District

Ilz Valley & Land of Three Castles

The Ilz, fondly nicknamed the 'Black Pearl' for its dark, moor-tinted water, carves its way from the Bavarian Forest through narrow, primeval gorge forests down to its mouth on the Danube in the heart of Passau. The river counts among the last near-natural watercourses of its kind in Central Europe; much of its course is under nature protection and home to rare species such as the freshwater pearl mussel and the kingfisher. Slim paths follow the water through moss-covered rocks, shaded woods and quiet floodplains.

A scenic and historic highlight is the romantic Hals castle ruin, which sits high above a tight bend of the Ilz and offers a wide view into the valley. To the north, around the market town of Tittling, the Land of Three Castles unfolds with the three medieval strongholds of Englburg, Saldenburg and Fürstenstein, which once secured the trade routes of the foothill country and gave the region its name.

Tittling is also home to the large Bavarian Forest Open-Air Museum, which invites you to immerse yourself in rural life of past centuries among historic farmhouses, mills and workshops. The Ilz valley and the Land of Three Castles belong to the Passau countryside and combine riverside wilderness with castle romance and living folk culture — a history-laden destination for nature-loving explorers.