Neuburg an der Donau

A Renaissance palace above the Danube, a square full of Baroque houses and hardly a tour bus in sight. Neuburg is one of Bavaria’s best-kept secrets.

NEUBURG AN DER DONAU: Ask most visitors to Bavaria where they’re going and you’ll hear Neuschwanstein, Rothenburg, maybe the Königssee. Hardly anyone says Neuburg. That’s their loss. It’s a small, beautiful old town on a hill above the Danube, between Ingolstadt and Donauwörth, with a palace, a run of grand squares and streets and a riverside that’s made for a sunny afternoon.
I went with my friend Steffi in March 2008, on one of those first bright, sunny spring days, and it’s stayed one of my favourite days out. Down by the Danube on a warm day, with the sun on the water and the palace up above you, you’d struggle to find anywhere nicer.

ON THE DANUBE: Neuburg’s palace and old town above the river. Picture: Stu Anderson

A capital in miniature

Neuburg punches well above its size because for 300 years it was a capital. In 1505 the principality of Pfalz-Neuburg was carved out of a Wittelsbach family inheritance squabble, with Neuburg as its seat, and it lasted until the early 1800s. Its most famous ruler was Count Palatine Ottheinrich (1502–1559), a big spender and patron of the arts who brought in the Reformation and rebuilt the castle as a Renaissance palace. That’s why such a small town has such a grand old centre.

The palace

The Residenzschloss sits on the edge of the hill above the river. Ottheinrich built three Renaissance wings from 1530, and a Baroque east wing with two round towers was added in the 1660s. Walk through the gate and you come out in a courtyard with tiers of arcades, its walls covered in grey-and-white sgraffito scenes from the Bible, scratched into the plaster in the 1560s. It’s one of the finest Renaissance courtyards in Germany.

THE WAY IN: The palace gate tower. Picture: Stu Anderson

KNOCK KNOCK: A grumpy door knocker on the palace. Picture: Stu Anderson

THE COURTYARD: Arcades on every floor of the palace courtyard. Picture: Stu Anderson

SCRATCHED IN STONE: Sgraffito scenes around the courtyard archway. Picture: Stu Anderson

ARCHES ON ARCHES: The arcades and painted walls. Picture: Stu Anderson

Inside, the palace chapel was painted by Hans Bocksberger in 1543 and is one of the oldest Protestant church interiors anywhere. There’s also the State Gallery of Flemish Baroque painting, with Rubens altarpieces in the great hall, and a museum on the history of Pfalz-Neuburg. In summer (April to September) the palace is open from 9am to 6pm, and in winter from 10am to 4pm. It’s closed on Mondays.

LOOK UP: Painted vaults inside the palace. Picture: Stu Anderson

STONY FACED: A stone lady in a ruff, in the upper town. Picture: Stu Anderson

Karlsplatz and the upper town

Through the arch from the palace is the upper town, and its heart, Karlsplatz. It’s a big, calm square lined with old lime trees and Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo houses, with the Marian fountain in the middle. On the east side is the Rathaus with its double staircase. And then there’s the Hofkirche, the court church, started for the Protestants and finished for the Catholics after the ruling family switched sides.

THROUGH THE ARCH: From the palace into the upper town. Picture: Stu Anderson

KARLSPLATZ: The Marian fountain and painted houses on Karlsplatz. Picture: Stu Anderson

THE RATHAUS: Neuburg’s town hall and its double staircase. Picture: Stu Anderson

THE HOFKIRCHE: The court church at the end of the street. Picture: Stu Anderson

BACK STREETS: A quiet lane in the upper town. Picture: Stu Anderson

The streets are quiet and there’s fun stuff in odd corners. When we were there, a bright green VW Beetle was parked up in the upper town, and I couldn’t resist.

LOOK AT THAT: Me and the greenest Beetle in Bavaria. Picture: Stu Anderson

Down by the Danube

Then head down to the river. There’s a promenade along the bank, a café terrace by the bridge, and paths along the water into the floodplain forest that runs east towards Ingolstadt. On a warm day, with an ice cream, it’s about as good as Bavaria gets. Look out for the art on the riverbank too. We found a sculpture that just said “und und und” (and and and).

THE PROMENADE: Strolling along the Danube below the old town. Picture: Stu Anderson

SUNSHINE: Steffi on the riverbank. Picture: Stu Anderson

TABLE FOR TWO: A café terrace by the Danube bridge. Picture: Stu Anderson

FROM THE BRIDGE: The palace’s round towers from across the river. Picture: Stu Anderson

THE OTHER BANK: Looking across the Danube from the old town side. Picture: Stu Anderson

WALKIES: One of the paths above the river. Picture: Stu Anderson

AND AND AND: Art on the riverbank. Picture: Stu Anderson

BIG SKY: The old town and the Hofkirche tower from across the water. Picture: Stu Anderson

The Schlossfest

Every two years Neuburg throws one of the biggest Renaissance festivals in Bavaria, the Schlossfest. The whole old town goes back to the 1500s for two weekends, with a market of over 150 stalls, jousting, dancing in the palace courtyard, a parade of about 2,400 people in costume and fireworks over the Danube. The next one is on 25 to 27 June and 2 to 4 July 2027, so get it in your diary.

Getting there

• By train. Neuburg is on the railway along the Danube between Ingolstadt and Donauwörth. From Munich it usually takes an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half, changing at Ingolstadt (or sometimes Donauwörth).
• Bayern-Ticket. Valid on the regional trains. €34 for one person plus €10 for each extra person, up to five.
• From the station. It’s a short walk down to the Danube and up the hill into the old town.
• By car. About an hour from Munich, via the A9 and Ingolstadt.
• The palace. April to September 9am to 6pm, October to March 10am to 4pm, closed Mondays.
• Schlossfest. 25 to 27 June and 2 to 4 July 2027.
Checked October 2026. Times and prices change, so check before you go.

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