„Hello pilgrims! For the pilgrims’ stamp, you will have to go to the church office,“ shouts a middle-aged man when we enter the small village of Wessobrunn in Bavaria. But no, we are not pilgrims on the route to Santiago de Compostela: We are hiking the King Ludwig path (König Ludwig Weg), Bavaria‘s oldest long-distance trail, named after the famous Bavarian King Ludwig II who in the 19th century built (among others) the Neuschwanstein Castle.
Hiking memories of the King Ludwig path
We have both hiked the King Ludwig trail before. Isa remembers it from childhood holidays in the 1970s when it seemed to be always raining and snowing a lot. The outdoor gear back then (think corduroy knickerbockers and knitted socks) was sturdy and traditional and anything but waterproof. Natascha, who grew up in Munich, knew some of the trail’s stages as day hikes. In fact, she has also walked the whole distance in one go about 15 years ago. For quite a while we have toyed with the idea of hiking it once more – this time together.
King Ludwig Path – Day 1: Starnberg to Herrsching (29 km)
A wooden cross rises near the shore in the shallow waters of Lake Starnberg. A sign warns not to bath here, but someone has laid a red flower on the lakeshore. The young and romantic, and possibly psychically disturbed, King Ludwig II died mysteriously in 1886 on this very spot. How? That is a long story, and there are different theories and factions, and strong beliefs. Maybe he just drowned, but maybe he was murdered by his own physician who went on a walk with him. Up on the steep, glacier-shaped cliff above the lake shore, a Neo-Romantic chapel has been built for the King.
King Ludwig II’s demise and the start of the King Ludwig Path
The cross and the chapel mark the end of Ludwig’s life. And ironically they are the starting point for the King Ludwig Path. From here, we walk for five days along the Bavarian lakes and hills, through meadows, forests, swamps and canyons, towards the Bavarian Alps. And finally towards the castles of Füssen, most famously Ludwig’s dream castle, Neuschwanstein: the model for all Disneyland castles.
In recent years, the Santiago trail icon has been signposted along the same route as the King Ludwig path. What is quite sensible, as we pass a number of well-known, lavish baroque churches and monasteries. They have long been pilgrimage sites for reliquaries of local saints and for the miracles that happened here.
On the first day, past the wealthy town of Starnberg and the quiet Maising Ravine as well as some rolling hills and grasslands, we arrive on a small mountain. On top of the mountain: the Andechs Monastery with its impressive church and a huge beer garden. The monks’ brewery is well-known, but the famous Andechs beer hard to come by elsewhere. Regular visitors keep their own beer steins in long shelves. And the mass (1 litre) goes for a cheap 7 Euros!
Day 2: Herrsching to Wessobrunn (17 km)
The next day is a rather short hike on the King Ludwig trail from Dießen on Lake Ammersee to Wessobrunn. This is the hometown of Bavaria’s stucco masters who dominated Baroque and Rococo building sites for most of the 18th century. We get a slight overdose of light-pink and golden floral ornaments at the numerous churches, and finally struggle to find a shop to secure our dinner. The only pub in Wessobrunn is closed just that day.
Day 3: Wessobrunn to Rottenbuch (31 km)
Day 3 is a long hike, with a lot of up and down and natural highlights – up to Mount Hohenpeißenberg and down into the canyon of the Ammer.
On Mount Hohenpeißenberg, we have a good view of the Alps, and good Apfelstrudel. Apart from a very baroque church, there’s a historically important meteorological station and a small memorial cross for Jenny Wood, a young British tourist murdered on the King Ludwig Trail in the 1980s.
After an arduous day, skipping Baroque churches for today, we hurry into Rottenbuch’s only shop and on toward our pilgrims’ guesthouse (which welcomes irreligious hikers just as well). And by the way, the Iglhaut guesthouse was by far our favourite on this hike.
Day 4: Rottenbuch to Halblech (33 km)
We take the full force of Rococo angels in the splendid Rottenbuch monastery church the next morning (but we did miss the mass). And two hours into today’s hike the staggeringly stuccoed oval Rococo church Wieskirche comes into view. The Wieskirche is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1983 for its religious and artistic relevance. Although we have visited the Wieskirche in the past we marvel again at the splendid interior. Although it is not a “pilgrims’ day” a couple of tour busses are ferrying in international visitors who combine Baroque with Weißwurst in one of the restaurants. We opt for the delicious apple pie and then decide to take a slight detour to Steingaden. A great opportunity to visit the Abbey Church to cool down. Its interior is also Baroque, but the church has retained much older and more solemn elements from Romanic and Gothic periods.
And after so much religious decoration it feels good to walk through the peat bogs of Prem. Admittedly, the day drags on considerably since there are so few accommodation options in that area and we have to walk well over 30 km again that day.
Day 5 Halblech to Füssen (23 km)
Neuschwanstein Castle dominates the last day of of our hiking on the King Ludwig trail. It is visible in the distance from morning on and drawing large numbers of (electrically assisted) cyclists to the low hills below the Alps. While we walk between cow paddocks, a troop of ecological cows (those with horns) has broken loose and is storming down the rural road. Cyclists dismount nervously, and some seek shelter behind wooden fences. “We should call the police, shouldn’t we” remarks an elderly woman in yellow spandex, somewhat alarmed. “Three people were already harmed by cows this year. So, what was the emergency number again?”. It turned out the police had no idea what to do – and the elderly cyclist decided to inform the next farmer along the road.
King Ludwig’s Castle: Neuschwanstein
When we finally reach Hohenschwangau, the village below the famous castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, wild cows seem like a minor nuisance. The village road swarms with people jostling for tables in the restaurants. They are pushing the queue at the ticket office, battling for places on the shuttle bus to the castles. We give up the idea of a coffee break and continue walking towards Füssen. The cute mediaeval town is where our hike ends and where we can take an overcrowded train back to Munich.
*** See also our post: A Baroque stuccoed dream coming true: The Pilgrimage church of Wies ***
Are you interested in hiking the King Ludwig Path? Or did you hike it already? Another great hike in Bavaria in autumn is the Romantic Road trail from Tauberbischofsheim to Rothenburg. Along the way there are a lot of wine tasting possibilities.
NB: We had no sponsoring for this post about the King Ludwig Path. We paid all expenses ourselves.
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Sounds a wonderful healthy hike – you had good weather too. I had seen that castle on a TV docu. and wanted to go there but it’s not to be.
Dear Dennis, yes we were quite lucky with the warm autumn weather! And it is a wonderful hike; the beer was good too….
Hi
I enjoyed your post. Can you please advise whether the trail is signposted and easy to follow or do you need to map read the route? Any suggestions where I can find a map of the route? Thanks
Hello Mark – the trail is signposted with the blue k and a crown (as in the picture), and quite consistently so. Very few places where you might go wrong. There are books in German about the König Ludwig Weg, and the local tourist information in Fuessen has a lot of information on their homepage: Try https://www.fuessen.de/wandern/wanderungen/koenig-ludwig-weg-fuessen-hohenschwangau.html They offer maps and gpx data for the trail, too, so even if it is in German, that should help, and you can also machine translate the trail description texts to get some idea what’s in the text.
Did you stay in hotels or go camping? I enjoyed reading about your trip!
We stayed in small pensions (like B&B, but cheaper). There is branch of the Santiago path running along the same route – so there is some cheap pilgrim accommodation. There are now campgrounds along the route. Wild camping might be possible, but difficult since the area is quite inhabited.
That seems like an amazing trip. I never thought of hiking there. It provides a unique way to take in the sights. Much more interesting than the typical tourist excursion. Great idea.
I know nothing about King Ludwig, but I know and saw lots of pictures of Neuschwanstein. This looks like a wonderful hike. Rewarded with lots of beautiful places along the trail.
And it leads to the famous castle…that’s a series of great hikes through nature and other interesting stops.
Ah, the memory is flooding back as I too have walked along a short portion of this Weg as a young teenager. But would love to do it again, and the experience of greater distances involving an overnight stay. Curious to know about your accommodations, I’m assuming there are gasthaus options in the villages along the way. I bet kaffee kuchen never tasted better after those long stretches of walking in nature. Wunderbar!
Dear Renee, yes we stayed at small B&B or Gasthouses. For the first two nights we went back to Munich by public transport where we could stay with friends.