Passau Things to Do

The Trennbach - Kapelle is a seperate chapel inside the court next to the cathedral. It dates back to the year 1561 and is the tomb of the prince-bishop Urban von Trennbach in the centre and most members of his clan around him.
You may see the family-tree of the Trennbach-clan and some great frescos.
You may just walk inside the chapel !

Between the cathedral and the old residence of the bishop you will see this lovely, old gothic gate, and you may enter it in order to get inside a big court with several small chapels with tombs.
All of the walls of that court are covered by old tomb-stones and sculptured stone slabs.
You may get inside freely and without restrictions during the day.

Next to the cathadral you may see this lovely entrance-gate to the old residence of the Bishop of Passau. The diocese of Passau once was a lot bigger than today, including also a big part of Austria, Bavaria and Bohemia, and of course such power had to be shown by beautiful palaces.
This palace dates back to the year 1775 and shows the coat of arms of the bishop and an interesting and colorful facade.

The golden pulpit is another highlight of the cathedral of St.Stephen in Passau and dates back to 1726. It as built by an unknown artist in Vienna.
Take your time, when visiting the cathedral, as here are also plenty of great side-altars with excellent paintings.

Churchservice in St.Stephan is
every sunday and holidays:
07.00 + 08.00 + 09.30 + 11.00a.m.

The "Domschatz- und Diözesanmuseum" (treasury)
of the cathedral is open Mon-Sat:
10.00 a.m. - 04.00 p.m.(april-October)
Tel.: 0851 - 393374

Veste Unterhaus / Unterhaus castle was built exactely at the place, where the small river ILZ joins the Danube on the left shore and only about 100 meters from the place, where also the river INN flows into the Danube from the other side.
This castle was once the lower part of the bishop's castle and certainly had an excellent place to charge taxes to all ships passing by in medieval times.
On the left of my picture you may see the steps leading up to the Veste Oberhaus and on the left you see the place , where the Ilz meets the Danube. The river on my picture is the Danube.

Today the castle is private and not accesible for the public.

"Veste" Oberhaus is the old expression that is still officially used for the german word Festung (castle) in Passau. The castle dates back to the year 1219 and was the fortified residence of the prince-bishops of Passau.
Today it is a great place to have a perfect panorama-view on the city and inside you may find several museums and exhibitions about the history of Passau.
For more details, please see my tips under "off the beaten path" or click on my link below ! (unfortunately only a german-webpage )

I was lucky when I was inside St.Stephen's ,the cathedral of Passau, as the German Television had a rehearsal for an organ-concert and all of the church was professionally lighted.
The organ has 17388 pipes and 231 registers.
In summer you may attend a daily organ-concert at lunchtime !
For the concerts you have to pay a small entrance-fee, but all the other time, the church is open for visitors without restrictions during the day.

St.Stephen - The Dom of Passau is one of the highlights you should not miss ! The old cathedral was destroyed in the year 977 and in 1407 it was rebuilt in gothic style, it burned down in 1662 and was rebuilt again in Baroque style.
St.Stephen cathedral is the church with the biggest interior north of the alps.Inside it is beautifully decorated with stucco-works, frescoes and paintings.The cathedral also has the biggest organ in the world.

On the right of my picture you see the cathedral , on the left is a seperate court that you may enter from outside - it shows some great tombs and old inscriptions.