This Sunday, Bavaria will open the doors to more than 600 cultural landmarks as part of Germany’s nationwide Tag des offenen Denkmals (Open Monument Day).
The annual event allows visitors to discover historic sites that are often closed to the public. Alongside free entry, many locations are offering guided tours, lectures, themed walks, and children’s programs.
This year’s theme: Recognizing the true value of monuments
The 2025 theme is “Valuable: priceless or irreplaceable?”—a reminder that while preserving monuments may seem costly, their cultural and historical worth is immeasurable.
The German Foundation for Monument Protection hopes to encourage a fresh perspective on heritage, while Bavaria’s Minister of Arts, Markus Blume (CSU), highlights the opportunity to “experience the past up close.”
Unique highlights across the Free State
From castles and churches to industrial landmarks, Bavaria offers a wide range of experiences.
Among the highlights:
Landshut: The Trausnitz Castle opens its 450-square-meter wine cellar, famously featured in the children’s film Bibi Blocksberg and the ARD series Oktoberfest 1900.
Bad Abbach: Visitors can enter the historic rock cellar once used for beer storage—70 meters long, always kept at a cool eight to nine degrees Celsius.
Trostberg (Traunstein district): Restored Baroque-era craftsmen’s houses open their doors.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen: The Bob Museum offers tours of its exhibitions and the original 1936 Olympic bob run.
Castles, towers, and archives open to the public
In the north of Bavaria, Schloss Kleinheubach will showcase its marble hall, 18th-century frescoes, and chapel.
Laudenbach in Miltenberg district presents the history of its rock cellars, once used as World War II shelters. In Alzenau, visitors can climb the tower of the historic Villa Meßmer.
Elsewhere:
Nuremberg: Several church towers will be accessible, as well as tours of the 16th-century Schwedenhaus.
Bamberg: Sites include the historic music pavilion and a former slaughterhouse.
Regensburg: Around 60 programs feature tours of the Thurn und Taxis library, the Diocesan Central Archive, and the Runtingerhaus, with some events offered in sign language.
Augsburg: Insights into the UNESCO-listed water management system.
Weigenheim (Neustadt/Aisch-Bad Windsheim): The newly restored Schloss Frankenberg opens its gates after years of renovation.
Special programs for children
Families are a key focus of this year’s Open Monument Day. In Augsburg, children can mint coins at an old forge.
In Munich, the Alte Münze hosts the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation with activities like microscope studies, 3D scanning, treasure hunts, and archaeology workshops.
Landshut offers an interactive tour at Trausnitz Castle called “Adventure Armor – Please Touch!”.
Meanwhile, at the Stone Age village in Pestenacker (Landsberg am Lech), children can try prehistoric cooking, baking bread in a clay oven, or making leather jewelry.
With so many sites across Bavaria, Open Monument Day provides an unparalleled chance to step into history and discover the state’s diverse heritage—whether through castles, industrial landmarks, or hands-on family adventures.
