The best MTB trails around Parkstetten

Windmill ruin Around 1850, the Steinach estate owner Eduard Freiherr von Berchem-Königsfeld, known as a friend of Holland, had a tower windmill built in the Dutch style on the vineyard (now Kellerberg). In contrast to the German "Bockwindmühle" (post mill), only the roof, designed as a cap, is rotatable on a Dutch tower windmill. The rotation is made possible by means of an iron ring gear, on which the cap rests. The millstones and auxiliary equipment were set in motion by gears. The conical round tower has an internal diameter of 7 meters on the ground floor, and the wall thickness is 1.20 meters at the base of the tower. This type of mill was untypical in this region, where watermills predominated. Apparently, the mill did not yield the desired profit, as the operation of the windmill failed due to the local wind currents. Steinach pastor Josef Aschenbrenner writes in his chronicle: "The windmill was still in operation around 1860. One day, a miller's child was caught by the transmission and crushed. From that day on, the mill was no longer operated and fell into disrepair." After the mill was shut down, Eduard von Berchem-Königsfeld had the windmill hill redesigned into the stately Steinach summer cellar. In 1860, a beer cellar was dug into the original vineyard, and a so-called cellar house was built over the entrance, which was also operated as a restaurant in the summer. The large beer cellar also served as storage for the beer from the Berchem brewery in Schloß Steinach. After the summer cellar was abandoned around 1920, the old cellar house was used as a residential building until it burned down around 1956. In the still existing summer cellar, the children of Steinach often played, and many bats also resided there. The Steinach estate administration decided around 1957 to have the cellar blown up. This was carried out by the pioneers of the Bogen barracks. The rear part of the cellar, which has an air shaft, probably did not collapse, as the usual terrain depression is not found there. For a long time, one could look down into the non-collapsed part of the cellar through the air shaft. This air shaft was a dangerous hole. Therefore, a large concrete cover was later placed over the opening. What remains is the ruin of the windmill. Source: Excerpts from https://heimatgeschichte-steinach.de/gewerbe/muehlen/windmuehle-steinach.html

Beautiful sculpture on the lock

Quiet and peaceful - if the frogs aren't croaking.

The Straubing Lock was built in 1993 as part of the Straubing Weir project to ensure the navigability of the Danube. The lock chamber is located at Danube kilometer 2322.02. With a chamber length of 264 m, it has a usable length of 230 m and a usable width of 24 m. The lock chamber is constructed of concrete and is closed at both the upper and lower gates by a double-leaf mitre gate. Each mitre gate weighs 83 t. The 14-meter-high and 12-meter-wide steel gates rest on a spherical bearing. The chamber is filled and emptied via bypass channels, each with two bypass gates at the upper and lower gates. The chamber fills in 20 minutes with a lock water volume of 44,000 m³. A lockage takes 25 minutes. The lock has a total capacity of 73,000 m³. [1] The level of the upper edge of the lock platform is 321.5 m above sea level (NN), and the level of the lower lock sill is 308.7 m above sea level (NN). For maintenance and repair work on the gates and closures, the lock is equipped with a gantry crane with a lifting capacity of 100 tons, which can be moved along the entire length of the lock. At the associated weir of the Straubing power plant, the design impoundment level is 320 m above sea level (NN). The water level of the lower lock basin is 313.75 m above sea level (NN) at mean water level (MTF) and 312.32 m above sea level (NN) at regulated low water level (RNW). The corresponding head is 6.25 meters at MTF and 7.68 meters at MTW. An information panel at the facility states the lock head as 6.21 m. The lock is remotely controlled from the WSV control center in Regensburg. This control center also remotely operates the Geisling, Regensburg, and Bad Abbach locks. Originally, the Straubing lock was operated from the lock tower on site. Immediately below the lower lock gate, the Kagers Bridge crosses the Alte Donau lock canal. The Danube's kilometer markers show a discrepancy of 7.9 kilometers at the Straubing lock. Therefore, both kilometer markers 2330 and 2322 are present at the lock basin. Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleuse_Straubing

You should walk the trail between the campsite and the Talmühle mill. This is the only way to enjoy nature. Riding bikes will disturb hikers, the untouched nature, and the wildlife. Crossing the stream is an absolute no-go. There are bridges for that. Please use your trails! Thank you.

Great Stone Street

Have fun or cross the bridge? What do you choose?

Cool trail. Fun.