Nine rooms, spanning a vast period of time: Schärding Town Museum takes you through exhibits from the Neolithic period to the present day. In the Old Town, by contrast, you’ll encounter medieval sights and the Baroque Silberzeile, an architectural feature of the Old Town. The Inn floodplains offer another perspective on Schärding. Together, these places and experiences invite you to discover the area’s cultural history, townscape and nature in your own way.
History in the Museum and Old Town
The Town Museum covers prehistoric finds, mills, shipping on the Inn, craft guilds, and Gothic and Baroque woodcarving. Its themes thus range from early finds to crafts and shipping on the Inn. The museum is housed in a former castle complex. In 1966, a total of 50 houses in Schärding’s Old Town were placed under heritage protection. Medieval sights include the castle, the castle gate, the Water Gate, and the Linz and Passau gates. The Baroque Silberzeile is an architectural feature of the Old Town.
Guided tours of the Baroque Old Town take you to churches, townhouses and fountains. This lets you view these buildings as part of a tour, rather than discovering each sight on its own. Check bookings and dates for tours before your trip. A night watchman’s tour leads through the Old Town’s dark lanes at night and tells stories of historical night watchmen, notable events and figures from Schärding’s past. Dates are also scheduled for these tours, so check them in advance.
Art and changing exhibitions
Schärding Castle Gallery has three exhibition rooms for a variety of exhibitions by artists. Unlike the Town Museum’s broad historical scope, what the gallery offers changes with its exhibitions. The gallery also provides space for the interplay of music, visual art, literature and science. Visitors interested in different forms of artistic expression will find another cultural focal point of the town here. As exhibition content changes, it’s worth checking the current programme before your visit.
The Inn floodplains and their nature
The Inn floodplains within Schärding cover around six hectares and have been designated a nature reserve since 2018. The habitats found there include bodies of water; rare fish species, amphibians, numerous bird species and beavers are also mentioned. The presence of individual species may vary depending on the season. The Schärding Inn Floodplains circular hiking trail adds 13 large, informative display panels about the floodplains’ natural environment. This combines a walk along a circular trail with information about the habitats and species described for this area.
Circular trails and experiences on the Inn
The Treasure Hunter Trail has a different focus: this themed circular trail leads through Schärding to historical sights and several viewpoints. While the Schärding Inn Floodplains circular hiking trail explores nature topics with 13 display panels, the Treasure Hunter Trail combines historical themes with viewpoints. The two trails therefore offer different points of focus, without requiring you to allow for a specific walking time.
The river offers its own perspective on the region. Kpt. Schaurecker’s Inn River Cruises offer river experiences between Schärding and Passau, with views of the landscape of the Lower Inn Valley and the history of shipping on the Inn. Timetables are seasonal; check the dates before your trip. The Innviertel Way of St James passes by Schärding. The pilgrimage route is 141 kilometres long and divided into six daily stages. This information places Schärding along a longer pilgrimage route without specifying a particular stage or length of stay.
More things to do and getting here
At the Baumgartner Brewery, the offering includes a brewery tour followed by a beer tasting at the Bierapotheke. Availability may depend on the season or require a reservation; ask about dates in advance. Schärding Municipal Pool has a 1,200 m² water area, a three-metre diving tower, a long spiral slide and a children’s paddling pool. As a seasonal facility, the municipal pool should not be planned as a year-round offering: check opening information before your visit.
For travel by train, Schärding railway station is on the route between Passau and Linz. Regular train services run along the route; a signposted walking path connects the station to the town centre. Check the timetable before departure. This makes it possible to plan the right way to get there for a town visit, nature activities or a guided tour, without prescribing a set itinerary.
Discover more destinations: Vichtenstein, Kopfing im Innkreis, Baroque Town of Schärding, Schardenberg, Zell an der Pram, Sankt Florian am Inn, Waldkirchen am Wesen, Wesenufer, Suben, Wernstein am Inn, Andorf, Engelhartszell, Gumping, Esternberg, Riedau, Freinberg, Altschwendt, Brunnenthal, Diersbach, Dorf an der Pram, Eggerding, Enzenkirchen, Mayrhof, Münzkirchen, Raab, Rainbach im Innkreis, Sankt Aegidi, Sigharting, Sankt Marienkirchen bei Schärding, Sankt Roman, Sankt Willibald, Taufkirchen an der Pram.
For the main travel overview: Upper Austria.
