Burghausen – Castle, Old Town and Lake Wöhrsee

Explore the castle and Old Town

In the Palas of Burghausen Castle, you can visit the medieval living quarters of the dukes of Lower Bavaria at the State Castle Museum. The castle itself is 1,051 metres long—a striking measurement for this building. The Town Museum is devoted to Burghausen’s history and offers another way to discover the town: while the Castle Museum focuses on the ducal living quarters, the Town Museum explores the town’s history.

The listed Old Town is another highlight in its own right. It is considered a model example of the Inn-Salzach style. Its defining features include parapet walls, trench roofs, fire lanes and continuous rows of buildings. Colourful gabled houses with Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo façades line the town square. In the Grüben, a pedestrian zone, a craftspeople’s mile and a venue for culture and cabaret come together: there you’ll find small shops, event stages, cafés and the Street of Fame, dedicated to international jazz legends.

Museums, photography and jazz

Burghausen offers a variety of ways to explore its culture and suit different interests. The House of Photography hosts changing special exhibitions of contemporary photography. If you’re interested in music history, you can take the interactive GPS city tour “Jazz in Burghausen,” which brings the town’s jazz history to life through music and anecdotes about jazz stars. The Grüben and its Street of Fame also celebrate jazz, while the tour offers a dedicated interactive experience.

Burghausen’s museums present their subjects in a modern way, with activity programmes for children and opportunities to interact. If you’re travelling with children, you can take these activities into account when choosing cultural experiences. A museum visit can thus bring together different interests without requiring every family member to explore history and culture in the same way.

Lake Wöhrsee, scenery and walking trails

Burghausen has a 92-hectare protected landscape area with the Herzogsbad and the long, narrow Lake Wöhrsee. In summer, the lake offers opportunities for swimming and boating. When the water freezes, activities include ice skating and Bavarian curling. Walks and jogging routes around the lake add to what’s on offer. Changing conditions make the season relevant when planning your trip: activities on the water differ from those available when it is frozen, while walking and jogging are also options around the lake.

A spring rich in lime and minerals emerges at the Herzogsbad and still flows today. It serves as a Kneipp arm bath and as a place to refresh and invigorate yourself. Two easy routes also offer practical guidance for exploring on foot. The “Enchanting Natural Oases in the Heart of the Town” walking route is 3.1 kilometres long, takes 53 minutes and starts and ends at the car park by the Pulverturm. The Burghausen Panorama Trail starts at the entrance to the castle, is 3.4 kilometres long and takes 1 hour and 45 minutes. The length, stated duration and starting point can help you fit each route into your day.

Practical information and holiday apartments

At the entrance to the Stadtsaal building, centrally located on the town square, there are eleven bike lockers protected from wind and weather where you can store valuables free of charge. A bicycle repair station is next to them. If you’re travelling by bike, you’ll find these facilities at the entrance to the Stadtsaal building.

When looking for a holiday apartment in Burghausen, you can start by considering what would give your trip the character you’re looking for: the castle and local history, architecture, photography and jazz, or activities at Lake Wöhrsee and on the walking trails. If you’d like to combine different interests, you can include cultural experiences and time outdoors in your travel plans. Find more places here: Neuötting, Haiming, Perach, Marktl, Burgkirchen An Der Alz, Emmerting, Altötting, Pleiskirchen.

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