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Accommodation in the farrier
Stage 1: Passau - Engelhartszell
We start our way in Passau at the so-called "three rivers corner". THREE rivers from THREE directions meet here! Worldwide unique and a fascinating natural spectacle!
At the tip of the Passau peninsula, the so-called Ortspitze, both the Inn and the Ilz flow into the Danube. It is the only place in the world where three rivers coming from three directions come together and flow together into the fourth. The Ilz flows from the north, the Danube from the west and the Inn from the south to Passau. As the Danube river united, they then move further eastwards and is a splendid play of colors.
The three rivers have different colors due to their origin. The water of the Inn is green (this river comes from the Alps), the water of the Danube is blue and the water of the Ilz is black (originates in a moorland). At the confluence, the different colors mix and give off a wonderful play of colors. It is particularly noticeable that the green of the Inn dominates and the water of the Danube seems to push aside.
Why the name Danube and not Inn? The Inn dominates the play of colors, but the Danube carries more water than the Inn for most of the year and the Danube, with a river length of 647 kilometers, is a lot longer than the Inn (510 kilometers in length). Source: https://tourismus.passau.de
We leave this extraordinary peninsula over the Marienbrücke and shortly afterwards - almost unnoticed - we pass the border crossing to Austria! We have thus reached our next country on the long way to Jerusalem. The route now leads in the Sauwald area (a large wooded area in Upper Austria) and brings us up to the Cafe & Restaurant "Blaas" in the municipality of Freinberg. From up here we have a great view back to Passau, the three-river city lies at our feet.
After a break in the cafe, the path leads down to the Danube where we reach the Danube Cycle Path and walk a little parallel to Nibelungenstraße (B130) until we reach the old wooden bridge at Kößlbach with the former Höllmühle inn. Immediately afterwards we turn right and hike uphill via the village of Unteresternberg to Esternberg.
In Easter from Esternberg you pass the “Zum Feldwirt” inn. There you have the opportunity to stop off, to strengthen yourself and, if necessary, to spend the night (the inn is closed on Wednesdays). A few hundred meters after that there is a Spar market on the route where we turn right towards Wetzendorf. The Jerusalem Way continues on a little-used local road via Ruhmansedt through woods and meadows to Vichtenstein.
We walk directly past the privately owned Vichtenstein Castle along the so-called Hamet-Weg towards Engelhartszell. In the village of Karlhütte you reach a clearing and have a good view of the Danube and the Jochenstein power station. From there it is only a few kilometers on the Treppelweg to Engelhartszell. The Trappist monastery "Engelszell" also houses, among other things, a "monastery shop" in which you can buy liqueurs, schnapps and, since recently, special beers that have been brewed there again.
pilgrim accommodation
At this stage there is private pilgrim accommodation in the house of Erika & Matthias Hamminger (Matthias is a pilgrim himself)! They live in the border area to Passau and will pick you up by car between Passau and Engelhartszell and bring you back the next day. Important: Please contact them in good time at +4369912644460 (mobile phone & WhatsApp).
In addition, we recommend this in Engelhartszell Romantic house farriers. The route leads directly to the accommodation, see photo in the text.
Places along the route
Passau - Freinberg - Esternberg - Vichtenstein - Engelhartszell
Pictures
Facts & figures
Useful apps
We recommend the "Mapy.cz" app for use on smartphones and offline navigation.
