Discover Mehring: Churches, Trails and Culture

Mehring combines a long ecclesiastical history with trails that offer different focuses. The parish church of St. Martin and the village of Hohenwart offer specific destinations for culture enthusiasts; the Marienwanderweg and the Benediktradweg provide different ways to explore the area.

Church History in Mehring

The present parish church of St. Martin was built in 1445 and extended in the same style in 1965. Mehring is one of the oldest parishes in the Diocese of Passau; the church is dedicated to St. Martin. The construction date and later extension give those interested in architectural history two specific points of reference for tracing the development of church architecture.

Another church is located in Hohenwart, a village within the municipality of Mehring: the subsidiary church of St. Nicholas is a Late Gothic tuff-stone church with a winged altarpiece dating from around 1500. At St. Martin, the recorded construction date and the extension in the same style stand out; at St. Nicholas, it is the combination of tuff stone and an altar that is around five centuries old. The two churches therefore differ not in rank, but in the architectural and decorative details you can focus on.

Walking and Cycling Routes with Different Foci

The Marienwanderweg passes through Mehring and includes a visit to the Late Gothic-Baroque parish church of St. Martin, which dates from the 15th century. This route thus combines a walk through the village with a specific cultural highlight. The Benediktradweg passes through Hohenwart in Mehring and can be combined with the Klosterau Forest Adventure Trail. While a visit to the church is part of the Marienwanderweg, the Benediktradweg offers the aforementioned link with a forest adventure trail. These differences can help you decide whether you would prefer a route connected with a church or a combination of a cycle route and a trail.

Altötting as a Broader Travel Destination

Looking at Altötting as a broader travel destination opens up further topics for planning a trip, which should not be confused with the individual offerings in Mehring. The Altötting district lies along the Inn and Salzach rivers. Its landscape is shaped by a plain about ten kilometres wide, through which the Inn flows and which is bordered to the north and south by lush green hills. Together with the Mühldorf district, the Altötting district forms part of the Inn-Salzach tourism region. Visitor information for the region includes, among other things, cycling and pilgrimage routes, museums and swimming lakes.

Nature reserves also showcase different aspects of this broader travel destination. The internationally significant wetland and nature reserve Unterer Inn, between Haiming and Neuhaus, provides habitat for migrating, overwintering and breeding marsh and water birds. More than 25 different bird species associated with water and wetlands breed there. The Dachlwand on the Inn lies northwest of Marktl and includes parts of the municipalities of Marktl, Erlbach and Perach. The area covers about 206 hectares and was reclassified from a landscape conservation area to a nature reserve in 1986.

Culture and Nature in the Wider Travel Destination

In Altötting, the Basilica of St. Anna is the city’s largest church and accommodates more than 8,000 people. Another historical highlight is the Chapel of Grace: its octagon probably dates from around the year 700 and is believed to be Germany’s oldest centrally planned building. The Golden Steed, made in 1404 in the Parisian court workshops, is housed in the Altötting Treasury. At the Brother Conrad Museum, visitors can see the Old Gate and Brother Conrad’s death cell. These places offer different ways to engage with history: church architecture, architectural history, a work of art and rooms associated with Brother Conrad.

For nature experiences, the Altöttinger Gries has a nature trail with ten interactive stations along a stream. The circular route there is about 1.4 kilometres long. A popular variant of the Inn Cycle Route offers a very different scale of journey: it runs from Neuötting through Altötting and the extensive Ötting Forest to the ducal town of Burghausen, then continues past the confluence of the Inn and Salzach rivers to Marktl. The section in the Inn-Salzach region is just over 75 kilometres long. Before setting out, check for any current diversions.

Waterfront and castle destinations also add to the selection in the broader travel destination of Altötting. Perach bathing lake is one of the swimming lakes listed by the Altötting district; check the facilities and conditions before your visit. Burghausen Castle is 1,051 metres long and has six courtyards. There is a considerable difference between the approximately 1.4-kilometre circular route in the Altöttinger Gries and the regional section of the Inn Cycle Route, which is just over 75 kilometres long. This is a useful guide when considering different kinds of excursions for your trip.

For the broader travel overview: Emmerting.