The “Benedict Trail”, designed for cycling tourism, runs for around 250 kilometers along some of the stations in the life of former Pope Benedict XVI through his Bavarian homeland around Marktl and Altötting. However, the cycle path can also serve as a perfect route for motorcyclists on a leisurely day trip.
Distance: 227 kilometers
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/24ThB
“Hey – would you like to bathe in this or put it on?” Andi points to a shelf on Altöttinger Kapellplatz, which also sells frankincense lotion and cream. Next to it, incense is being burned in a bowl and the scent of the oriental tree resin gives me a clear answer: NO – I don’t want to smell like that after all.
But Altötting’s Kapellplatz has a lot more to offer than just incense: for more than 500 years, Altötting has been the most important Marian pilgrimage site in the German-speaking world, with the “Black Mother of God” in the Chapel of Grace being the destination of all pilgrims and pilgrims – and of course ex-Pope Benedict XVI is also part of this group.



However, we are not so much a part of it, but are still amazed at the more than 2,000 votive tablets placed around the Chapel of Grace in gratitude for healing or rescue from extreme hardship. We definitely skip the “penitential walk” with one of the wooden crosses provided for this purpose and prefer to devote ourselves to our actual plan, motorcycling.
We have chosen the “Benediktweg” as a leisurely day tour – and it officially starts at the “Papstlinde” not far from Kapellplatz. With pleasingly little traffic, we steer our bikes in the direction of the Inn, passing the Peracher and Marktler Badesee lakes on the way to the birthplace of the former Holy Father. Of course, this fact is marketed to tourists here, so it’s no surprise that a Pope Benedict Museum has been set up in the house where he was born and a Pope’s stele adorns the market square.



In passing, the visitor also learns that Georg Lankensperger, the inventor of axle steering, was born in the same house. With this newfound knowledge, we continue on our motorcycles towards Burghausen, crossing the Inn again and passing through an extensive wooded area before Burghausen greets us with its extensive facilities of the chemical, refinery and technology companies based there. However, we are clearly more interested in the ascent to the viewpoint on the Austrian side – and also the view of the border town and its main attraction that can be enjoyed from there; at 1,051 meters, the longest castle complex in the world presents itself impressively high above the Salzach.
This border river continues to point the way for us, and we swing along the Austrian side of the river through the low-traffic, but all the more charming bends of the Weilhartsforst. At Tittmoning, we cross back into Bavaria, take a short stroll through the imposingly large town square and pay a brief visit to the much smaller castle. For the route to Waging, we deliberately choose the small and smallest roads.



We are surprised and delighted by the winding alternatives to the “big” state and federal roads.
We zigzag past farms, chapels, churches and shrines, Lake Waginger See offers a fantastic panorama with the mountain range in the background, and we simply enjoy the ride! It doesn’t take long before we reach the next highlight – Lake Chiemsee. There we take a short break at the well-known biker meeting point Kupferschmiede or Roadhouse Chiemsee in Seebruck. Numerous other bikers do the same and the meeting point lives up to its name.



Freshly fortified, we head along the lakeside road to Gstadt, from where we can visit Fraueninsel island by boat. The inns there tempt us with their splendid beer gardens and corresponding culinary offerings, but we turn them down. We prefer to enjoy the ride on our bikes and the view of the picturesque ensemble of Fraueninsel with the dominating monastery building and the Chiemgau Alps in the background.
We almost feel like we’re on a model train set as we continue our journey: Extensive meadows and forests, small neat villages, gently rolling, hilly countryside and all the components interwoven by roads and paths made for motorcyclists. We pass the Seeon monastery and head towards the Inn again. At Gars and its monastery, we cross the river and pass the next sacred building, Au Monastery, on winding roads, which once again shows us where we are: in Catholic Bavaria – and in the footsteps of former Pope Benedict XVI.




We continue to follow the Inn and enjoy the winding route towards the end of our “lap”, which takes us through the narrow old town of Kraiburg and across the golf course of Guttenburg Castle to Tüßling. Here, the imposing castle there shows us the way for the remaining “few meters” to our starting and current end point: Altötting.
Information about the tour
Altötting is located around 90 kilometers east of Munich and around 60 km north of Salzburg. As the pilgrimage and pilgrimage center of Bavaria, the town is also the starting and ending point of the “Benedict Trail”. The bike map is available free of charge from the pilgrimage and tourism office on Kapellplatz. A guided day tour by bike is available from Keep Riding. Bikers who want to stay longer in the region should choose the “Hotel Traumschmiede”. It is located just 10 kilometers from Altötting and is also an ideal starting point for other day tours in the Bavarian-Austrian border region.
Photographer: Alexander Franke