The Upper Bavarian town of Petershausen can be a bit misleading. No, that’s not the right word. How about confusing? No, that won’t work either.
You know what? Let me explain, and hopefully you can come up with the right word…
Suppose you read about the 10th century Petershausen Abbey — oh great, you want to see that while you’re here. Um, you can’t — that’s over in Baden-Württemberg. See? Confusing.
Now you read about this Ochsenweg, a route that was used over and over again for moving cattle. Sounds interesting, right? Yeah, if you were up in like Schleswig-Holstein.
This Petershausen here in the Dachau District in Bavaria has the Oxenweg, another cattle route — but spelled different as not to cause confusion. It was once used as the animals were moved from as far as Transylvania.
Petershausen’s Oxenweg is now all signposted for anyone wishing to hike or bike their way through Upper and Lower Bavaria, as well as the Upper Palatinate.
Whether walking or biking, you absolutely must see the Hohle Linde in Obermarbach. This gnarly, hollowed, creepy tree is the stuff of Halloween tales — and is thought to be somewhere between 300 and 400 years old.
Some of Petershausen’s churches are much older than that — but that’s like comparing apples to cinderblocks. You get the analogy — and you need to get over to the Saints Peter & Paul Church in Asbach (one of Petershausen’s 18 villages), it was built in the 13th century.
Medieval churches can be found throughout out many of Petershausen’s villages. Kollbach’s started out medieval, but St. Martin’s got a Baroque renovation. The ornate art of the Baroque was redone in many churches — like the Frauenkirche, built in 1288. And the St. Laurentius Church from 1315, that’s now got Rococo accents.
Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque — it doesn’t matter. You’ll find this whole layer-cake of religious art and architecture at St. Ulrich’s Church, the Church of St. George, St. Veit’s, and the even the old abandoned Cemetery Chapel.
Well, I’m not confused about Petershausen any longer — hope you aren’t either. ;-)
