Kröning – Hills and Pottery History

Kröning lies in the Lower Bavarian hills between the Isar and Vils valleys. The relatively sparsely populated, fertile hills define the character of the area; long, narrow strips of woodland follow the edges of the valleys. Small villages, hamlets and isolated farmsteads are scattered throughout Kröning. Visitors who choose the area as a destination will therefore encounter a rural settlement landscape, not just individual historic buildings.

Landscape and the Martinus Way

The Martinus Way includes the 23 km-long HW-32-02 stage from Kröning to Geisenhausen. The stage length and destination are important points to bear in mind when planning your trip. Check the current waymarking before you set out.

Pottery history and Kröning pottery

The blue clay mined in Kröning formed the basis of the pottery industry for which Kröning was once famous. Pottery was a rural craft practised mainly in widely scattered villages, hamlets and isolated farmsteads. Since the 15th century, Kröning pottery had a permanent place in the households of farmers, townspeople and princely electors alike. Its widespread use links the history of the craft to the daily lives of its users at the time and to the rural settlement structure.

Historic architectural styles in the municipality

In the hamlet of Bödldorf, which belongs to the municipality of Kröning, houses 1 to 6 form a protected historic ensemble. The farmhouses, with their old shallow-pitched gable roofs and partly plastered upper floors built using log construction, preserve an unusually intact building tradition. Bödldorf 4 is a listed former potter’s farm dating from the second half of the 18th century. The hamlet also has a small, solidly built chapel with a gable roof and a roof turret, dating from the 18th century.

Kröning 2 is another example of an older rural building style: the listed farmhouse combining living quarters and a stable, part of a three-sided farmstead, dates from the first quarter of the 17th century and is built using log construction with a projecting upper storey. In Kirchberg stands the listed parish church of St Florian and Wolfgang, a hall church with a recessed choir and attached side aisles, dating from the second half of the 15th century. Kirchberg’s settlement is believed to date back to the 8th century; the freestanding church tower probably belonged to an earlier church from the 12th century. The farmhouse combining living quarters and a stable at Froschöd 1 can also be compared with Kröning 2: it is a Mitterstuben-type farmhouse from 1823 with a log-built upper floor and projecting upper storey; Kröning 2 is part of a three-sided farmstead from the first quarter of the 17th century and has log construction with a projecting upper storey.

In Wippstetten, the pilgrimage church was built in the Gothic period and later enlarged in the Baroque style. Its furnishings include a Rococo cabinet for votive offerings, as well as monstrances and chalices. Also in Wippstetten is the listed granary at Kirchenstraße 2, a log-built structure with a shallow-pitched gable roof dating from 1732. Dietelskirchen has an Art Nouveau church. Together, these buildings illustrate different chapters in the architectural history of the municipality.

For the wider travel overview: Gerzen.