Berching

From the car park, we see on the other side of the street the Beilngrieser Gate built in the 13th century, also called the Siechentor because during plague times the sick were brought from the city to the poorhouse here. Through the gate, we enter the “suburb,” the oldest part of the old town, and walk along old houses on St.-Lorenz-Straße. We pass St. Lorenz Church, the oldest church in the city, built in the 11th century with its tower dating from the 13th century. We follow Bahnhofstraße and reach the Neumarkter Tor (also called Krapfentor), built around 1350. We walk back to St.-Lorenz Church, turn right into Johannesbrücke alley, and arrive at the bridge over the Sulz.

In front of us is the Middle Gate, on the bridge the statue of Saint Nepomuk, and to the left along the Sulz the city wall with its towers and the tower of the parish church Mariä Himmelfahrt. We pass through the Middle Gate from the 14th century with an extension from the late 15th century. We are now at Pettenkoferplatz with the town hall from the late 17th century on the left. Turning around, we see the beautiful side of the Middle Gate. Immediately left leads to the Ringmauerweg, where we turn right up steps to the battlement walk on the city wall.

We go through the Bettelvogtturm, where the begging judge lived, who collected charitable acts from citizens and passed them on to the needy. We now walk some distance along the battlement walk, ducking repeatedly because the beams of the battlement roof are not far overhead. We pass through the Dachsenturm, the home of master weaver Johann Dexl, hence its name Dexlischer Turm or simply Dachsenturm. When we reach the Pulverturm, the tallest tower of the city and former ammunition depot, our walk on the wall ends.

We briefly go through the gate next to the tower and look at the city wall with its towers from the outside. We return to the city and follow the Ringmauerweg. We pass the so-called Chinesenturm, named for its roof, and meet the Zechhäusl from the early 19th century built directly onto the city wall. At the corner of the city wall, we look at the Frauenturm, which probably served as a social institution for disadvantaged women. According to stories, it was also used as a tower for female offenders, with a pillory outside for ill-tempered and quarrelsome women. We then reach the Biersiederturm, where the beer brewer lived, who supplied the entire city with beer. At the end of the Ringmauerweg, we turn right through the Gredinger Gate, built in the mid-13th century and acquired a foregate in the mid-15th century.

We walk straight toward the Main-Danube Canal, from where we have a nice view back of the Gredinger Gate, the city wall, and its towers. We walk straight through the gate to Reichenauplatz, which is lined with many bourgeois houses from the 15th to early 19th centuries. After crossing Hubstraße/Schulstraße, we look at the beautiful bourgeois houses at Pettenkoferplatz, also from the 15th to early 19th centuries.

We walk back towards Reichenauplatz and turn left into Schulstraße, where we encounter the Marientor, which was only broken into the city wall in the 20th century. Immediately to the right is the Pfeifenschneiderturm, named after a cabinetmaker journeyman who carved ornate pipes as a sideline, and further on a section of city wall with battlement walk. To the left we walk along the wall to the parish church Maria Himmelfahrt, which received its current appearance in the mid-18th century.

We cross Dr.-Grabmann-Platz and turn left into Badturmgasse. First, we come to the Schießturm, formerly also called Scheißturm because the citizen militia relieved themselves into the city moat here. Immediately behind it is the Ziegelturm, which still has medieval shooting slits. We walk back along Badturmgasse and at the end turn left to a passage in the city wall. Immediately right we look at the Badturm, near which was probably the bathhouse where citizens could clean themselves. From the bank of the Sulz, we have a nice view of the city wall with its towers. We then walk a short stretch along the river to the right, cross the bridge on the left, and return along the path to the car park.