Walderbach offers several distinct themes for a stay: the history of the former Cistercian monastery, local heritage collections, sacred art and today’s district teaching garden. When planning your visit, you can decide whether exhibitions and architecture, garden culture, or both are more important to you.
Museum and Monastic History
The former monastery buildings in Walderbach now house the Cham District Museum. Its exhibitions explore the history and living conditions of Walderbach Monastery. The local heritage collections have been housed in the Baroque convent building of the former Cistercian monastery on the Regen since 1965. In this way, both the museum’s location and its collections approach monastic history from different perspectives.
On the ground floor of the Walderbach District Museum, the accessible “SchauRaum” hosts changing exhibitions on everyday culture, history and cultural history. Alongside the monastery’s history, the museum therefore also focuses on everyday life and cultural history; exhibitions in the SchauRaum change over time.
Church, Architecture and Art
The former monastery church in Walderbach is a three-aisled hall dating from the 12th century, with significant Romanesque vault paintings. Another art-historical highlight is the former monastery’s banqueting hall: its ceiling painting is by Otto Gebhard and is dated to around 1765/70. The comparison in date takes you from Romanesque church architecture to a ceiling painting created considerably later. Those interested in architectural forms and painting will find two distinct aspects of the monastic heritage here.
The Stations of the Cross in St. Mary and St. Nicholas in Walderbach are dated to 1735. The church also contains a rare depiction of the “Christ of the Shoulder Wound”: Christ is chained in a prison niche, with a wound gaping on his left shoulder. The Stations of the Cross and this depiction offer different points of focus within sacred art.
District Teaching Garden and Prelate’s Garden
The former monastery garden in Walderbach is now the district teaching garden. It is located in the former convent garden of the Cistercian monastery and contains 56 standard-height fruit trees, mostly long-established varieties. For garden enthusiasts, the fruit trees are a distinct attraction alongside the site’s former monastic use: their number and varieties give the garden its particular character.
A visit to Walderbach also includes a stroll through the Prelate’s Garden with its fountain. Garden culture is therefore another point of interest when planning your stay, alongside the collections and architecture.
Concerts and Cycling Route
For 30 years, the former monastery’s banqueting hall has served as an atmospheric venue for the “Festive Concerts in the Baroque Hall” concert series, presented by Cham District and the municipality of Walderbach. If you would like to plan your stay around a concert, check the dates before making your plans.
For cyclists, official Tour 24 is a useful planning option: it follows the Regen Valley Cycle Path and passes through Walderbach. It adds a specific route option to the cultural and garden-related themes. If the tour is important to your stay, check the latest route information in advance.
Discover more destinations: Furth im Wald, Lohberg, Schorndorf, Stamsried, Rötz, Neukirchen Heiligblut, Zell, Schönthal.
For the main travel overview: Cham.
