LechErlebnisWeg, 2. Etappe: Lechmühlen - Schongau

After Mundraching, the path leads through woods and meadows and you reach the Hirschauer Halde nature reserve on charming paths, then over the Lech bridge to Epfach.

A staircase takes you back up to the Lechleite, which the path initially follows. You have a view of the village below, pass a solitary chapel, then a magnificent view opens up of the Lech flowing deep below and the Kinsau barrage, with Reichling perched on the hill in the distance. Through a section of forest and past another chapel, you reach Hohenfurch. Here, an inviting guest garden on the green meadow invites you to take a break from hiking.

The next stop is the chapel of St. Ursula, where the raftsmen once asked for protection for their dangerous work. Enjoy the beautiful view of Hohenfurch and shortly afterwards dive back into the forest. The paths again lead to the edge of the Lech, finally reaching the highest point via a path at Schwalbenstein. Deep below you can see the Lech, with the Hohe Peißenberg and the Alps greeting you in the distance. The trail runs along the edge of the steep slope and finally turns away from it. Forest paths lead out of the forest to a first glimpse of Schongau, before finally descending into the town on a small road. At the Lech bridge, you could continue right along the riverbank, but it is worth visiting the old town on the hill that was once surrounded by the Lech river, especially as the hotels are also located there.

Visit the Abodiacum Museum in Epfach.

The picturesque old town of Schongau with its medieval town wall invites you to linger.

Hiking without luggage

King service - just enjoy, no ballast. Your luggage will be transported to the hotel reserved for you by the tour operator. You can discover the magnificent Bavarian Alpine foothills without a care in the world. The LechErlebnisWeg is offered with 6 overnight stays. The package deals with accommodation, luggage transportation and hiking maps can be booked at:

Alpenland-Touristik, Postfach 101313, 86833 Landsberg a. Lech, Tel. 08191-308620, Fax 08191-4913, www.alpenlandtouristik.de, [email protected]

Restaurants
Epfach, Hohenfurch, Schongau

Accommodation in Hohenfurch
Gasthof Negele, Hauptplatz 2, Tel. 08861/908000

Accommodation in Schongau
Gästehaus Schwarz, Sonnenstraße 28, Tel. 08861/9093340
Hotel "Blaue Traube", Münzstr. 10, Tel. 08861/3060
Hotel Alte Post, Marienplatz 19, Tel. 08861/23200
Hotel Holl, Altenstadter Str. 39, Tel. 08861/23310
Hotel Rössle, Christophstr. 49, Tel. 08861/23050
B&B Gästezimmer im Gästehaus, Bettina Buresch, Gartenweg 43, Tel. 08861/908786

Info addresses
Community of Kinsau, Dorfstr. 9, 86981 Kinsau, Tel. 08869/240, [email protected], www.kinsau.de

Tourist Information Hohenfurch, Hauptplatz 7, 86978 Hohenfurch, Tel. 08861/9081798, [email protected]

www.hohenfurch.de

Tourist Information Schongau, Münzstraße 1 - 3, 86956 Schongau, Tel. 08861/214-181, [email protected], www.schongau.de

After Mundraching, the path leads through woods and meadows and you reach the Hirschauer Halde nature reserve on charming paths, then over the Lech bridge to Epfach. A detour to the "Balcony of Upper Bavaria" or further up to the water reservoir at Reichling is recommended. Here you can enjoy a magnificent panoramic view over the Lech arches in the foothills of the Alps; on clear days, the high mountain range stretches across the entire horizon.

Epfach has been documented since 15 BC. Two Roman milestones and remains of walls can still be seen on the Lorenzberg, which is surrounded by the Lech river and features the Lorenz Chapel. Parts of a Roman well house, the Nymphaeum, have been excavated in the village, and the small Abodiacum Museum contains exhibits from the Roman period in Epfach.

On an ascending road, you leave the village, reach the houses of Forchau and walk along a natural oxbow lake of the Lech, which is populated by a wide variety of water birds. The next village is Kinsau.

Kinsau has settled on post-glacial gravel terraces. The parish church is decorated with Wessobrunn stucco and sculptures by Lorenz Luidl. It was a much-visited pilgrimage church in the 17th and 18th centuries, but lost more and more of its importance after the Wieskirche was built.

A staircase takes you back up to the Lechleite, which the path initially follows. You have a view of the village below, pass a solitary chapel and then enjoy a magnificent view of the Lech flowing deep below and the Kinsau barrage, with Reichling perched on the hill in the distance. Through a section of forest and past another chapel, you reach Hohenfurch. Here, an inviting guest garden on the green meadow invites you to take a break from hiking.

Hohenfurch is located in the area of a particularly "high furrow" that the Lech has dug through the hills of the Alpine foothills. The parish church dates back to the 14th century, but was remodeled in Baroque style. At the rafters' chapel, an information board explains the geological features of the area and the course of the original Lech after the retreat of the Lech glaciers.

The next stop is the chapel of St. Ursula, where the rafters once asked for protection for their dangerous work. You can enjoy the beautiful view of Hohenfurch and shortly afterwards dive back into the forest. The paths again lead to the edge of the Lech, finally reaching the highest point via a path at Schwalbenstein. Deep below, you can see the Lech, with the Hohe Peißenberg and the Alps greeting you in the distance.

The trail runs along the edge of the steep slope and finally turns away from it. Forest paths lead out of the forest to a first glimpse of Schongau, before finally descending into the town on a small road. At the Lech bridge, you could continue right along the riverbank, but it is worth visiting the old town, which is located on the hill that was once surrounded by the Lech river, especially as this is also where the hotels are located.

Schongau, whose origins date back to Roman times, still has a largely preserved and accessible town wall that surrounds the historic center. The medieval townscape is one of the most impressive in the whole of Bavaria. The old town hall, also known as the Ballenhaus, which dates back to 1420, and the late Gothic parish church, which was given a rococo dress according to plans by Dominikus Zimmermann (master builder of the famous Wieskirche), stand out. In between is the Marienplatz square with a pretty fountain and cozy open-air restaurants.

Also worth seeing are the Spitalkirche church and the town museum with archaeological finds from two millennia, exhibits on the town's history and a numismatic collection. Schongau also offers guided tours on various topics.

Hiking map Pfaffenwinkel, scale 1:40,000, HW-Verlag, nominal fee 1 EUR, available from the Pfaffenwinkel tourist office, www.pfaffen-winkel.de