Discover Windberg: Monastery, Views and Hiking Trails

Windberg combines a medieval village on a hill with a largely preserved monastery ensemble. Together with hiking trails and paragliding opportunities, this combination defines the village as a place where architectural history meets outdoor activity. This offers different starting points for planning your trip: historic architecture, landscape and activities. If you are looking for accommodation, you can first consider which focus you would like to shape your stay most.

Elevation and panoramic views

The medieval village lies on a hill at an elevation of 420 m and offers panoramic views of the mountains of the Bavarian Forest, the Bogenbach Valley and the Danube plain. Mountains, valley and plain come together in a panorama that characterises Windberg’s landscape as well as its monastery buildings. If you consider the landscape an important part of your trip, the village’s elevation is a concrete point of reference when choosing where to stay.

Bus route 14 operated by Verkehrsgemeinschaft Straubinger-Land runs directly from Straubing to Windberg. Check the current timetable before travelling.

Monastery ensemble and architectural history

In Windberg, other historic buildings are grouped around the 12th-century Romanesque basilica with its Rococo furnishings and the Premonstratensian monastery. The medieval monastery ensemble is largely preserved; it includes the basilica, prelature, courthouse and craftsmen’s house. Construction of Windberg Monastery Church began around 1140 and was completed around 1250 with the construction of the tower. The Romanesque basilica and Rococo furnishings provide two distinct art-historical reference points for understanding the complex.

Holy Cross and the historic Way of the Cross

The Catholic pilgrimage church of Holy Cross, Windberg’s pilgrimage church, lies outside Windberg. Inside the church is a 28-step Holy Staircase, a replica of the staircase in the Palace of Pilate. The Way of the Cross from Windberg to Holy Cross was inaugurated in 1887. The staircase and the historic Way of the Cross add further pilgrimage-related points of interest to the architectural history.

Hiking and paragliding

Windberg has an extensive network of hiking trails, as well as paragliding opportunities and a paragliding school. Hiking and paragliding are different leisure activities that you can weigh up when planning your trip. If you are looking for accommodation in Windberg, your preferred activity can factor into your choice of location alongside the views and architectural heritage.

More to discover in the wider Straubing-Bogen destination

In the wider Straubing-Bogen destination, visitors can explore natural phenomena and the natural sciences through hands-on activities at more than 100 experiment stations at Bayerwald Xperium. The Bogenberg District Museum explores the history of the Bavarian lozenges: from the Counts of Windberg-Bogen and their use by the Wittelsbachs and in the Bavarian state coat of arms, to their role as a symbol of Bavaria.

Bogenberg is one of Bavaria’s oldest Marian pilgrimage sites still active today. Every year at Pentecost, the Holzkirchen candle pilgrimage takes place at the Bogenberg pilgrimage church.

Discover more destinations: Kirchroth, Sankt Englmar, Neukirchen, Konzell, Hunderdorf, Steinach, Wiesenfelden, Schwarzach.

Go to the wider travel overview: Straubing-Bogen.