Discover Dietramszell: Church Art and Walking Trails

Sacred art, chapels with their own architectural histories, and trails through forests and across high ground define Dietramszell. Churches and historic buildings offer a chance to discover different chapters of the town’s history; the circular trails offer other highlights, leading through woodland or to sweeping views of the mountains and the Alpine foothills. When looking for accommodation, consider whether you mainly want to explore art and architectural history or set aside time for walking tours.

Church Art and Architectural History

Johann Baptist Zimmermann, Franz Xaver Schmädl and Philipp Jakob Rämpl all contributed to the interior decoration of the former monastery church, now the parish church of the Assumption of Mary. The pilgrimage church of St. Leonhard also brings together several notable works of art: the dome fresco is by Christian Wink, while the altars and pulpit are by Philipp Rämpl. According to a traditional account, Rämpl created his largest and finest work there.

At the late Gothic cemetery church of Kreuzbichl, Provost Georg Wagner had a chapel with a tower added on the west side in 1641, dedicated to Our Lady of Einsiedel in Switzerland. The Totenkerker Chapel on the south side of the church has a different history: built in 1666, it was sold to the von Schilcher family in 1826 and serves as the family crypt. The former parish church, now the monastery church of St. Martin, was built in 1717.

Maria Elend and Walking Trails

About one kilometre south of Dietramszell, the pilgrimage church of Maria Elend stands beside a field path in the woods. At the east end is a Baroque wooden gallery, beneath which almost all the surviving votive paintings are now displayed. At the west end, a Rococo altarpiece rises above the altar. The name also has its own traditional history: in the local dialect, “Elend” is pronounced “illat”; it derives from “alilanti” via “elilanti” and means roughly “other land,” “foreign land,” “borderland” or land outside the municipal boundary.

A circular trail in the municipality runs from Dietramszell Monastery via the pilgrimage church of Maria Elend and Zeller Wald to the Green Wayside Shrine. It then follows a forest path past a large gravel pit to the gravel road at Pelletsmühle; from there, the return route descends towards the monastery. The Peretshofener Höhe circular trail leads from St. Leonhard via Großegelsee, Humbach and Steinsberg, across the high ground to Peretshofen. From the high ground, there are sweeping views of the mountains and the Alpine foothills. One trail links the monastery, pilgrimage church and forest; the other passes through several named places on its way to a panoramic viewpoint. Trail conditions may change; check the latest conditions before setting out.

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen as the Wider Destination

Dietramszell is part of the wider destination of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen. Tölzer Land is the tourism brand for all 21 towns and municipalities in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen. The Tölzer Land health climate park includes 37 routes on a network of more than 340 kilometres between Bad Heilbrunn, Bad Tölz, Kochel am See, Wackersberg and Lenggries. The number of routes may change; check the latest information if you plan to use the network.

One specific example in this wider destination is the Loisachweg in Wolfratshausen: this easy walk covers 3.34 kilometres along the Loisach River, passing traces of the rafting trade, the Kastenmühl weir and the rafting landing; the stated walking time is 49 minutes.

Discover more destinations: Hechenberg, Linden, Bichl, Kochel Am See, Gaißach, Sachsenkam, Münsing, Jachenau.

Back to the wider travel overview: Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.