Bad Kötzting offers a variety of reasons to plan a trip: the annual Kötzting Whitsun Ride, AQACUR Water World, cultural attractions and paths into the countryside. The spa park is the largest park in the Upper Palatinate; the starting point for Bad Kötzting’s hiking trails is the Ludwigstraße car park by the spa park. Exhibitions and theatre offer further highlights, while cycling tours lead into the surrounding region. If you are looking for a hotel in Bad Kötzting, these interests can help guide your travel planning.
The Whitsun Ride, museum and theatre
The Kötzting Whitsun Ride takes place every year on Whit Monday. Around 700 riders travel in prayer through the Zellertal valley to Steinbühl on decorated horses, wearing traditional costumes. The procession is one of Europe’s largest mounted rogation processions and dates back to a vow made in 1412. In 2015, it was included in Bavaria’s state directory of intangible cultural heritage. If you want to visit Bad Kötzting for the Whitsun Ride, you can plan your trip for Whit Monday and check the specific event date.
The Whitsun Ride Museum is located in Bad Kötzting’s fortified church complex. The complex is a late-medieval fortification with a cemetery, church and castle. Through historical objects and an extensive collection of materials, the museum documents the nearly 600-year history of the riders’ pilgrimage, as well as the symbolic Whitsun wedding that follows it. A visit therefore focuses on the history of the pilgrimage and its connection to Whitsun traditions.
The Bad Kötzting Forest Festival Theatre offers a different way to experience culture: literary classics are adapted into Bavarian dialect, bringing them to a wide audience. Dialect theatre is the ongoing format; individual productions and dates are seasonal. If you would like to include a performance in your trip, check the relevant programme and dates.
Swimming and sauna at AQACUR Water World
AQACUR Water World Bad Kötzting has a 25-metre sports pool. It also features a sauna area with vitality, steam, Finnish, herbal, Banja log-cabin and crystal saunas. The facilities described also include a brine steam bath, a graduation tower, a whirlpool, refreshment and foot baths, an ice fountain, a sauna garden, relaxation rooms and a fireplace.
Exhibitions on a range of topics
The “Fascination with the Universe” exhibition spans two floors. Large-format images, films and exhibits take visitors on a journey through the universe. “Satellite Geodesy and Navigation” has a more specific technical focus: the exhibition traces the development of satellite navigation systems from the American NNSS of the 1960s through GPS to the European GALILEO. The subjects are therefore quite distinct: one explores the universe as a whole, while the other focuses on the development of satellite navigation.
Spa park, hiking trails and cycling tours
Bad Kötzting’s spa park is the largest park in the Upper Palatinate. Bad Kötzting’s hiking trails start at the Ludwigstraße car park by the spa park. Information and orientation boards at the starting point provide details about hiking trails and themed routes.
For cycling tours, look beyond the town: the Upper Bavarian Forest Nature Park offers more than 30 routes around Bad Kötzting. Along the way, visitors can get to know the region and its people, as well as its culture and traditions. This complements the hiking trails that start in Bad Kötzting. As route options may change, it is a good idea to check the current selection before setting off on a specific tour.
Discover more destinations
Discover more destinations: Eschlkam, Lohberg, Roding, Gleißenberg, Lam, Waldmünchen, Furth Im Wald, Rötz.
See the main travel overview: Cham.
