The best running trails in Danube-Ries

The bike path here is really very relaxed.

Donauwörth is a very nice little town, where there is a lot to discover.

The local history museum in Donauwörth is located in one of the oldest parts of the town. It is housed in the red house on Ried Island. The Härpfer family, who have been connected to the town's fishing history since 1434, once lived here. The museum displays religious folk art, crafts, and offers deep insights into the town's cultural history.

The Holy Cross Monastery in Donauwörth is a former Benedictine abbey. The monastery, dedicated to the Holy Cross, was founded around 1040 by Mangold I of Werd as a Benedictine convent. The founding gift was a fragment of the True Cross, which Mangold received in Constantinople as an envoy of the Holy Roman Emperor. At the beginning of the 12th century, the nunnery was replaced by a Benedictine monastery for men and relocated to the western edge of the town, its highest point within the city walls. After the buildings were damaged during the Thirty Years' War, the west wing of the monastery was rebuilt starting in 1680. The south and east wings were constructed between 1696 and 1700 by Valerian Brenner, incorporating the medieval cloister. Following the War of the Spanish Succession, Abbot Amandus Röls commissioned the construction of a new church. During the Rococo period (1770/1780), the buildings were remodeled and expanded several times. Joseph Schmuzer was the architect of the abbey church. Franz Schmuzer created the stucco work in the church in 1719 and the high altar in 1729. The frescoes in the chancel, which were usually painted there, were executed as oil paintings by Jacob Carl Stauder in 1720. The abbey was dissolved on January 15, 1803, as part of the secularization process. As a consequence of the Final Recess of the Imperial Deputation, the abbey's movable and immovable property was transferred to the Prince of Oettingen-Wallerstein as compensation for his losses of lands on the left bank of the Rhine, particularly the Lordship of Dagstuhl in the Hinterpfalz region. The abbey church remained as the parish church of the Holy Cross and as a pilgrimage church. At the beginning of the War of the Fifth Coalition (1809), Napoleon Bonaparte resided for several days in the prelature of the dissolved monastery, as evidenced by the "Napoleon Room" still located there today. From there, he even issued the first order of the day of the campaign, which would prove extremely favorable for him with the Peace of Schönbrunn, the culmination and turning point of his power on the European continent. Meanwhile, he had the former monastery church repurposed as a stable. The last abbot of the monastery was Cölestin Königsdorfer (1756–1840). The archive of the secularized Holy Cross Monastery (Donauwörth) is located in Harburg. In 1877, the educator Ludwig Auer acquired the monastery buildings. ...... Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kloster_Heilig_Kreuz_(Donauw%C3%B6rth)

Approximately 120 steps lead to the top... and offer a great view over Wemding at the very top.

Wörnitz Bridge - Wörnitz Footbridge - Wooden bridge with a view of the Holy Cross Monastery ⛪ - Wörnitz 🌊 - Donauwörth - Donau-Ries District

The Wörnitz is a left and northern tributary of the Danube in Bavaria, approximately 132 km long. The name is recorded as "Werinza" in the 11th century, and as "Warinza" in the 12th century. There are two theories regarding the origin of this name. In 1950, the onomastician Joseph Schnetz traced the name back to the Indo-European root *ver, meaning "to turn" or "to twist," to which the participle ending -entia was added. According to this theory, Wörnitz means "the winding one." Onomastician Wolf-Armin von Reitzenstein, however, the name derives from the Indo-European root *u̯er, meaning "water," from which it was derived by adding a -nt suffix. Albrecht Greule, on the other hand, sees a connection with the Indo-European words *h2u̯er- "to be moist" or *h2u̯erh1- "to wet." *h2u̯er- The river gave its name to several places: Wörnitz, Wörnitzhofen, Wörnitzostheim, and Wörnitzstein. The Wörnitz originates from a spring in Schillingsfürst on the Franconian Heights and flows from there fairly steadily in a southerly to easterly direction. Initially, it flows south through the municipality of Wörnitz through a meadow valley bordered by wooded hills, receiving the Ampfrach and Zwergwörnitz streams from the right along this stretch. At river kilometer 115.62, near the village of Reichenbach in Feuchtwangen, a gauge measures the flow rate. From the medieval town of Dinkelsbühl, a southeasterly section begins, leading to the edge of the Nördlinger Ries crater, where many of its tributaries feed ponds, sometimes in close succession. Now flowing more easterly, it first reaches Wilburgstetten, where the Rotach River flows into it from the west. Initially, it flows more easterly, through Wilburgstetten, where it is joined by the Rotach River, again from the west. ... ..... Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%B6rnitz

The Baldinger Tor in Nördlingen is one of the five historical city gates and was first mentioned in 1376. It secured the road towards Würzburg and Frankfurt am Main and was part of the medieval city fortifications. The barbican was completed in 1406 by Master Wenzeslaus, and in 1430 a reconstruction took place under the direction of stonemason Conrad Stenglin. Originally, the gate structure resembled the Berger Tor: a rectangular main gate building with an almost square barbican. The tower was five stories high and had a round superstructure with a gun embrasure and a tent roof. During the Thirty Years' War, the gate was damaged, and in 1703 the tower unexpectedly collapsed – presumably due to insufficient repairs. Five people lost their lives.