Asten lies on a glacial moraine; to the south, the view extends across the Salzach Basin towards the Salzkammergut and the Chiemgau Mountains. South of the village lies the Astner Moos nature reserve, in a large glacial dead-ice depression. Here you can encounter two distinct glacial landscape features: Asten’s moraine setting and the reserve’s depression, with its terminal moraine pond and wetland. The landscape and geology give the surroundings a distinctive character.
Astner Moos and the Glacial Landscape
The terminal moraine pond and surrounding wetland at Astner Moos have been protected since 1987. Pedestrians can access the nature reserve along its edge. It provides habitat and a resting place for birds, including reed warblers and pochards; amphibians, reptiles and dragonflies also find habitat there. The wildlife therefore includes both migratory birds and other groups that use the area as a habitat.
The Ice Age Trail offers a different way to explore the area: as a hiking trail, it provides an opportunity to learn more about the pond and how it formed in connection with the Salzach Glacier. This adds a topic from landscape history to observing the wildlife. If you are interested in how a landform came into being, you can take this focus into account when planning your trip.
Church Art in Asten
The Church of the Assumption of Mary offers another perspective on Asten. It contains two side altars dating from 1662 and a Rococo high altar from 1747, attributed to J. G. Itzlfeldner. The Rococo tabernacle dates from 1765; Gothic features can be found on the sacristy doors and the south portal. The church thus brings together Gothic furnishings, dated altars and Rococo works. The different periods can be traced through specific elements of the interior.
Culture in the Wider Travel Destination of Tittmoning
The wider travel destination of Tittmoning offers its own urban cultural attractions. Tittmoning lies directly on the Salzach and thus on the border with Austria. The 298-metre-long town square is a listed ensemble of buildings; its colourful façades display the region’s characteristic Inn-Salzach style. The almost completely preserved town wall, dating from the mid-13th century, stretches for 1,700 metres around the town centre and Tittmoning Castle. The square and the wall show different aspects of the historic townscape: the façade design and the course of the fortifications around the centre and castle.
The Rupertiwinkel Museum in Tittmoning is housed in 23 historic exhibition rooms with original 17th-century floors and ceilings. It displays prehistoric and early historic finds as well as regional folk art. The collection also includes 130 Tittmoning shooting targets dating from 1600 to 1930. The collections offer different ways to explore the region’s history and culture.
Tittmoning’s seasonal programme includes public guided tours of the castle and the Rupertiwinkel Museum. They take place from 1 May to 3 October, Thursday to Sunday at 2 pm, last about 1.5 hours and do not require registration. Check the dates and times before your visit, as they may change. The historic castle complex has also hosted the two-day Colloredomarkt, a crafts market, every April since 2011. The exact dates and vendors may vary.
Nature and Activities in Tittmoning
The Salzach floodplain near Tittmoning is part of the Natura 2000 site 7744-371 “Salzach and Lower Inn” and belongs to Europe’s Natura 2000 network of protected habitats. In Tittmoning, the floodplain circular trail leads from the flatboat landing through the natural river landscape along the Salzach. Flatboat trips depart from the landing by the Tittmoning Salzach Bridge and travel downstream along the Salzach towards Burghausen. This offers different ways to experience the river landscape in the wider Tittmoning area: on foot along the floodplain trail or downstream aboard a flatboat.
The Tanning Museum, housed in the former stable of the Troadkasten, offers another cultural experience in Tittmoning. It documents the history of tanning in Tittmoning and is designed as an interactive, experimental museum. Visitors learn by handling objects and trying things out for themselves.
For the wider travel overview: Tittmoning.
