The best hikes from bus stations in Wondreb-Aue

This chapel is truly extraordinary, but the church next door is also a must-see. I would never have expected that in such a small place.

So much splendor in such a small town. It's worth seeing. And the Dance of Death Chapel is right next door. It's a must-see.

The Wondreb Floodplain is a protected nature reserve covering approximately 213 hectares and was designated in 1989.

The nature reserve covers an approximately 3.2-kilometer-long section of the Wondreb valley between the Großenseeser and Pfaffenreuther forests and the adjacent side valleys. In the area of the nature reserve, agricultural use of the land has largely been abandoned and the ponds in the area are now only used extensively. The near-natural, meandering section of the river thus has a high diversity of communities in a relatively small area. For the animal world, this structurally rich area represents a necessary habitat with a food source and breeding opportunities.

At Wondreb, on the side of the road connecting Wondreb and Klenau, stands one of the two stone crosses of the parish of Wondreb. Rainer Schmeissner described it in "Stone Crosses of the Upper Palatinate": It has much sharper edges than "old" stone crosses and gives the impression of being "newer". It is clearly visible that a small plate made of sheet metal was embedded and attached with four iron hooks driven into a lead filling. Schmeissner informs us that, according to a Wondreb farmer, the reason for the cross's construction was shown here. This side is now facing away from the road. No date or characteristic is recorded.

The small, pretty parish chapel only reveals its exceptional nature at second glance. The core of the chapel dates from the early 17th century, i.e. the early Baroque period. It is one of the few chapels that escaped secularization at the beginning of the 19th century. In the "Notebook for the Parish of Wondreb" there is an entry in Latin that Father Ludwig Klötzl wrote down in 1777. According to it, a woman received 10 guilders because her engagement to the local innkeeper was revoked. With this money and the help of her neighbors, she had the chapel built. In order to keep the small church in good structural condition, she donated another 10 guilders.

The church was built in the 12th century and is a listed building. The ceiling paintings date from the 18th century and have been reworked several times. They show various Marian themes and the four evangelists. The high altar has a stucco structure made of marble and was created by Vitus Fuchs from Tirschenreuth. The organ with case from 1748 comes from Waldsassen, the twelve baroque figures of the twelve apostles were carved by Martin Hirsch in 1719.

The cemetery chapel contains an art-historical treasure - the Dance of Death by Wondreb. On the ceiling are 28 paintings made using the grisaille technique. To the viewer, the pictures appear eerie and somewhat spooky. This grey-on-grey painting was not common at the time the pictures were created in the Baroque period (around 1715). The artist is unknown.