Schongau offers several distinct highlights for a stay: its medieval old town sits on a hill, and its well-preserved town walls offer sweeping views of the surrounding countryside. The town also has historic churches and a museum, a fairytale forest, and the Plantsch adventure pool. When planning your visit, you can choose between local history, culture and leisure activities rather than trying to fit everything under a single theme.
Old Town and History
A long section of the town walls has been restored and opened to visitors. Anyone interested in the history of trade will find a tangible connection in the Ballenhaus: in 1405, the Bavarian dukes granted the town permission to establish a goods depot. In 1420, the Ballenhaus was built as a Schranne, a warehouse for goods. The two dates therefore refer to separate steps: first the permit, then the building.
Every Friday from 10 a.m., the Ballenhaus hosts a Weißwurst breakfast with Weißwurst sausages, pretzels and sweet mustard. If you plan to include this regular offering in your visit, check the date in advance. The Schongau Town Museum was founded in 1891 as one of Bavaria’s early local history museums. Among the works on display is the Häringer House Altar from the Hofkapelle chapel in Windkreut, in the municipality of Peißenberg, a work of Bavarian Rococo.
Churches and Changing Nativity Scenes
The parish church of Mariae Himmelfahrt, also known as “Zu Unserer Lieben Frau” (“Our Lady”), is the oldest Christian place of worship on the hill of Schongau’s new town. Since 1988, a year-round nativity scene featuring biblical scenes has been displayed there, with the scenes changing every four to six weeks. The changing scenes themselves are a distinctive feature of a visit to this church.
The building history of the Carmelite monastery is also easy to place in time: the Discalced Carmelites founded a monastery in Schongau in 1719; the monastery and church were then built between 1720 and 1725. The Heilig-Geist-Spitalkirche (Church of the Holy Spirit Hospital) houses a small Baroque organ, whose present form was created in 1725 by Schongau organ builder Ferdinand Stückl.
Plantsch, Fairytale Forest and Lechsee
Plantsch Badespaß und Saunaland is an adventure pool for all ages. The warm-water outdoor wellness pool has a water surface of 219 square metres and is 1.30 metres deep; there is also a white-water current channel. The 90-metre-long tube slide features slide-time measurement as well as sound and lighting effects. These specific features set a pool day apart from an outing focused on local history or churches.
The Schongau Fairytale Forest features depictions and stories from well-known fairytales by the Brothers Grimm; it also offers a forest adventure trail. For a different view of the town and the Lech, take a trip on a historic long-distance trading raft on Schongau’s Lechsee. Along the way, local guides talk about the lives of the raft operators of the past and the Lech’s natural habitat.
Getting There and a Wider Regional Perspective
Schongau railway station is the terminus of the Pfaffenwinkel Railway from Weilheim. Connections to Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen are available via Weilheim; check the timetable when planning your specific journey.
The wider travel destination of Weilheim-Schongau is part of the Pfaffenwinkel travel region. As a distinct regional cultural attraction, the Wieskirche near Steingaden offers a wider perspective: it was built by Dominikus Zimmermann between 1745 and 1754 and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983. Services, summer concerts and quiet contemplation are all on offer there; dates for services and concerts may vary.
Discover more destinations: Eberfing, Raisting, Weilheim In Oberbayern, Huglfing, Oberhausen, Penzberg, Polling, Peißenberg
Back to the wider travel overview: Weilheim-Schongau.
