced at six stations from the spring to the estuary. On the “alien path”, which leads you to the gigantic aquarium, you are challenged by an alien quiz and a fish puzzle!
On 21 April 1854, Princess Elisabeth of Bavaria started her journey to Vienna as the future bride of Emperor Franz Joseph I. A particularly festive reception was prepared for the young Sissi in the border customs office and market of Engelhartszell.
In memory of this event, a café named "Sissi" has now been set up in the former grocer's shop of the Atteneder family with great attention to detail.
Guests at the "Sissi" cafe can expect a variety of breakfasts, hot dishes at lunchtime, homemade pastries, wines from Hebenstreit, Engelszell monastery liqueurs and Trappist beers.
We gladly make you an individual offer for your safe parking space in Engelhartszell!
Do not hesitate to send us your request.
The EuroVelo 1 cycle path goes through four municipalities of the Sauwald region: Esternberg, Vichtenstein, Engelhartszell and Waldkirchen. Information brochures for the Danube Cyle Path are available at WGD Donau Oberösterreich (Tel. +43 (0) 732 7277 800) or the market town Engelhartszell (Tel. +43 (0) 7717 805511). Recommendations for half-day or day trips with different cycling opportunities are given by the market town Engelhartszell.
Whether in the shadow of the mighty abbey church or in the historic abbey cellar. You are sure to find a pleasant place where you can savour the abbey's own liqueurs and home-brewed beers. Of course, we also offer desserts and snacks as refreshments in between. The adjoining shop at the Stiftspforte invites you to browse and shop.
With our ferry service you have the possibility to get to know both sides of the Danube Cycle Path. Make a short Danube ferry tour with us and enjoy your bicycle tour on the other side of the cycle path in the direction to Vienna.
With our bike ferry service, you can easily get to know both sides of the Danube Cycle Path. Ride with us to the other bank of the Danube and enjoy your further cycle tour on the Danube Cycle Path in the direction of Vienna or in the direction of Passau! We also have the "Überfuhrhaus": Here we offer our guests: drinks, ice cream, coffee, homemade cakes and tarts as well as small snacks. There are also souvenirs, flowers and decorations!
In our cozy and stylish restaurant, we delight your palate and your eyes with classics - freshly prepared with seasonal, regional products - from Austrian and Persian cuisine.
Das Stift ist das einzige Trappistenkloster Österreichs. Es wurde 1293 gegründet und hat eine sehr wechselvolle Geschichte hinter sich.
Das Stift wurde 1293 durch Bischof Bernhard (Wernhart) von Prambach gegründet und 1295 vom Zisterzienserorden besiedelt. Als Tochterkloster von Stift Wilhering gehörte es damit der Filiation der Primarabtei Morimond an. Die Stiftskirche Engelszell (1754 bis 1764 erbaut) ist eine beeindruckende Kirche im Rokoko-Stil. Sie wird gekrönt von einem 76 m hohen Turm und ist mit sehenswerten Kunstwerken von Johann Georg Üblhör, Joseph Deutschmann und Bartolomeo Altomonte ausgestattet. Heute ist das einzige Trappistenkloster Österreichs bekannt für seine Klosterliköre, den Engelszeller Trappistenkäse und dem neuen Trappistenbier. Seit Frühjahr 2012 wird – einzigartig in Österreich – auch im Stift Engelszell Bier gebraut. Die Sorten: Gregorius, Benno und Nivard.
Getting there
from the direction of Linz and Passau on the B 130 Nibelungenstraße, from Schärding on the B 136 Sauwaldstraße
Public Transit
How to get to the Danube region of Upper Austria?
The fast way to your destination – by train, bus, car, ship or plane.
Postbus. www.ooevv.at
Parking
Yes
- Spring
- Summer
- Autumn
Please get in touch for more information.
Lindengasse 9
4040 Linz
Phone +43 732 7277 - 800
Fax machine +43 732 7277 - 804
E-Mail info@donauregion.at
Web www.donauregion.at
Altitude profile - Prälaten hike
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