Rieden: Chapel, Churches and Castle Traces

From a Baroque stone motif in a wayside chapel to surviving traces of a castle, Rieden offers tangible points of connection to the town’s history. The churches also tell of different periods of construction: St. George in Altrieden dates from 1427, while the Paul Gerhardt Church was built in 1957.

Chapel and Churches in Rieden

According to the local chronicle, the wayside chapel at Rieden Cemetery was built by Georg Ernstbeck in 1687 and consecrated in 1690. Inside, a Baroque stone motif depicts the Holy Family’s Presentation at the Temple. The chapel’s construction history and artwork make it a distinctive historical feature of Rieden.

St. George in Altrieden is considered Rieden’s oldest church building and features Romanesque architectural elements. The Paul Gerhardt Church adds a much later construction date: located at Paul-Gerhardt-Straße 4, it was built for the Protestant congregation in 1957. The two dates, 1427 and 1957, give a tangible sense of the wide span of this architectural history.

Castle Traces and Hiking Information

Remains of Rieden Castle, the castle site and the ring wall can be found on Schlossberg. The different named features point to more than a single trace of a castle and add another theme to Rieden’s history alongside its religious buildings.

For planning a hike, the “Art Hiking in Hirschwald Nature Park” map is a useful starting point. It is available free of charge from the Rieden market’s tourism office. Ask there about current availability.

Amberg-Sulzbach: Landscapes and Tours

Beyond its local buildings, the wider Amberg-Sulzbach destination offers more nature and culture to explore. The Amberg-Sulzbach region is in Bavaria, between Regensburg and Nuremberg. Its hiking landscape encompasses imposing limestone cliffs, gentle Jurassic hills, extensive forests and charming river valleys.

The routes vary in length and character. The Felsenweg is a 2.7-kilometre hike that takes about 45 minutes: starting in Sackdilling, it leads through the rock labyrinth to the Bauernlöcher caves and an impressive rocky landscape. The Juniper Hiking Trail is one of the most beautiful hiking trails in the Amberg-Sulzbach region. The Erzweg, meanwhile, links sites with a mining tradition spanning more than 1,000 years and passes through cultural and natural landscapes.

The wider Amberg-Sulzbach destination also offers various ways to combine nature and activity. Near Wolfertsfeld, you can try traditional archery on the Bow Vision 3D course. The circular route is about 3 kilometres long and passes through the farm woodland typical of the Upper Palatinate Jura. On the region’s cave hiking trails, entering the caves is prohibited from 1 October to 31 March. For a trip on the water, the Vils is navigable by canoe from Hahnbach; the route passes unmodified stretches of river, castles and historic Amberg.

Culture, Nature Watching and Regional Cuisine

In the wider Amberg-Sulzbach destination, the East Bavarian Mining and Industry Museum at Theuern Cultural Castle is a cultural highlight: it researches and documents mining and industry in eastern Bavaria, keeping their history alive. The nature observation platform at the edge of the wastewater treatment plant’s polishing ponds was also built in Theuern. The adjacent wetlands, with the Vils, oxbow lakes and ponds, serve as a year-round resting and breeding site for local birds and birds migrating from the north.

Kirwan festivals are among the regional traditions of the Amberg-Sulzbach region. Since 2023, they have been part of Bavaria’s intangible cultural heritage; they are celebrated each year in their respective towns and villages, welcoming both visitors and locals. The cuisine also offers a taste of regional customs: many inns regularly host traditional Schlachtschüssel meals. They serve Wurschtsuppn, boiled pork and blood, liver and bratwurst made to their own recipes; dates vary by inn.

Regional brewing includes original Upper Palatinate Zoigl beer, brewed in Erlheim, and hops from the world’s smallest hop-growing region in Illschwang. These hops are used by the Sudhang private brewery in Amberg. So, while Rieden itself focuses on historic buildings, the wider Amberg-Sulzbach destination offers more to discover in its landscapes, culture and flavours.

Discover more destinations: Kastl, Ebermannsdorf, Königstein, Vilseck, Hohenburg, Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Schmidmühlen, Hirschau.

Back to the overview of the wider destination: Amberg-Sulzbach.