Highlights of the Inn-Salzach Region

Altötting 

Located in the appealing alpine uplands between Munich, Passau, Salzburg and not far away from lake Chiemsee, the town of Altötting is the heart of Bavaria. The town has been the spiritual center of Bavaria for more than 1250 years and Germany's most significant pilgrimage town for at least 500 years. 

Every year more than a million pilgrims and tourists come to see the "Black Virgin" in the octogonal Chapel of Grace. Presumably an early Christian baptisery built around 700 AD, the small church is located in the middle of the large chapel square, which is lined with Baroque buildings.

Burghausen

The beautiful boarder town of Burghausen is located between Passau and Salzburg. The town's highlight is the magnificent and completely preserved fortification, which the longest castle of the world (1043m)!

The picturesque old town with its beautiful rows of houses in classical Inn-Salzach style, the quaint town square and the pedestrian precinct "In den Grüben" are ideal for a stroll and to spend some time. The sparkling River Salzach, the castle and the old town with its distinctive roofs and facades create a unique and charming ensemble.

Marktl on River Inn (Marktl am Inn)

Pope Benedict XVI was born in Marktl am Inn. He went to  kindergarten in Tittmoning and it was already back then that he let people know that he wanted to be a cardinal. He attended elementary school in Aschau am Inn, where he received his First Communion. 

Benedict XVI wrote that he was lucky to be born in such close vicinity to Altoetting. The pilgrimages to Altoetting with his parents and siblings are his most beautiful memories. 

It was the Holy Father's affinity with the places of his childhood and youth between the rivers Inn and Salzach that caused the dedication of the Pope Benedict's Path. The path's starting point is the famous linden tree that Pope John Paul II planted in 1980 on Bruder-Konrad-square in Altoetting.

There is much to see along the path: placid landscapes and many sights away from touristic turmoil such as significant churches and monasteries, historic Inn-Salzach towns, neat country villages and farms. The Alpine panorama reaching from Salzkammergut in Austria to the Zugspitze can bee seen from several view points. Formerly a tranquil village, Marktl has experienced an onrush of pilgrims since Josef Ratzinger, Marktl's most famouns son, was elected Pope.

Everybody wants to see his birthplace or follow his trails, which can be done on the Inntal valley bike trail. The market municipality with 2700 inhabitans has its own website with detailed information www.marktl.de.

Its affiliated webshop offers numerous devotional objects of Pope Benedict XVI for visitors and pilgrims.