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Throwback Tuesday Post (TBTP): Every Tuesday, I re-post a past post that I think is relevant and that you’ll enjoy.
This post was originally published on August 5, 2015 and updated on September 10, 2019.
Many of my readers know that my husband and I set ourselves a project of seeing everything listed in the book 111 Places in Munich That You Shouldn’t Miss. Click here to see my blog post about this charming book. The sights in the book are not the usual Munich sights that are at the top of the must-see list, but rather quirky architectural, historical or natural things you wouldn’t know the backstory of even if you did see them. Our project has inspired many blog post topics, including Castle Grünwald and Schubeck’s Spice Emporium.
Well, I’m happy to announce we actually saw ALL 111 items and are now proud to report we are at 100%! I’ll share with you here the very last item we saw, which is actually number 59 in the book (the items are listed in alphabetical order). It’s called the Marienklause.
It’s a small chapel built by one Martin Achleitner in 1866. He was stationed here to oversee the nearby lock and weir on the Isar River. Apparently this was a dangerous post, subject to flooding and rocks crashing down from the cliffs above. He is said to have built this small chapel to Mary and Jesus for keeping him safe during all of these physical perils.
You can see the wooden chapel and the small grottoes carved in the rocks below lit by red votive candles. The back of the wooden chapel is built right into the rock cliff. The steps on the right lead up to a path through the woods.
As you’ve probably assumed, it’s right on the banks of the Isar. As with many things in the 111 book, it took a little wandering around before we actually found it. The place has no street address for our GPS and the directions in the book aren’t very specific. Here are some wonderful scenes we saw on our way to discovering the chapel:
Historically, the Isar used to be a huge, unpredictable threat, flooding often and changing its course after floodwaters receded. I can see why Herr Achleitner was grateful to survive. These days, after years of engineering, the Isar has been divided into canals and controlled by locks, dams and weirs all along its course. At this point the river has two channels: one for work traffic and shipping, the other for recreation.
This bridge that we crossed is the work canal channel. If we’d kept going in the same direction we would have crossed the recreational river channel. Just beyond that is the edge of Munich’s zoo.
On one side of the river is a raft “slide”. The sign says, “Raft route. Dangerous Area. Only for the experienced.”
Here’s the actual “slide”:
Just beyond the bridge I noticed some concrete Stations of the Cross, which led to the Marienklause chapel. Success!
I would highly recommend doing such a project where you live. Get a guidebook and make regular outings to see local sights. You know that locals never visit their own area! You can learn so much and appreciate your own backyard. We’re so glad we got to know Munich this way.
Photo for No Apparent Reason: