Discover Saal a.d.Donau

Palm Sunday Tradition and Circular Walks

Since 1996, a procession featuring life-size wooden figures has made its way through the town on Palm Sunday. It commemorates the Passion and redemption of Jesus Christ. The procession offers a distinctive insight into Saal’s religious tradition; if you would like to plan your trip around it, be sure to make Palm Sunday a key date in your plans.

The Marterlweg Saal a.d.Donau is a circular route through the town and shady woodland. It passes 14 typical Bavarian field monuments known as Marterln. The wayside shrines in and around Saal have been carefully restored by hand and preserved. The route thus combines exercise with a glimpse of the local tradition of field monuments.

The Saal Walk offers a different historical perspective. It, too, is a cultural and historical circular route, but it leads through Saal an der Donau past historic architectural monuments and cultural sites, from Obersaal through Untersaal and back to the town centre. So, if you are choosing between the two circular routes, one offers Marterln and shady woodland, while the other passes architectural monuments and cultural sites along the way through town.

Plan Your Cycling Routes and Journey

From Saal, you can ride the Danube Cycle Path as well as well-signposted cycling routes towards Abensberg and the Hallertau and into the Altmühltal. These directions can help you plan the focus of your cycling days. When choosing a holiday apartment, you can therefore first consider whether your trip will be shaped primarily by bike rides, circular walks around town, or the Palm Sunday tradition.

Saal an der Donau railway station is on the Regensburg–Ingolstadt railway line.

More to Explore in the Wider Kelheim Destination

The regional landscapes vary across the wider Kelheim destination: the northern part of Kelheim district, including Kelheim, Essing and Riedenburg, lies in the Altmühltal Nature Park. The southern part, including Abensberg, Neustadt an der Donau, Biburg, Rohr i. NB and Mainburg, is part of the Hallertau, considered the world’s largest contiguous hop-growing region.

The Danube Gorge is located in the Weltenburger Enge, Hirschberg and Altmühlleiten nature reserve in Kelheim. There are eleven hiking trails in the Weltenburger Enge. One measured route is a 13-kilometre hike from Essing, via the Tatzlwurm, past the Klausen caves and along the Celtic Wall to the Danube Gorge. A stage of the East Bavarian Way of St. James runs from Kelheim to the Weltenburger Enge. This lets you distinguish between trails in the nature reserve, a specific hike starting in Essing, and a pilgrimage stage starting in Kelheim when planning your trip.

The Danube Cycle Path also connects places across the region: it passes through Weltenburg and Kelheim, where the Old Town and the Befreiungshalle are along the route. Check the latest information on route conditions before setting off. For those interested in culture, the Befreiungshalle is a memorial commissioned by King Ludwig I to commemorate the victorious battles against Napoleon in the Wars of Liberation from 1813 to 1815. Prunn Castle is known as the place where an original manuscript of the Nibelungenlied was found.

The Altmühltal Archaeology Park stretches for 39 kilometres and comprises 18 stations between Kelheim, Essing, Riedenburg and Dietfurt. Most stations are located directly on the Altmühltal Cycle Path; the exhibits cover topics ranging from Neanderthals to the Celts.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Riedenburg, Siegenburg, Volkenschwand, Painten, Ihrlerstein, Wildenberg, Kelheim, Langquaid.

Back to the overview of the wider destination: Kelheim.