Passau Self-Guided Walking Tour with Audio and Quiz

Explore Passau at your own pace on a self-guided walking tour that runs entirely from your smartphone — no app to download, no group, no physical guide. The route opens with the view of Veste Oberhaus across the Danube, enters the old town through St. Paul and the medieval Paulusbogen, climbs to the Baroque cathedral of St. Stephen and Residenzplatz, then follows the water past the Old Town Hall's flood markers, the abbey of Niedernburg and the white Schaiblingsturm to the Dreiflüsseeck, where the Danube, Inn and Ilz meet. Each of the 8 stops has a short audio story and an interactive quiz, so the history of the prince-bishops, the fire of 1662 and the three rivers actually sticks. A clear map and step-by-step directions link the stops, and you can start, pause and finish whenever you like. Enjoy 8 stops with audio commentary and quizzes, accessible on any smartphone with no app download required. Start anytime and explore at your own pace.

1. 1

   Veste Oberhaus

   Pass by

   The hilltop fortress founded in 1219 by the prince-bishops of Passau, on the Georgsberg ridge across the Danube. Seen from the waterfront below, it shows how the bishops held the heights while the citizens traded down by the river.

2. 2

   Stop 2

   Pass by

   The parish church of St. Paul stands where Passau's medieval city gate once marked the edge of the walled town, on a line of defences going back to Roman times. Rebuilt in Baroque style on a narrow cliff-edge site, it fits its sacristy into the old gate structure.

3. 3

   Dom St. Stephan

   Pass by

   Passau's cathedral, rebuilt in Italian-influenced Baroque by architect Carlo Lurago after the city fire of 1662, with a surviving late-Gothic east end. It houses one of the largest church organ installations in the world, including a distant organ hidden in the attic.

4. 4

   Stop 4

   Pass by

   The square in front of the New Bishop's Residence, the Baroque seat of Passau's prince-bishops. At its centre the Wittelsbacher fountain carries allegorical figures of the city's three rivers, the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz.

5. 5

   Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall)

   Pass by

   Passau's Gothic town hall on the Danube bank, assembled over time from a group of existing patrician houses rather than built as one. Painted flood marks on its tower record how high the river has risen over the centuries.

6. 6

   Kloster Niedernburg

   Pass by

   A medieval abbey in the lower old town, long one of the most powerful institutions in the bishopric. It is the burial place of Gisela of Bavaria, wife of Stephen I of Hungary, who is said to have ended her life here as abbess.

7. 7

   Schaiblingsturm

   Pass by

   A round tower of about 1250 standing on a rock directly in the Inn, once guarding the river traffic and serving as a mooring point for salt barges. Because it stood detached over the water, its medieval timber roof escaped the city fires of the 17th century.

8. 8

   Dreifluesseeck

   Pass by

   The tip of the peninsula where the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz come together. The three rivers arrive with visibly different colours, the Inn often milky green from Alpine sediment and the Ilz dark from the forest peat.

• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.