If you are looking for a hotel in Wels-Land, you can choose your focus based on the excursions you have in mind: moorland trails, the Traun and its floodplains, churches or museums each offer a different experience. The district’s landscape includes gently rolling ridges, small areas of woodland, gravel terraces, floodplain areas and sparsely settled farmland. So a simple question can help you plan: would you like your stay to focus more on routes through the countryside or on cultural sites?
The Traun, floodplain areas and routes through the countryside
The Traun serves as a local recreation area in the district. In the Fischlham floodplain, it has been restored to a more natural state and widened, with newly created side channels supplementing the river. This has created areas for recreation and refuge for people and nature. A system of ponds and pools fed by high groundwater levels has also been preserved there. These details give the floodplain area its own distinctive landscape and ecological character.
For an overview of routes, the region’s excursion and leisure portal provides information on more than 70 hiking and cycling trails with a total length of around 800 kilometres. The Wels-Land circuit connects all 24 municipalities in the district with the city of Wels over a distance of around 160 kilometres. It passes through gently rolling hill country, along rivers and floodplains, and by orchards, historic town centres and cultural sites. You can explore the circuit over several day stages or on individual sections, making it possible to choose between planning a longer tour and selecting specific stretches.
Individual trails also offer different landscape highlights. The Über´s Lahholz zum Moor trail opens up panoramic views from the Totes Gebirge mountains to the Hausruckviertel region. Über`d Moosleitn leads through the moorland and ends at Kurhotel Neydharting. In clear weather, the Hafeldrunde offers views as far as the Salzkammergut mountain range and the Traunstein. If you are hiking the Entenstein trail, you can plan an approximately 300-metre detour to the Entenstein natural monument. Trail conditions can change, so check them before setting out. Further along, the Entenstein trail heads towards Schauertal and the Church of St. George in Schauertal, with its spring. Visitors regularly collect water there for its healing properties.
For a cycling route, consider the Traunradweg R4: it leads towards Stadl-Paura and Lambach, home to its Benedictine abbey, then via Edt bei Lambach back to the Traun and along the river towards Wels. Construction work or detours may temporarily change the route. So check current route information before setting off.
Churches, museums and regional history
The Church of the Holy Trinity in Stadl-Paura was built between 1714 and 1717. Its floor plan uses the Trinity as a symbol: a circle is circumscribed by an equilateral triangle. Another art-historical feature can be found in the parish church of St. Peter in Fischlham. The Fisherman’s Pulpit, installed in 1759, depicts the words of Luke: “At your word I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5). It is one of three fisherman’s pulpits in Upper Austria and is considered a notable art-historical gem.
The Schiffleutmuseum in Stadl-Paura focuses on the transport of salt along the Traun to the Danube. Its exhibits include a five-metre-long model of the navigable canal at the Traun waterfall. The private Angerlehner Museum offers a different focus, with contemporary art and changing exhibitions. Its collection comprises more than 2,500 works, with a particular emphasis on Austrian painting after 1945. The Tempus – Museum of Archaeology spans the period from the Bronze Age to modern times. You will find it at Almeggerstraße 5, close to the market square, the Hackenschmiede open-air museum and the Lambach–Vorchdorf local railway station.
Architecture and event venues also add to the cultural offering. The pilgrimage church of Maria Himmelfahrt in Schauersberg is a late Gothic hall church with a half-embedded tower. The Knights’ Hall on the second floor of Bernau Castle features a splendid wooden ceiling. The hall and its adjoining rooms provide a setting for concerts, readings and other cultural events. Bernau Castle hosts concerts ranging from classical music and jazz to traditional folk music; the individual programmes vary.
The Marchtrenk Peace Trail, established in 2014, commemorates the two world wars and the subsequent reconstruction. Twenty-one display panels featuring contemporary photographs have been installed at 13 prominent locations across the city. This connects the trail with local history, while the panels offer insights into life at the time.
Regional products and getting around
Farm-run Buschenschänken taverns and farm shops are also part of the region’s character: visitors can sample products directly from the producers at numerous establishments. The district’s transport routes are also useful for finding your way around the map. The West Autobahn A1, Welser Autobahn A25, Innkreis Autobahn A8 and Pyhrn Autobahn A9 all run through Wels-Land. The best way to decide which excursions to combine is to consider the places and routes you want to focus on during your stay.
Discover more destinations: Wels, Sattledt, Au an der Traun, WeiĂźkirchen an der Traun, Fischlham, Lambach, Marchtrenk, Thalheim bei Wels, Almegg, Bad Wimsbach-Neydharting, Stadl-Traun, Aichkirchen, Bachmanning, Buchkirchen, Eberstalzell, Edt bei Lambach, Gunskirchen, Holzhausen, Krenglbach, Neukirchen bei Lambach, Offenhausen, Pennewang, Pichl bei Wels, SchleiĂźheim, Sipbachzell.
Go to the overview of the region: Upper Austria.
