The best walks and hikes around Nordendorf

Nordendorf Station – History and Transformation Nordendorf Station is one of the oldest stations on the Augsburg–Donauwörth railway line and was a key factor in the town's development for many decades. The station building is considered one of the oldest still standing along this section of the line and for a long time marked the "gateway" to the town. After standing empty and increasingly dilapidated for years, the municipality of Nordendorf acquired the station site in 2020 to be able to shape its future use. Since then, concepts for the redesign and revitalization of this historic site have been under discussion – including within the framework of a student ideas competition. Thus, the station now symbolizes the transformation of many small railway stations: from a once central transportation hub to a place where history, local development, and future planning converge. Sources & further information: • History of the railway station (Municipality of Nordendorf) https://www.nordendorf.de/index.php/gemeinde/dorfgeschichte/bahnhof • Report on the acquisition of the station building (Augsburger Allgemeine) https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/augsburg-land/Nordendorf-Nordendorfer-Schandfleck-Gemeinde-kauft-verfallenen-Bahnhof-id58319826.html • Ideas competition for the redesign of the station area (TH Augsburg) https://www.tha.de/Architektur-und-Bauwesen/Nordendorf-verleiht-Preis-an-Studierende.html

Former Holzen Monastery Mill: The former monastery mill in Allmannshofen-Holzen is a listed building with a gable roof and neo-Baroque curved gables, built around 1925. The building itself is a protected historical monument (D-7-72-114-11) and part of the Holzen Monastery ensemble.

Holzen Monastery & Karlsberg – Historical Overview Today's Holzen Monastery is situated on Karlsberg, a hill rising approximately 20 meters above the Schmutter Valley near Allmannshofen. The name "Karlsberg" originates from a chapel built in the early 17th century in honor of St. Charles Borromeo. Originally, the Benedictine convent, founded in the 12th century, was located in the valley near the Schmutter River. Due to the risk of flooding and structural decay, a decision was made at the end of the 17th century to build a new monastery on the higher plateau. The monastery complex, with its prominent Baroque Church of St. John the Baptist, was constructed between 1696 and 1710 according to plans by the Vorarlberg architect Franz Beer. After secularization in 1803, the complex was initially used for secular purposes. Since 1927, it has belonged to the Dominikus-Ringeisen-Werk (Dominican Ringeisen Foundation) and today serves as a social institution, hotel, and conference center. Holzen Monastery and Karlsberg Hill form a historically developed ensemble that impressively combines the landscape, local history, and Baroque architecture of the region. schwabenmedia.de/Kirchen/Landkreis-augsburg/St-johannes-holzen.php Site plan of Holzen Monastery (PDF) kloster-holzen.de/media/78971/lageplan-kloster-holzen-2784639.pdf

Holzen Monastery & Karlsberg – Historical Overview Today's Holzen Monastery is situated on Karlsberg, a hill rising approximately 20 meters above the Schmutter Valley near Allmannshofen. The name "Karlsberg" originates from a chapel built in the early 17th century in honor of St. Charles Borromeo. Originally, the Benedictine convent, founded in the 12th century, was located in the valley near the Schmutter River. Due to the risk of flooding and structural decay, a decision was made at the end of the 17th century to build a new monastery on the higher plateau. The monastery complex, with its prominent Baroque Church of St. John the Baptist, was constructed between 1696 and 1710 according to plans by the Vorarlberg architect Franz Beer. After secularization in 1803, the complex was initially used for secular purposes. Since 1927, it has belonged to the Dominikus-Ringeisen-Werk (Dominican Ringeisen Foundation) and today serves as a social institution, hotel, and conference center. Holzen Monastery and Karlsberg Hill form a historically developed ensemble that impressively combines the landscape, local history, and Baroque architecture of the region. http://www.schwabenmedia.de/Kirchen/Landkreis-augsburg/St-johannes-holzen.php Site plan of Holzen Monastery (PDF) https://www.kloster-holzen.de/media/78971/lageplan-kloster-holzen-2784639.pdf

The Schmutter is a roughly 96 km long tributary of the Danube in Bavarian Swabia, flowing predominantly northwards through a diverse cultural landscape. It originates in the Stauden region west of Siebnach before finally emptying into the Danube near Donauwörth. The name likely derives from a Germanic term meaning something like "the stream flowing through the moor." Today, the Schmutter, with its floodplains, weirs, and bridges, shapes many towns and villages along its course and is a characteristic waterway of the region. Flooding and flood protection are pressing issues. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmutter Flooding Disaster in Swabia – The Current Situation in Nordendorf (2024) https://www.augsburg.tv/mediathek/video/hochwasserkatastrophe-in-schwaben-die-aktuelle-lage-in-nordendorf/

Today's Fugger Castle, with its castle gardens, is the remaining vestige of a once much larger castle complex and is located in the heart of the village of Nordendorf. The complex became the seat of power for the Fugger-Nordendorf line of the Fugger family in the 16th century and shaped the village's history for centuries. After a fire in the 1860s, the former upper castle was largely demolished. Parts of the west wing, including the tower and chapel, as well as the gatehouse of the south wing, have been preserved. In the castle park, a Renaissance fountain with a coat of arms commemorates the site's aristocratic past. Today, the castle is privately owned and not open to the public, but its historical significance as a landmark of the village is clearly visible from the outside. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuggerschloss_Nordendorf

St. Lawrence Cemetery Chapel (St. Lorenz), Holzen The Baroque St. Lawrence Cemetery Chapel was built in 1707 by the local master mason Hans Georg Radmiller. It stands on the grounds of the former Holzen monastery church and remains the centerpiece of the historic cemetery. The octagonal central building is articulated externally by round-arched blind niches and corner pilasters. An eight-sided tent roof with a lantern gives the building its distinctive silhouette. Inside is an altar dating from around 1730; the altarpiece depicting St. Lawrence dates from 1880. In addition to the chapel, the listed historical site also includes the cemetery wall from the time of its construction and a small chapel (also known as the Mount of Olives Chapel) dating from 1710. Overall, the site presents a tranquil, historically evolved ensemble closely linked to the monastery and village history of Holzen.

The castle today dates back to the Middle Ages. The fortified farm was first mentioned in 1329. The residential tower, in which the chapel was established in 1868, still bears witness to this period. More on the history: https://www.schloss-nordendorf.de/index.php/geschichte