Geretsried can be explored through several distinct themes: city history at the museum, industrial history along the Ways of History and at the bunker ruins, as well as art, religious buildings and moorland. When planning your visit, it is particularly helpful to distinguish between the themed trails and the individual cultural sites. Some of the places mentioned are in Gelting, a district of Geretsried.
City History and Art
The Museum of the City of Geretsried traces the town’s development from the Geretsried estate to the founding of the municipality in 1950. Its scope also includes the horrors of the Nazi regime, the DAG (Dynamit Aktiengesellschaft) and DSC (Deutsche Sprengchemie) armaments factories, as well as flight and expulsion and the expellees’ former homelands. The town’s development and the consequences of the Nazi era are thus presented as distinct aspects of Geretsried’s history in the same museum.
The city gallery on Elbestraße offers around 160 m² of space for art exhibitions, exhibition openings and cultural events. Since the exhibitions change, the gallery offers a different kind of cultural experience from the permanent themes of the city museum. If you want to see a particular exhibition, check the current dates before your visit.
Two Ways of History and a Guided Tour
The northern Way of History in Geretsried is a 10-kilometer circular trail with 27 stations. Its themes include the armaments industry and reconstruction after 1945; images, plans and texts at each station provide information about that location. The Way of History in Gelting is longer, at 14 kilometers, and has 19 stations. It starts at the village square at Wolfratshauser StraĂźe 2 in Gelting. The routes therefore differ both in length and in the number of stations: the Gelting route is longer, while the northern circular trail has more stations.
The “Bunker in the Woods” guided tour explains the history and operations of the Deutsche Sprengchemie plant using the ruins as a reference. Blown-up bunker buildings and underground passages can be found in southern Geretsried. For safety reasons, the passages cannot be entered and are explained during the tour. Check the tour’s availability with the provider in advance.
Buildings and Craftsmanship in Gelting
The Baroque Church of St. Benedict in Gelting was built between 1631 and 1649; an earlier church building in Gelting is documented as far back as 1315. Geretsried is also home to the St. Nicholas Chapel, an octagonal building with a tufa dome dating from the 18th century. Both buildings offer tangible points of reference for exploring local history and different forms of religious architecture.
The historic farrier’s and wainwright’s forge in Gelting is another local craft-related attraction. It opens every year on the second Sunday in September for Open Monument Day. A master blacksmith demonstrates how to work with fire and iron. If you plan to visit on this date, check the event information before setting out.
Moorland and Outdoor Activities
Two sections of the Babenstubener Moors Natura 2000 site lie in the southern part of the Geretsried municipality. The moorland complex extends across the municipal areas of Geretsried, Eurasburg and Königsdorf and is characteristic of the pre-Alpine moraine landscape and particularly valuable. The moorland is therefore a distinct landscape feature alongside the town’s historical and cultural attractions.
The outdoor fitness trail is in the Geretsried municipal forest and is free and open to the public at all times. Another way to include Geretsried in a route is the Way of St. James cycling pilgrimage route, which has passed through the town since March 2025. Karl-Lederer-Platz and St. Peter’s Church are stops on the Passau–Lindau pilgrimage route.
Discover More Destinations
Discover more destinations: Reichersbeuern, Wolfratshausen, Egling, Kochel Am See, Eurasburg, Benediktbeuern, Bad Tölz, Bichl.
Back to the main travel overview: Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.
