Altmannstein: Hiking Trails, Fossils and History

Altmannstein combines hiking routes with a tangible focus on fossils and distinctive traces of local history. In Schamhaupten, within the municipality, visitors can discover fossils and split limestone slabs themselves. There are also various hiking trails, an outdoor pool and historic buildings. This gives you different ways to shape your trip: get out and about, experience nature, go swimming or explore the history of the town.

Hiking trails with different routes

Loop 24 connects Altmannstein with the Altmühltal Panorama Trail. The East Bavarian Way of St. James leads from Kelheim via Weltenburg Abbey to Altmannstein and continues to the Bettbrunn pilgrimage church. The Limes Trail offers another point of reference: its 18-kilometre section runs from Denkendorf to Altmannstein. The three descriptions each emphasize something different—a connection to the panorama trail, a named sequence of places on the Way of St. James, and a section with specified endpoints and distance.

A free guided hike takes place on one Saturday each month. You can get to know the municipality of Altmannstein and its neighbours along the way. As the schedule may change, check the current programme before your trip. This lets you factor the offer into your plans without limiting your outing to a particular tour.

Fossils, water and landscape

The Fossil Quarry is located in Schamhaupten, within the municipality of Altmannstein. Animals and other organisms enclosed in slate and limestone slabs can be discovered there; limestone slabs can also be split using a hammer and chisel. Information boards along the educational fossil trail near the quarry share useful information. Bring a hammer and a flat chisel if you want to work on the slabs: tools are not available to rent on site. Check this information locally again before your visit.

Altmannstein outdoor pool offers a different way to spend time outdoors. Its heated swimming pool has a non-swimmer area and is approximately 50 metres long and 25 metres wide; the water depth ranges from 0.9 to 2.40 metres. Those more interested in the landscape will find a juniper heath on nearby Kreutberg, an excursion destination for nature enthusiasts. Fossils, swimming and the juniper heath appeal to different interests and do not require the same kind of outing.

Hoferhaus, museum and castle ruins

The market museum is housed in the listed Hoferhaus, dating from the 17th or 18th century. Another part of local history is dedicated to the sculptor Ignaz Günther: the market town established the Ignaz Günther Museum in his honour in 1997. The ruins of Altmannstein Castle add another historic landmark, with a well-preserved round keep dating from the early 13th century. Its walls, built of rusticated ashlars, are two metres thick—a specific measurement that gives a sense of the tower’s massive construction. Together, the dates represent different eras: the early 13th-century keep, followed by the 17th- or 18th-century Hoferhaus and the museum’s establishment in 1997.

A distinctive cultural highlight in Eichstätt

The wider destination of Eichstätt has its own focus on fossils and architectural history. The Jura Museum Eichstätt dedicates its exhibition to fossils from the Solnhofen Plattenkalk and displays the original Eichstätt specimen of Archaeopteryx. Willibaldsburg Castle was built in 1355 by Bishop Berthold Burgrave of Zollern and served as the prince-bishops’ residence until 1725. Among the surviving features of the 420-metre-long castle are walls and bastions, the armoury, the 63-metre-long gate hall and the Gemmingen building with its two towers. In the 1,500-square-metre bastion garden, Hortus Eystettensis, destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War, was brought back to life after 400 years; visitors can discover many of the original plant species there.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Mörnsheim, Kipfenberg, Gaimersheim, Titting, Pollenfeld, Denkendorf, Kösching, Mindelstetten.

Back to the main travel overview: Eichstätt.