Tell me if I did this math right… The Upper Bavarian town of Tacherting is just some fifty square kilometers, comprised of some 108 villages and hamlets. So, that means (on average) that each of Tacherting’s villages is less than a half square kilometer.
That doesn’t, for any stretch of the imagination, mean that you won’t find something to see or do. People have lived here for thousands of years, which explains the Stone Age graves, I guess. However, it was the Middle Ages that saw one of the biggest booms of growth to Tacherting’s hamlets.
One of the earliest buildings is found in Peterskirchen, whose Saints Peter & Paul church got its start in the 700s — today’s building came along some seven centuries later. The St. Alban Church is quite old, too, but it is only from the 1500s.
If anyone ever asked me where to find old churches, I’d have to say right here; because these two aren’t the only ones. Emertsham’s St. Vitus Church was also built in the 15th century, as was the Pfarrkirche Zu unserer lieben Frau (Parish Church of Our Lady), whose onion dome makes it seem much younger. Speaking of younger churches, the St. Anna Chapel had a complete overhaul in 1780, despite having medieval beginnings.
Just because Tacherting has more than a handful of old churches, doesn’t mean it’s too old for a good party. One of the best has to be the annual Wine & Beer Festival every August, while September is the month for the Kartoffelfeuer, or Potato Roast. Fine wine, great beer, and yummy food — no, life doesn’t get any better.
Yes it does, because Tacherting sits right at the foothills of the Alps (not to mention almost one-quarter forest), giving you the best scenery as you’re hiking (or just plain walking or cycling) after a hearty lunch or breakfast.
Tacherting is educational, too. It is home to the Chiemgau School Museum, and has some 3,000 years of history on exhibition at its Heimatmuseum (Local History Museum, Altöttinger Str. 6).
So what if each village averages less than a square kilometer, one trip here and you’ll see Tacherting is anything but average.
