Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE INNVIERTEL
Ping-ponged between Bavaria and Austria over the centuries, the Innviertel is a fertile
farming region sliced in two by the Inn River, whose banks are a drawcard for cyclists in
summer. As well as beautiful baroque and Gothic architecture in Schärding and Braunau,
the region has a few other surprises worth sticking around for: from overnighting in a tree
house to splashing around in a Caribbean lagoon.
NO F***ING JOKE
A tiny village with a big name, Fucking (pronounced 'fooking') in the far western corner of the Innviertel always
has English speakers in fits of giggles. Indeed the Fucking signs were often stolen (no laughing matter, appar-
ently), until 2005 when they were made theft-resistant. Word has it the new ones have attracted exhibitionists liv-
ing up to the, erm, name as it were. In 2010 a brewery won the right to register a beer called Fucking Hell (
Hell
is
German for light ale) here. Mayor Franz Meindl, though, is not amused: 'We don't find it funny. We just want to
be left alone,' he said.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Braunau am Inn
07722 / POP 16,400
A stone's throw from Germany, Braunau am Inn is a favourite pit stop for cyclists ped-
alling the Inn Radweg trail to or from Innsbruck. This border town has achieved unwanted
attention as the birthplace of Hitler, though it would prefer to be described as
die gotische
Stadt
(the Gothic city).
Sights
Stadtplatz
This long main square is lined with elegant pastel-hued townhouses; its southern end nar-
rows to the
Torturm
, a 16th-century gate tower. To the west of Stadtplatz rises the spire of
the late-Gothic
Stadtpfarrkirche St Stephan
(Kirchenplatz;
HISTORIC SITE
dawn-dusk)
. At almost 100m, it's one
of the tallest in Austria.
