Altomünster: Art, Monastery History and Trails
Accommodation in Altomünster
Altomünster combines art, monastery history and trails ranging from a short stroll to longer hikes. You can also explore insights into beer production in times gone by and a signposted monastery herb garden. This mix offers different ways to plan a holiday: culture, plants and history can be enjoyed alongside outdoor activities.
St. Alto und St. Brigitta mit den Klostergebäuden in Altomünster.
Photo: GFreihalter via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Art, Religious Orders and Local History
The Gaudnek Museum displays a diverse collection of paintings, drawings, watercolours, collages, assemblages, objects, sculptures, scrigraphs and posters. It also features the “Theatre in a Suitcase” and an archive of photographs and documents. A range of art forms is thus presented alongside photographic and documentary materials.
The Altomünster Museum focuses on something different: its permanent exhibition is devoted to the history of the Order of the Birgittines in Europe and its founder, Saint Birgitta of Sweden. On the upper floor, a tour provides information about Altomünster’s heyday in the Baroque period. Art, the history of the order and local history offer a variety of themes for a culturally focused stay.
Beer History and Monastery Herb Garden
The brewery museum in Altomünster documents beer production in times gone by, adding the history of a craft to the art and monastery themes. For guided visits, contact the brewery inn.
The monastery herb garden is located between the rectory at Birgittenhof 9 and the Birgitten Museum. It covers around 350 m²; over the course of the gardening year, visitors can see around 120 different medicinal and culinary plants. The herbs, shrubs and trees are extensively labelled. The variety of plants and their labels give the garden its own distinct focus alongside the museum themes.
Strolls and Hikes
The “Art and Culture around Klosterberg” stroll passes artistic, cultural and architectural sights. It is about 1 km long, easy and takes approximately half an hour. This makes it clearly distinct in duration from the longer hikes.
The meditative InSichGehen hiking trail leads from Petersberg to Altomünster, passing fourteen stations along the way. It is 10 km long, climbs 150 metres and is rated easy. Some stations have suffered storm damage; the trail itself is fully accessible. The Hochweg is also easy: this 4.5 km route crosses fields and offers a view of Altomünster. The Landschaftsweg is a moderately difficult alternative: a 7 km circular route with scenic views.
Nearby, the moderately difficult St.-Alto-Weg leads to the Alto spring in Altoforst. The hike is 6.5 km long and takes about 2.5 hours. The 7-Klöster-Weg also passes the St. Alto and St. Birgitta monastery church in the market town of Altomünster. Its middle route leads to Altomünster, which was home to a Birgittine monastery for centuries.
Plan Your Stay Around Your Interests
If you want to focus on the museums, the herb garden and the short cultural stroll, you can choose Altomünster as your search location for a holiday apartment. For days spent on longer hikes, the trails offer a range of distances and difficulty levels; the moderately difficult St.-Alto-Weg is another option nearby. This makes it easy to match your preferred pace for the day with the specific routes.
Discover More Destinations
Tandern, Weißling, Bergkirchen, Haimhausen, Hilgertshausen-Tandern, Markt Indersdorf, Odelzhausen, Petershausen
For the higher-level travel overview: Dachau.
