Aunham: Church, burial mounds and walks

Aunham offers two distinct cultural points of interest for a stay: the branch church of St. John the Baptist and the burial mound field at the “Aunhamer Spitz.” There are also official walking routes around Bad Birnbach; one of the routes mentioned passes the church at the beginning. If you are looking for a hotel for a trip to Aunham, you can plan around local cultural attractions or a walk. The sections below describe the destinations and the routes mentioned, highlighting their distinctive features.

A branch church with a medieval history

The origins of the branch church of St. John the Baptist date back to the middle of the 12th century. The present-day Late Gothic church dates from the end of the 15th century. The bells also have their own chronology: a small bell believed to date from the 14th century is kept in the church. The bells in the tower date from the 14th and 15th centuries respectively and are among the oldest in the district of Rottal-Inn. To understand the history, it is worth considering the church building and the bells separately: the present-day church was built later than the small bell, which is believed to be older, while the tower bells are also medieval. The branch church thus brings together several different historical points of reference.

The burial mound field at Aunhamer Spitz

At the “Aunhamer Spitz” near Aunham, the burial mound field contains at least 114 burials and is one of the largest in Lower Bavaria. The minimum figure indicates a lower limit while also conveying the scale of the field. Alongside the church’s architectural and bell history, Aunham therefore offers another distinct point of cultural and historical interest. Visitors who include both sites in their travel plans can explore different themes without assigning them a shared period of origin.

Walks around Bad Birnbach

The official walking routes around Bad Birnbach include three routes with published distances and difficulty ratings:

• The easy 5 km walk “06 a. Bad Birnbach – Hügelgräberrunde mit Bella Vista mit Abkürzung” (Burial Mound Loop with Bella Vista and a shortcut).
• The moderate 6.3 km walk “06. Bad Birnbach – Hügelgräberrunde mit Bella Vista” (Burial Mound Loop with Bella Vista).
• The moderate 11.6 km walk “07 a. Bad Birnbach – Große Birnbachrunde mit Bella Vista, Hügelgräber, Holzkapelle” (Great Birnbach Loop with Bella Vista, burial mounds and wooden chapel).

The 5 km route is the shortest and is also rated easy; the two longer walks are rated moderate. You can therefore begin your choice by considering distance and difficulty. The destination authority may update the distance and difficulty information, so check the latest route details before planning your walk. The route “06 a. Bad Birnbach – Hügelgräberrunde mit Bella Vista mit Abkürzung” passes the branch church in Aunham at the beginning. It offers views of the Rottauen and, in favourable Föhn conditions, as far as the Alps. The Alpine views are therefore a weather-dependent feature of this route.

More things to do in Bad Birnbach

Bad Birnbach has an idyllic floodplain landscape and a cycle path. Another option is the meditation trail: it starts at the Artrium and follows a route of about 700 metres through Bad Birnbach’s spa gardens. Its stops offer prompts for reflection, as well as drawings specially created for the trail by Thomas Richter. The Artrium also hosts concerts ranging from classical music to rock ’n’ roll. These examples relate to Bad Birnbach and complement the topics directly connected with Aunham.

Discover more destinations: Karpfham, Bad Griesbach-Therme.

Back to the main travel overview: Bad Griesbach im Rottal.