Altomünster combines the history of the Bridgettines, art and brewing with walks and hiking trails of varying lengths. This lets you plan according to whether you mainly want to explore exhibitions and local history or go on a longer tour.
Art, Monastery and Brewing History
The Gaudnek Museum displays a diverse collection of paintings, drawings, watercolors, collages, assemblages, objects, sculptures, Scrigraphs and posters. It also features the “Theater in a Suitcase” and an archive of photographs and documents. The collection therefore ranges from works on paper and in image form to objects and sculptures.
The permanent exhibition at the Altomünster Museum traces the history of the Order of the Bridgettines in Europe and its founder, Saint Birgitta of Sweden. A tour of the upper floor explores Altomünster’s heyday during the Baroque period. The Brewery Museum focuses on a different subject: it documents how beer was made in the past. Museum guide Sigi Surek tells the story of brewing, from the raw ingredients and brewing process to beer in the bottle. To arrange a guided tour, please contact the brewery inn.
Garden and Short Cultural Walk
The monastery herb garden lies between the rectory at Birgittenhof 9 and the Birgitten Museum. It covers about 350 m² and is home to around 120 different medicinal and culinary plants, which can be seen throughout the gardening year. The herbs, shrubs and trees are extensively labeled.
The “Art and Culture Around the Klosterberg” walk passes artistic, cultural and architectural attractions. At about 1 km long, taking roughly half an hour and rated easy, it offers a compact way to explore these themes on a stroll.
Hiking Trails and the 7 Monasteries Trail
For a longer hike, the meditative InSichGehen trail leads from Petersberg to Altomünster via fourteen stations. The route is 10 km long, climbs 150 meters and is rated easy. Storm damage is noted at some stations; at the same time, the trail is described as fully accessible.
The Hochweg is an easy 4.5 km hike with views across fields toward Altomünster. The Landschaftsweg, by contrast, is a moderately difficult circular trail of over 7 km with scenic views. You can therefore choose between a shorter, easy route and a longer loop of moderate difficulty.
The middle route of the 7 Monasteries Trail leads to Altomünster and Petersberg near Erdweg. In the market town of Altomünster, the trail passes the Church of St. Alto and St. Birgitta. Altomünster was home to a Bridgettine monastery for centuries. Nearby, the St. Alto Trail also leads to the Alto Spring in the Alto Forest. This moderately difficult hike is 6.5 km long and takes about 2.5 hours.
Discover more destinations: Tandern, Schwabhausen, Hebertshausen, Karlsfeld, Bergkirchen, Markt Indersdorf, Erdweg, Haimhausen.
Back to the main travel overview: Dachau.
