The best city hikes and walks around Zwiesel

The Place of the Volunteers in Zwiesel is a specially dedicated area that highlights volunteer commitment in the city.

Zwiesel is a beer culture town and, with its steam beer tradition, an ideal place to start, arrive, or stop along the way: Freshly tapped steam beer awaits you in the brewery's taproom, the Bräustüberl (brewery taproom), and the traditional Bavarian snack bar – perfect for a pre-tour refreshment or a relaxing break midway through your adventure. Nestled between the charm of a glassmaking town, historic inns, and its proximity to the national park, Zwiesel uniquely combines nature, culture, and beer enjoyment. www.zwiesel.de

The so-called "Weikl Sawmill" can be found on the lower town square, at the entrance to the "pottery town." Around 1900, pottery (pots) was still being produced here. When Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492, a market mill with a sawmill was already operating on the same site, on the Little Regen River. After fires, the buildings were rebuilt. The sawmill was primarily supplied with logs floated down the Little Regen. The sawmill has been owned by the Weikl family for over 150 years. Even today, logs up to 12 meters long are floated down a canal from the Little Regen into the sawmill. On Fridays, starting at 4 p.m., you can often still witness the almost forgotten practice of floating logs into the sawmill. https://www.zwiesel.de/kunst-und-kultur/denkmaeler.html

The impressive town hall in Zwiesel has a turbulent history. A town hall in use since at least 1535 was burned down by the Swedes in 1633, along with the market square. It was rebuilt in 1635 but burned down again in 1707, resulting in the loss of many important records. The subsequent town hall was also destroyed in the market fire of 1832. In 1838, construction began on the current town hall on the site of the previous building. It wasn't until 1844 that the building, which until then had only a temporary roof, was properly re-roofed. In 1876, the town council decided to crown the town hall with a small tower. The work was awarded to master carpenter Georg Stolka for 1100 marks. He began erecting the turret on December 18, 1876. The tower's cupola was added on December 30, 1876, by journeyman carpenter Johann Kagerbauer. In the first days of the following year, the clock and bell were opened. The bell came from the old town hall, where it had been used for many decades to signal the start of council meetings. On January 16, 1877, the tower bell of the new town hall tower was rung for the first time. The town hall clock was also set in motion that day. The town hall has three stories with five window bays each. The windows of the lower floors are round-arched, as are the three portals, which are arranged side by side and are of the same size. A stepped landing lies in front of these portals. The upper floor has rectangular windows. The windows and portals have rusticated frames, and the corner pilasters are also rusticated. The stories are separated by cornices that run below the window sills. The ground floor features ashlar masonry. In front of the central window of the first upper floor, which extends into a doorway, is a balcony supported by a volute corbel and a balustrade. The flat roof, which slopes towards the tower, rests on a corbel frieze. The tower features wooden ornaments encased in sheet metal. The slate shingles of its roof are laid in a pattern, the spire is decorated with floral ornaments, and the weathervane at the very top consists of tin flower cups. The bell, cast in Straubing in 1707, weighs approximately twenty kilograms. https://www.niederbayern-wiki.de/wiki/Rathaus_(Zwiesel)

Near Zwiesel stands an extraordinary chapel. It is likely the only chapel in all of Europe built from handcrafted cast glass blocks. The little church is dedicated to Saint Mary. Services are held here during town festivals and in the month of May. The idea comes from the internationally renowned glass designer and sculptor Walter Wenzl from Bernried. First, a metal framework was welded to ensure the chapel's stability. Glassmakers from the Zwiesel Glass School then painstakingly produced 131 structured, three-colored glass blocks for the chapel's body and altar through hand-casting. The three color layers – brown, green, and blue – represent earth and groundedness, nature and growth, and the sky. The glass blocks were then individually fitted into the metal framework. In accordance with the Zwiesel town motto, “Fine glass and good wood are Zwiesel’s pride,” the chapel received a wooden roof structure, and the Lord was also carved from wood. He hangs in the chapel on a glass cross. Finally, the small tower was topped with a red, mouth-blown glass bell as a symbol of love. It bears the inscription: “Consecrated in the peace of the town of Zwiesel.” Above the entrance of the glass chapel, you will see an infinity symbol with a cross. According to tradition, the “infinity” symbol was already used for glass in the time of the alchemists. This symbol means: It is an infinite cross to make glass. The chapel was completed in 2002 and consecrated in 2003. When the bell is rung, it sounds like a promise: The promise that high-quality glass will continue to be manufactured in the glass city of Zwiesel in the future. https://www.zwiesel.de/kunst-und-kultur/kirchenkapellenwallfahrtenundpilgerwege/glaskapelle.html

The world's tallest crystal glass pyramid is made of 93,665 Tritan® crystal glasses. The four-sided pyramid, weighing 11.5 tons, was created by 25 employees and apprentices of Zwiesel Krisallglas AG. Glasses on 65 levels and a total height of 8.06 m are also records. In Zwiesel, on May 25, 2007, the world's tallest crystal glass pyramid (height: 8.06 m) was ceremoniously inaugurated. For two weeks, a team from Zwiesel Krisallglas AG had been stacking glasses for the record-breaking project. Exactly 93,665 "Neckar" series white wine glasses were placed one by one, millimeter by millimeter, on top of each other, completely without glue or any other aids. The employees worked from scaffolding, partly secured like mountaineers. Due to a lack of technical control options, the construction was done almost entirely by eye. Only once did the pyramid threaten to go slightly out of shape, so that around 2,500 glasses had to be removed and restacked. Then the last wine glass was placed at the top, after which a crane installed the specially made protective glazing. The glass panels, weighing almost 5 tons, are supported by a delicate steel structure, which is an absolute technical challenge, as architect Uwe Fickenscher states. However, the pyramid requires more than just static knowledge from the planner. To prevent the stacked glasses from getting dirty or fogging up, a permanent dehumidification and dust removal system was installed. It has resulted in a glass world record and thus a new landmark for Zwiesel Kristallglas AG and also for the glass city of Zwiesel. https://www.bayerischer-wald.de/attraktion/glaspyramide-351dc60ba7

The people here were very resourceful from a very early stage.

Here in Zwiesel there are numerous sights and great opportunities for hiking and biking 😉 It's always worth a visit 👌