Innviertler Jakobsweg

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: St. Oswald near Haslach (Upper Mühlviertel, 747 m) → Salzburg (Old Town, at the cathedral) — the route connects seamlessly to the South Bohemian Way
• Length: 236.5 km — a net descent of 315 meters; you won't even notice it
• Ascent / Descent: ↗ 3,382 m / ↘ 3,697 m — the first 89 km are steeper than the Camino Francés, with a gradient of 19.9 m/km, while the following 56 km are flatter than almost anything in our network, with a gradient of 6.7 m/km
• Highest / lowest point: 811.9 m in the parish village of Pfarrkirchen in the Mühlkreis (km 44.4) / 296.3 m on the banks of the Inn in Passau (km 89.7), at the foot of the Mariahilf Steps
• Stages: 11 (longest: 27.3 km); brisk walking: 10 or 9
• Duration: Realistically, 10 to 11 days—some sources list eight days, which works out to 29.6 km per day, including a day of hiking in the mountains
• Countries: Austria and Germany — 51.7 of the 236.5 kilometers are in Bavaria; two border crossings
• Regions: Upper Mühlviertel · Passau Region · Inn Valley · Innviertel · Salzburg Flachgau
• Hostels: None — zero pilgrim hostels at 127 locations in our database; the only documented pilgrim lodging is the hostel at Schlägl Abbey at kilometer 8 (€41 with a credencial)
• Waymarking: In Austria and Bavaria, the yellow scallop shell on a blue background is standard; on the Bavarian kilometer markers, the system changes—with the Camino Ninja app you’re safe (complete route on board)
• Best time: April through October; the trailhead is at an elevation of 600 to 812 meters; in April, there may still be wet snow there
• Network: To the north, a continuous connection to Bohemia; to the south, starting at Eugendorf (km 222.4), the route is identical to the Austrian Way of St. James

Overview

This trail begins at the end point of another one and ends at a cathedral. In between lie 236.5 kilometers with three distinct landscapes, and the dividing lines are rivers: The first 89 kilometers through the upper Mühlviertel and the Bavarian Danube slope are marked by 19.9 meters of elevation gain per kilometer—steeper than the Camino Francés — The 56 kilometers along the Inn that follow have a gradient of 6.7, which is flatter than almost anything else in our network. It’s the same route. Its highest point is not a pass, but a village at 812 meters; its lowest point is on the banks of the Inn in Passau, at the foot of a pilgrimage staircase. And its name is an understatement with a twist: A trail called “Innviertler” spends 51.7 of its 236.5 kilometers in Bavaria — just under a quarter is the Mühlviertel, just under a fifth is Bavaria, one-seventh is Salzburg, and the area in the middle gives the region its name.

By St. Oswald bei Haslach At the Czech border, you'll pass through Rohrbach and Untergriesbach on your way to Passau (km 89), then up the Inn River via Schärding and Reichersberg, through the Innviertel hills past Maria Schmolln, and through the Salzburg Lake District to Salzburg. Along the way, you'll come across four pens—more than is usual on pilgrimage routes — Reichersberg and Mattsee sit right on the trail —, and three Marian pilgrimages are practically right along the route. What’s missing: pilgrim hostels. Not a single one in 127 locations — You stay at inns and make arrangements in advance. The network is seamless for this: Anyone coming from Bohemia has options from the Polish border all the way to Passau 566.9 kilometers without a single gap behind you, and starting in Eugendorf—14 kilometers from the finish—you'll already be on the same trail as the Austrian Way of St. James.

Mariahilf, Maria Schmolln, Maria Plain — a Marian pilgrimage route leading to the Shrine of St. James

If you're looking for the Book of James here, you'll be genuinely disappointed: We cannot confirm the existence of St. James shrines directly along the route — no shell in the coat of arms, no documented medieval pilgrim hostel, and we’d rather tell you that than make something up. What the route offers instead is a different woman: Maria, three times in 142 kilometers. The pilgrimage church Mariahilf above Passau's Innstadt (km 89.7) — and the lowest point of the entire route, 296.3 meters, lies at the foot of its covered pilgrimage steps. The pilgrimage church of Maria Schmolln (km 167.5), right on the trail, in a town whose name includes the title “Mary.” And the basilica Maria Plain High above Salzburg (km 231.6), right on the trail—on two of the three, you practically walk right through the church door.

The Mariahilf painting in Passau is a copy based on Lucas Cranach the Elder — and tradition associates the following with him: "Maria hilf!", with which the Christian relief army marched into battle against the Ottomans outside Vienna; from Passau, this devotion spread throughout the entire region of southern Germany and Austria. Tradition, not an official record—but it explains why Mary appears three times along this route. Incidentally, the original Cranach painting hangs at the other end of the same network: above the high altar of the St. Jakob's Cathedral in Innsbruck, where the Way of St. James passes through Austria—the same route that picks you up near Eugendorf. And let’s clear up one more misunderstanding right away: The Salzburg Cathedral, which you’ll arrive at, is Not dedicated to James — His patrons are Rupert and Virgil. James is not a destination on this path, but rather the direction.

The fact that we're heading in the right direction isn't just a claim here—it's a mailing address: In Obertrum am See, at kilometer 211.1, the association, founded in 2008, is based "Jakobswege in Österreich", which manages the Austrian routes and trains pilgrim guides — The route passes by the address where it is co-managed during its final leg. The rediscovery of the Austrian route is attributed to Peter Lindenthal, who published it in 1999; the Salzburg Way of St. James has been officially marked since 2005, and the Austrian Way of St. James has been continuously marked since 2008. Eleven kilometers past Obertrum, in Eugendorf, the two routes converge: Starting at kilometer 222.4, both run on one and the same trail. A pilgrimage route dedicated to the Virgin Mary that ends at Santiago de Compostela—and you'll walk the last 14 kilometers together.

Other Names

Here and in the route database, the trail is called Innviertler Jakobsweg — named after the region in which it is located Not, not based on the start or finish. In terms of distance, the name applies to just over 41 percent of the route: 53.5 kilometers are in the Upper Mühlviertel, 51.7 in Bavaria, about 99 in the Innviertel region and about 32 in the state of Salzburg. On the last 14 kilometers from Eugendorf, the same route has two names, because there it runs along the exact same track as the Jakobsweg Österreich; the Salzburg end also runs through the area that has been designated as Salzburger Jakobsweg is marked. The Czech operator of the northern access line simply describes the continuation with a direction: „from where it continues towards Santiago via Passau“ — from there, the journey continues toward Santiago, via Passau. Two clarifications: Braunau am Inn is not on the route — The route crosses the Braunau district 13 to 20 kilometers east of the city. And don’t be surprised by the name “Inn”: It refers to the river you’ll be traveling alongside for 56 kilometers, not an inn.

Who It's Ideal For—and Who It's Not So Ideal For

This trail is for you if you have ten or eleven days and want a route that’s different in each half: the first half takes you through the granite ridges of the upper Mühlviertel, where you’ll reach a Premonstratensian monastery after two and a half hours and the highest point in Kirchdorf at 812 meters; in the middle Passau — and Passau isn’t just a stop along the way here, but an event in itself: past the cathedral, past the confluence of the three rivers, and the lowest point of the entire route lies on the banks of the Inn below the Mariahilf Steps—with monasteries, lakes, and pilgrimage churches stretching all the way to Salzburg. It’s also ideal if you like monasteries and don’t want any detours: Reichersberg Abbey, Mattsee Abbey, Maria Schmolln, and Maria Plain all sit right on the trail. On which route along the Way of St. James can you get this close to four spiritual sites without taking a detour?

To be honest, though, it's not for you if you're looking for the everyday life of a hostel: There isn't a single pilgrim hostel along these 236 kilometers — Our database shows zero lodging facilities in 127 towns and beds in only three towns, two of which are within the last 14 kilometers. You’ll stay in inns and private rooms for 60 to 90 euros, and you’ll book beforehand, not on the way — You can plan around gaps like that. It’s not for you either if you prefer even terrain (19.9 meters of elevation gain per kilometer at the start, 6.7 in the middle) or are expecting wilderness: 127 named locations along 236 kilometers—one every 1.86 kilometers on average. This is a cultural landscape—expect farm roads and paved roads, especially in the Inn Valley.

Route & Landscape

You start 747 meters high on the Czech border, and after eight kilometers comes the first major stop: Stift Schlägl, the Premonstratensian abbey with the only pilgrim hostel along the route, a few minutes off the trail. Then the route heads west across the granite ridges of the Rohrbach district — Rohrbach in Oberösterreich (km 20.5), Sarleinsbach (33.9) — until the road turns at kilometer 44.4 into Pfarrkirchen im Mühlkreis with Its highest point is at 811.9 meters Reached: no mountain pass, a village near a church. At kilometer 53.5, you turn behind Neustift im Mühlkreis according to Bavaria and stay there for 52 kilometers: high above the Danube at Untergriesbach and the abbey Thyrnau past, then 530 meters of elevation gain down to Passau. There, the route passes right by the Dreiflüsseeck, where the Danube, Inn, and Ilz meet, and by the Dom St. Stephan — and reaches kilometer 89.7 at 296.3 meters—its lowest point, on the banks of the Inn River, below the pilgrimage church Mariahilf.

After that, the 56-kilometer stretch is practically free: The route follows the right bank of the Inn in Bavaria along Neuburg am Inn — where the Mariensteg, a pedestrian bridge a few minutes off the trail that crosses over to Austria — all the way to Neuhaus am Inn, crosses the river there, and stands in Schärding (km 105.9) Back in Austria. From here, southward through the Innviertel: Suben, Stift Reichersberg (right on the path), Obernberg am Inn, Altheim (km 145) — Braunau lies 13.7 kilometers to the west; the trail crosses the district, not the town. At Altheim, it leaves the Inn River and climbs 458 meters up into the hilly countryside toward Maria Schmolln (Shrine right on the trail), then via Mattighofen and Lengau To the Salzburg Lake District: Mattsee (Collegiate Church, right on the trail), Obertrum am See, Seekirchen am Wallersee. And Eugendorf (km 222.4) it joins the Austrian Way of St. James, and from there the route follows the same kilometers: past the basilica Maria Plain down to Salzburg, right up to the cathedral.

Stages, Terrain & Difficulty

Eleven stages are the right pace—and this schedule is intentionally based not on kilometers, but on elevation gain and stamina. Day 2, with 758 meters of elevation gain, is the only real mountain day and stands alone; Days 7 and 9 are kept short because Reichersberg and Maria Schmolln are located there, and the idea is to take in the sights rather than rack up kilometers. No stage longer than 28 kilometers. If you choose the 10-day option, you’ll end up with two days covering 30 and 29 kilometers; if you choose the 9-day option, the first day starts with 33.5 kilometers and 769 meters of elevation gain. Eight days work out to 29.6 kilometers per day, every day, including a mountain day—so take ten or eleven. All distances and elevation gains listed below are calculated from the track in our route database, and all stage locations are places from the database.

1. St. Oswald bei Haslach → Rohrbach in Oberösterreich — 20.1 km (↗ 426 m / ↘ 555 m) — a gentle start over the Mühlviertel granite ridges; at km 8.1, Schlägl Abbey, home to the trail’s only pilgrim hostel (a few minutes off the trail).
2. Rohrbach in Oberösterreich → Pfarrkirchen im Mühlkreis — 23.9 km (↗ 758 m / ↘ 549 m) — the toughest day of the entire route; at the finish line is the highest point of the route, 811.9 m, right in the middle of Kirchdorf.
3. Pfarrkirchen im Mühlkreis → Untergriesbach — 19.2 km (↗ 313 m / ↘ 564 m) — at km 53.5, the border crossing into Bavaria, past Neustift im Mühlkreis.
4. Untergriesbach → Passau — 25.4 km (↗ 271 m / ↘ 530 m) — past Thyrnau Abbey and down the long slope to the city at the confluence of three rivers; past the cathedral and the Three-River Junction, lowest point of the trail on the banks of the Inn.
5. Passau → Schärding — 16.9 km (↗ 106 m / ↘ 99 m) — flat along the Bavarian bank of the Inn; at km 99.8, the Mariensteg leads to Austria (a few minutes off the route); you cross the border itself on the Inn Bridge at Neuhaus am Inn.
6. Schärding → Reichersberg — 23.4 km (↗ 167 m / ↘ 129 m) — through the Baroque town and along the Inn River; along the way, the former Suben Abbey; at the end of the route, Reichersberg Abbey, right on the trail.
7. Reichersberg → Altheim — 15.8 km (↗ 103 m / ↘ 84 m) — a short cultural day through Obernberg am Inn (market square right on the trail).
8. Altheim → Maria Schmolln — 22.5 km (↗ 458 m / ↘ 263 m) — out of the Inn Valley and into the Innviertel hills, to the pilgrimage church right on the trail.
9. Maria Schmolln → Munderfing — 16.3 km (↗ 192 m / ↘ 283 m) — intentionally short; along the way, Mattighofen, the town behind the “M” in KTM.
10. Munderfing → Obertrum am See — 27.3 km (↗ 266 m / ↘ 225 m) — the longest stage, leading into the lake district: Mattsee Collegiate Church, right on the trail; at the end of the stage is the headquarters of the association “Jakobswege in Österreich.”
11. Obertrum am See → Salzburg — 24.9 km (↗ 324 m / ↘ 401 m) — starting in Eugendorf on the Austrian Way of St. James trail, past the Maria Plain Basilica and down to the cathedral.

If you want a more athletic challenge, cut out overnight stays at the end instead of the beginning: The 10-day route ends with 30.1 kilometers to Mattsee and 28.8 to Salzburg—flat lake country, but 30 kilometers after nine days is still 30 kilometers. The 9-day route starts with 33.5 kilometers and 769 meters of elevation gain to Sarleinsbach—that’s a challenging first day. And thanks to Passau at kilometer 89, the route can be neatly split in half: Passau to Salzburg is 147 kilometers, six to seven days — the milder, more pen-like half.

Highlights Along the Way

• Schlägl Abbey (8.1 km, a few minutes off the trail) — the Premonstratensian Abbey of the Upper Mühlviertel, with its abbey brewery — and with the The only pilgrim hostel along the entire route: €41 with a credencial. The first major stop is two and a half hours after departure; for those coming from Bohemia, this is where their day at the border ends.
• Pfarrkirchen in the Mühlkreis (44.4 km) — the highest point along the entire route, 811.9 meters, located right in the village. No pass, no summit: a village near a church.
• Passed (km 89.0) — the key point along the route: right past the Dreiflüsseeck, where the Danube, Inn, and Ilz rivers meet, and past the Baroque Dom St. Stephan — and the lowest point along the entire route, 296.3 meters, on the banks of the Inn.
• Mariahilf Pilgrimage Church, Passau (89.7 km, a few minutes off the trail) — above the Innstadt, with a covered pilgrimage staircase; tradition links the miraculous image with the invocation "Maria hilf!" of the relief army outside Vienna. The lowest point of the path is right at the foot of these steps.
• Mariensteg, Neuburg am Inn – Wernstein (km 99.8, a few minutes off the trail) — a pedestrian bridge to Austria, six kilometers before the trail itself crosses the border.
• Schärding (km 105.9) — A Baroque town on the Inn River with a famous row of gabled buildings on the town square; the train station is located just a few minutes off the route—the shortest distance between the railroad and the route along the entire stretch.
• Suben (km 110.4, about 1 km from the trail) — Former Augustinian monastery, now a prison: The only monastery along the way that you can't visit.
• Reichersberg Abbey (km 128.8, right on the trail) — An Augustinian monastery still active today, perched above the Inn River, right on the trail — only one other monastery comes closer to you along this route.
• Maria Schmolln (km 167.5, pilgrimage church right on the trail) — Marian pilgrimage in the Innviertel hills; the town’s name includes the title of the Virgin Mary.
• Mattighofen (km 177.1) — KTM stands for Kronreif & Trunkenpolz Mattighofen: There's a motorcycle factory between two monasteries, and the route takes you past it.
• Stift Mattsee (km 206.0, right on the trail) — Mattsee Collegiate Foundation; the closest this path comes to a monastery.
• Obertrum am See (km 211.1) — Headquarters of the association, founded in 2008"Jakobswege in Österreich", which trains pilgrim guides: The association that oversees the Austrian Routes of St. James is located on the final leg of this route.
• Maria Plain Basilica (km 231.6, right on the trail) — A pilgrimage basilica high above Salzburg, the last stop before the destination; Mozart’s “Coronation Mass” is traditionally associated with the coronation of the miraculous image here — though there is no documented evidence of this connection.
• Salzburg (236.0 km) — The goal: the cathedral (Patrons: Rupert and Virgil), the Erzabtei St. Peter, and the Stift Nonnberg — three of the oldest churches in the German-speaking world within earshot of the finish.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

The most natural approach is the network itself: The trails flow seamlessly into one another. This route begins at the endpoint of the South Bohemian Way, which ends at the Czech-Austrian border in the Upper Mühlviertel—the border is not a gap in our network, but a seam. And the chain extends even further back: The South Bohemian Way begins exactly where the East Bohemian Way ends. Anyone who walks the entire route will have traveled from the Polish border to Passau: 566.9 kilometers without a single gap behind them — and 714.4 to Salzburg.

Anyone who isn't from Bohemia travels via Linz To: The train station Aigen-Schlägl It's 1.2 kilometers off the route at kilometer 7.6—so you can either start practically at Stift Schlägl and skip the first seven kilometers, or ride back the short distance to the border and include it (check the regional route's service schedule before you arrive). The second major access point is Passau At kilometer 89: Central Station, a ten-minute walk from the trail; long-distance trains on the Nuremberg–Vienna route. If you only want to do the second half, start there — The distance from Passau to Salzburg is 147 kilometers; the trip takes six to seven days.

Continue the pilgrimage?

The journey ends in Salzburg—but we’ve been walking it together even before that: Starting from Eugendorf (km 222,4) the route is identical to that of the Jakobsweg Österreich — 14 shared kilometers all the way to the finish. You don't connect to the Austrian network in Salzburg—you connect in Eugendorf; once you reach Salzburg, the two routes merge. And the Austrian Way of St. James simply continues through the city: via Bad Reichenhall, the Saalach Valley, Innsbruck, and the Arlberg to Rankweil, for a total of 853 kilometers.

In Salzburg itself, you have the second option: This is exactly where the The Pre-Alpine Way of St. James and flows 255.7 kilometers westward through the Bavarian Alpine foothills to the Hoher Peißenberg, where it joins the The Munich Way of St. James leads — toward Wieskirche, Kempten, and Lake Constance. The first few kilometers from Salzburg to Bad Reichenhall are shared by the Pre-Alpine Route and the Austrian Way of St. James; it is only there that they diverge. And at the end of each of these routes, the same path awaits you through Switzerland and France, the one that everyone takes to reach the destination: the The French Way to Santiago.

Preparation & Practical Information

Staying overnight is where this route gets tricky. Our database lists 127 locations not a single pilgrim hostel — and accommodations are available in only three places: Eugendorf (five properties, €100–177), Radeck (one property, €125), and Salzburg (126 properties, starting at €24 in a hostel). Two of these three locations are within the last 14 kilometers. The only pilgrim-specific lodging we can confirm is located at kilometer 8: the Schlägl Abbey Pilgrim Hostel, 41 € with a credencial. Anything in between—inns, bed-and-breakfasts, private rooms—you'll have to find on your own, and Book in advance, not on the go.

Marking and Navigation: In Austria and Bavaria, the yellow scallop shell on a blue background is the standard symbol, and the Salzburg section runs through the area marked since 2005 as the Salzburg Way of St. James—but along the 51.7 Bavarian kilometers, the signage system changes. Take the Camino Ninja app with you — it has the complete route on board: With 127 place names spread out over 236 kilometers, you won't get lost in the wilderness—but rather in scattered settlements—and that's just as annoying. Meals: You can count on the market towns—Rohrbach (20.5 km), Untergriesbach (63.6), Passau (89), Schärding (105.9), Altheim (145), Mattighofen (177.1), Mattsee (207.2), Seekirchen (218.9)—that’s a town with everything you need roughly every 20 to 30 kilometers.

Season: April through October. The route begins at an elevation of between 600 and 812 meters in the Mühlviertel region, where wet snow may still be on the ground in April; in contrast, the 56 kilometers through the Inn Valley are scorching hot and completely exposed to the sun in midsummer. Keep in mind the ID — You’ll cross an EU internal border twice; it’s nothing out of the ordinary, but you’ll need to pack the necessary documents. And plan your daily stages in advance, because lodging options are few and far between and not specifically geared toward pilgrims—the easiest way to do this is right in the Camino Ninja app, where you can put together your stages and plan suitable accommodations at the same time.

What the journey will cost you

That's how things are in Austria and Bavaria, which means prices aren't at the same level as in Spain—they're two to three times higher. Based on our own price data (as of August 2026): Eugendorf: €100 to €177; Radeck: €125; Salzburg: starting at €24 in a hostel and starting at €62 in a guesthouse — and the only documented pilgrimage destination, Stift Schlägl: 41 € with a Credencial. You calculate realistically 70 to 95 € per day For lodging, breakfast, and two meals, based on double occupancy, it's more like 55 to 70 € per person. Over eleven days, that comes to about 800 to 1,050 € excluding travel to and from the destination. You can save money in two ways: at the start in Stift Schlägl and at the end in Salzburg, where hostel beds starting at €24 make the most expensive city on the route the cheapest place to stay—but if you avoid the suburbs of Salzburg and stay in Obertrum or Mattsee, you’ll balance out the cost of the final leg.

Getting Here

To start, you'll travel via Linz To: The train station Aigen-Schlägl It’s located 1.2 kilometers off the trail at kilometer 7.6, practically right next to Schlägl Abbey—you can cover the first seven kilometers from the border by bus or on foot, or you can skip them without feeling guilty (check the current schedule for the regional route in advance). Linz Airport is about 39 kilometers away. If you skip the first half, get on at Passau a: Central Station, a ten-minute walk from the trail; an international hub on the Nuremberg–Regensburg–Vienna corridor.

The return journey is the luxury of this trip: Salzburg is an international hub — Munich in about an hour and a half, Vienna in about two and a half hours, and on the final leg you’ll even pass the main train station (at kilometer 234.1); the Salzburg Airport is located 3.1 kilometers from the track. Along the way, you can get on or off at an unusually large number of stops—the shortest distance between train stops on this route is at Schärding —, and the final leg depends on the Salzburg S-Bahn corridor. Anyone arriving on foot is coming from Bohemia: via the South Bohemian Way, which flows seamlessly into this route.

• Getting to the starting point: via Linz (train/airport, approx. 39 km) to the Aigen-Schlägl train station, 1.2 km from the trail at km 7.6; alternatively, Passau (main station a ten-minute walk from the trail, long-distance service Nuremberg–Vienna) to join the trail at km 89.
• Intermediate stops: Schärding (km 104.2), Altheim (km 146.4), Mattighofen (km 177.7), Seekirchen am Wallersee (km 218.9, Salzburg S-Bahn).
• Return trip: From Salzburg Central Station (you'll walk right past it), long-distance trains to Munich (~1:30 h) and Vienna (~2:30 h); Salzburg Airport is 3.1 km from the trail.