König-Ludwig-Weg, 5. Etappe: Rottenbuch - Prem

The former monastery is left through the southern gate building and then the village. The view sweeps to the Hoher Peißenberg and a little later from a hill above the Schwaigsee to the Ammergau mountains. Shortly afterwards, you reach Wildsteig, a charming village with flower-decorated houses in the middle of a landscape shaped by the Ice Age. After the district of Holz, a remnant moor has been preserved between the moraine walls, and alternating between forest and meadows, the route leads over gentle humps and through lowlands to the Wieskirche World Heritage Site, where there are two inns.

The Wieskirche is the masterpiece of Dominikus Zimmermann, a baroque wonder of light and space. His brother, Johann Baptist Zimmermann, was responsible for the precious furnishings. The name of the church goes back to the "farmer in the meadow" who owned the miraculous image (1730) in the high altar and for which he built a small chapel when he saw it weeping tears. As a result, pilgrimages began, which increased so much that the abbot of Steingaden Monastery commissioned the current church in 1745.

From the Wieskirche, you can also choose the variant via Steingaden, which rejoins the main route at Kühmoossee. At the bus stop, take the direction of Steingaden, cross the Wiesfilz on the "Brettleweg" and walk through the dark Eulenwald forest into a stream valley that leads out to Steingaden, where a fish smokehouse, cheese store and all kinds of regional delicacies welcome you.

The monastery Steingaden was founded (1147) by Duke Welf VI. Many architectural styles can be found in the double-towered, originally Romanesque pillar basilica, ranging from Baroque and Renaissance to modern. Many renowned artists were involved in the magnificent decoration. Valuable frescoes from 1530 with scenes from Guelph history have been preserved in the vestibule. Also worth seeing are the cloister, St. John's Chapel (12th century) next to the gatekeeper's house and the herb garden.

After visiting the monastery church, the route leads out of the village, over a small hump with a magnificent view of the Alpine chain to Urspring and through a beautiful moor (Premer Filz) to Prem. The Lech is followed for a while, then the trail leads over the Halblech and up to Kühmoossee, where you are back on the main route and already on the 5th stage.

Author's tip:

Be sure to visit the monastery garden with labyrinth in Steingaden.

Restaurants
Rottenbuch, Wildsteig, Wies, Steingaden, Prem, Halblech, Buching, Trauchgau

Accommodation Rottenbuch
Camping site at Richterbichl, Solder 1, Tel. 08867/1500
Ferienwohnung Donderer, von-Heeren-Str. 1, Tel. 08867/266
Gästehaus Heiland, Weihanger 34, Tel. 08867/1364
Gästehaus Schratt, Ziegelfeld 4, Tel. 08867/707
Kunstcafe am Tor, Klosterhof 1, Tel. 08867/921040
Landhotel Moosbeck-Alm, Moos 38, Tel. 08867/91200
Gästehaus Bayer, Voglherd 7, Tel. 08867/223
Schellehof, Kreit 6, Tel. 08867/581
Holiday apartment "Gänse-Blümchen", Augustinerstr. 6, Tel. 08867/1570

Accommodation in Wildsteig
Pension Oswald, Riedstraße 21, Tel. 08867/1002
Elisabeth Klein, Unterhäusern 1, Tel. 08867/557
Gasthof "Zum Strauß", Riedstr. 16, Tel. 08867/372
Gasthof "Zur Post", Kirchbergstr. 43, Tel. 08867/221

Accommodation in Steingaden
Bauernhof Scholderhof, Wies 8, Tel. 08862/468
Gasthof Graf, Schongauer Straße 15, Tel. 08862/246
Gasthof Lindenhof, Schongauer Str. 35, Tel. 08862/6011
Karl-Eberth-Haus, Graf-Dürckheim-Str. 10, Tel. 08862/281

Accommodation in Prem
Gästehaus Groß, Kirchplatz 3, Tel. 08862/7679

Equipment:

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 King Ludwig Trail is offered in four variants with 6-9 overnight stays, the LechErlebnisWeg with 6 overnight stays. The package deals with accommodation, luggage transport and hiking maps can be booked at:

• Feuer und Eis Touristik GmbHTM, Südliche Hauptstrasse 33, 83700 Rottach-Egern, Tel. 08022-66364-0, hallo@feuerundeis.de, www.feuer-eis-touristik.de/wanderreise-koenig-ludwig-weg
• Alpenland-Touristik, Postfach 101313, 86833 Landsberg a. Lech, Tel. 08191-308620, Fax 08191-4913, www.alpenlandtouristik.de, info@alpenlandtouristik.de

Further information and links:

Alternatively, we can hike on the 4th stage from Rottenbuch to Trauchgau, and from there on to Füssen. The detailed description of the alternative route can be found here.

Info address

Tourist Information Steingaden, Krankenhausstr. 1, 86989 Steingaden, Tel. 08862/910113, tourist-info@steingaden.de, www.steingaden.de

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