Loop Trail 4

DONAU-SCHLAUFE

Loop Trail 4

DONAU-SCHLAUFE

Loop Trail 4

DONAU-SCHLAUFE

marker of the Donau-loopLoop trail 4: Donau-Schlaufe

On the trail through the Danube valley between Weltenburg and the remnants of the Roman Empire 

  • 16,2 km
  • 4,1 hrs.
  • Weltenburg Monastery (starting point on both sides of the Danube)
  • Weltenburg Monastery (starting point on both sides of the Danube)
  • Ascent gradient: 350 m
    Descent gradient: 350 m

This wonderful hiking tour, which runs on level trails for most parts, starts on the side of the Danube opposite of the Monastery of Weltenburg. If you want to end your tour at this very same place we recommend that you make sure that the wooden barges ("Zillen"), which take you across the river in an unconventional way, are still in use. Alternatively you can cross the river by cable ferry at Weltenburg-Stausacker, but please check times for operation (barges and ferries are operating from mid-March until October).

At first the tour follows a road along the Danube directly into the village of Stausacker. Shortly before the church, the trail branches off to the right and a soft ascent leads you out of the village. After a few minutes' walk, the Donau loop takes a bend to the left and follows a field path. From this high ridge there is a unique view of Weltenburg. Through the forest, across a clearing and at last through a hollow trail you reach the village of Haderfleck after two kilometers, and with it the Danube valley again.

After another kilometer along the forest rim, the Limes or St. Jakobs (St. James) pilgrimage trail branches off, where in a few minutes' time you can find the column of Emperor Hadrian and the reconstruction of a Roman watch tower. Further along the Danube shore you reach the cable ferry at Hienheim. It is the muscular power of the ferryman and the current which take you to the Danube's other side at Eining on the nostalgic vehicle. Directly at the ferry landing stage there is a wonderful beer garden which invites you to a well-earned rest.

Then you have to decide whether you want to hike back to the Monastery of Weltenburg or make a detour to the Roman fortress ("Römerkastell") Abusina near Eining. The "Castellum" is only a 15 minutes' walk from the Römer-Schlaufe in a southern direction.

The way back to Weltenburg runs along the Danube shores. Before you reach the Monastery of Weltenburg again, you will pass the first massive Jura rocks. They are the precursors of the grandiose scenery of the "Weltenburger Enge" ("Weltenburg or Danube Gorge"), a nature preserve which was awarded the European diploma.

The Benedictine Monastery of Weltenburg, with its Baroque church built by the Asam brothers and its beer brewery (which is the oldest monastic brewery in the world), belong to the most important cultural and historic sites in the region. In the beer garden of the monastery inn, which is in the monastery courtyard, you can end your hiking tour with the famous prize-winning dark beer ("Barock Dunkel").