Jakobsweg Etappe 1aA: Herrsching - Wessobrunn (südlich des Ammersees)

Through the Kiental valley, which is crossed by a stream, you reach Herrsching and walk along the shores of Lake Ammersee via Raisting with its impressive earth station to Dießen (approx. 5 - 5½ hours, 19 km).

From Raisting, there is also a direct route option towards Wessobrunn. Herrsching and its surroundings were already settled by the Celts and Romans before the birth of Christ. Today, the town is located in an eastern bulge of the Ammersee, which is 16 km long, 3 to 5 km wide and up to 81 m deep. The lakeside promenade, on which the pretty Kurparkschlösschen is located to the north of the jetty, is particularly beautiful.

From the jetty, you walk through the town center with its sometimes cute houses, many of which are home to craft businesses, up to Dießen Minster, which is considered one of the most beautiful baroque churches in Bavaria. Dießen dates back to the former counts "Diezzan", who also founded the monastery in 1132. After an eventful history and in the context of baroque changes, Johann Michael Fischer built a new monastery church in 1732 - 39 with perfect lines. Renowned German and Venetian sculptors, plasterers and painters designed the magnificent interior. Dießen was generally a place of artists, for example Car lOrff and Carl Spitzweg lived here.

Today, it is mainly artisans such as glaziers, pewterers and potters who have settled here. The Diessen pottery market, which takes place every year on Ascension Day and attracts many international exhibitors, is well-known far and wide. The path meanders alongside a small stream to the wooded Schatzberg, to the miraculous Mechtildisbrunnen fountain and up to the chapel, which is said to have been built from the ruins of the former castle of the Counts of Dießen-Andechs. Afterwards, a wide view opens up from the heights across the countryside to the high mountains. After dreamy meadows, the trail continues through the Bayerdießen state forest, then with beautiful mountain views up to Haid and down to Wessobrunn, whose monastery produced famous architects and artists.

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