Rattiszell: Pilgrimage, Views and Nature

Rattiszell is best discovered through Pilgramsberg: its pilgrimage history, far-reaching views and nature trail give the place a variety of facets. If you would like to combine culture and nature on a trip, you will find specific themes here that can also be explored independently of one another.

A pilgrimage with a specific origin story

The Marian pilgrimage on Pilgramsberg began in 1839. At the time, Georg Fenzel, a devout farmhand, placed his figure of the Virgin Mary on the high altar. The pilgrimage’s beginnings are therefore associated with a specific person and a particular religious object. October 21 is the feast day of St. Ursula Pilgrimage Church on Pilgramsberg.

Far-reaching views and nature on Pilgramsberg

From Pilgramsberg, the panoramic view stretches across the mountain range of the Bavarian Forest and beyond into the Danube Valley. On clear days, the view reaches as far as the Alps. The Alpine view therefore depends on clear visibility; the other landscape areas mentioned also shape the view from Pilgramsberg.

The Pilgramsberg Nature Experience Trail is about 3 km long and offers insights into local wildlife and plant life at eight stations. An abandoned quarry is also located on the nature trail north of St. Ursula Pilgrimage Church in Pilgramsberg.

More experiences in the wider Straubing-Bogen destination

Beyond Rattiszell, the wider Straubing-Bogen destination is shaped by the Bavarian Forest, the fertile Gäuboden plain and the Danube.

In Wiesenfelden, two trails offer different ways to explore nature. The Kobelberg Nature Experience Trail is about 4.5 km long, has nine stations, is suitable for strollers and is also cleared in winter. The accessible circular trail around Beckenweiher is 2.3 km long and suitable for strollers and wheelchairs. Five information points there, equipped with benches and information boards, provide information about the wildlife and plant life, conservation status and history of the pond. The circular trail also includes a 110 m-long nature observation boardwalk. These two specific trails can therefore be distinguished by their length and the features described.

Cultural attractions offer their own distinctive experiences, too. Bogenberg is one of Bavaria’s oldest Marian pilgrimage sites that is still active today. The Holzkirchen Candle Pilgrimage takes place every year at Pentecost at Bogenberg Pilgrimage Church. The Bogenberg District Museum explores the history of the Bavarian lozenges: from the Counts of Windberg-Bogen and their use by the Wittelsbachs to their place in the Bavarian coat of arms and their role as a symbol of Bavaria. It also presents Bogenberg as Lower Bavaria’s Holy Mountain and as the site of one of Bavaria’s oldest Marian pilgrimages.

The Bogenberg District Museum offers individually tailored guided tours about Bogenberg for groups of 10 or more and school classes. They can also be booked outside opening hours by making an advance booking by phone or in writing. The Bayerwald Xperium offers another way to explore nature and learn: at more than 100 hands-on experiment stations, visitors can learn about natural phenomena and the natural sciences through their own experiments.

If you prefer to take in the landscape and village scenery, Windberg is a medieval village in a charming elevated location at 420 m. From there, panoramic views extend to the mountains of the Bavarian Forest, into the Bogenbach Valley and across the Danube plain. In Bogen, there are also the “Culture Tour,” the “Beer Garden Tour” and “Left and Right of the Danube,” day trips for families with children.

Choose the right focus for your accommodation search

When choosing accommodation in Rattiszell, it helps to have a clear focus for your trip: would you like to concentrate mainly on Pilgramsberg, with its pilgrimage history, views and nature interpretation, or would you also like to consider attractions in the wider Straubing-Bogen destination?

Discover more destinations: Geiselhöring, Steinach, Kirchroth, Ascha, Sankt Englmar, Rattenberg and Haibach.

Go to the wider travel overview: Straubing-Bogen.