Pictures
Throughout the hotel you will see pictures on the walls, all of which have a connection to our hometown.
Below, find explanations…
We would like to thank Arno Freudenstein for the beautiful pictures.
Jesuit-Church
The view on this picture opens up through the Annunciation group of the Trinity Column The church itself was first mentioned in 1368 and was taken over by the Jesuit order in 1631, which was commissioned by the city council to establish a high school (which still exists today).
The originally Gothic Jesuit church was the first church in Straubing to get a Baroque makeover. The buildings belonging to the college, built by the Jesuit order, were used by various offices after secularization. Today they house the police headquarters.
The gable of the town hall
The town hall of Straubing is a merchant’s house from the 13th century; the tradition of shops on the ground floor also dates from this time. The town acquired it in 1382 and completely rebuilt it.
The Gothic assembly-hall is particularly worth seeing. The Gothic gable was demolished in 1828. At the end of the 19th century, in 1892/93, the town hall was given a new facade with the town’s coat of arms in the neo-Gothic style.
The Town-hall burned down in 2016 and is under reconstruction since.
Trinity column
When imperial Austrian troops stood in outside the walls of Straubing on August 3, 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession, the people of Straubing promised that if they were spared from the war, they would not only erect this column, but also lead a penitent life, avoid injustice, pride, vice and dishonesty.
As you can see, the column has been erected. The people of Straubing are struggling with the second half of the vow to this day.
“Lower” City Gate
The historic “lower” gate was replaced by the current building in classical style. The gate consists of two distinctive obelisks and two gatehouses with a pedestrian passage. The obelisks’ simplicity and emphasis on stone as a material are reminiscent of Egyptian models and the architecture of the French Revolution.
In the 1960s, the demolition of the gate was demanded as part of traffic planning and with a view to the priority of car traffic. The move, which was also vigorously supported by the Young Socialists at the time, was thankfully averted by the city council.
Theresienplatz
But servants also hired themselves out there at the “Arnermarkt,” for example people from the Bavarian Forest to help with the harvest.
Theresienplatz is structured and characterized by the Tiburtius fountain, Tiburtius being the second patron saint of the town, and the Trinity Column.
Ludwigsplatz
The Straubing town square is divided into the lower (eastern) and upper (western) parts by the town tower. These parts were named “Ludwigsplatz and Theresienplatz” in the 19th century on the occasion of the visit of the Bavarian Crown Prince and Princess.
Even today, following a centuries-old tradition, local gardeners and farmers still sell fruit and vegetables every weekday on Ludwigsplatz.
Sand Harbor
After the completion of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, the importance of the Danube as a waterway grew again. Since 1996 there has been a Danube port near Ittling, which is attached to the industrial area that has existed there since the 1970s. The harbor basin is 650 m long, the associated quay is 1050 m.
In 2015, almost four million metric tons of goods were handled, with agricultural and related goods dominating shipping freight traffic.
Gäuboden Volksfest (Gäuboden-Fair)
Since 1949 the festival has been called, at least officially, “Gäubodenvolksfest” and has taken place in August since 1922.
“Gäuboden” is an area left and right of the Danube stretching from Regensburg almost to Passau. The soil here is very fertile making the farmers very wealthy.
Even today it is accompanied by the “Ostbayernschau”, a consumer exhibition that has almost half a million visitors every year.
The real attraction, however, is the entertainment around the beer tents with rides, stalls and everything that goes with such a fair.
The Straubing Volksfest is more of a fair for the locals, but attracts over a million visitors every year and is the highlight of the year for many. Nowadays the festival lasts eleven days and ends with magnificent fireworks.
Theresien Center
The Theresien Center is a shopping center that was built on the site in front of the former “Oberes Tor” (Upper City gate) and opened in 2008. It offers, among other things, a selection of boutiques, groceries, consumer electronics and computers.
Director's Villa
The “Dietl” brewery played a major role in Straubing for a long time. Georg Loichinger acquired it in 1779 and produced 3,574 hl of beer in 1849/50. In 1864, the Dietl brewery received the first steam engine in Straubing and its own electricity supply, proving to be a very progressive, innovative company. Before World War II, output reached 25,000 hl of beer per year, a figure that was never reached again. The brewery was sold in the second half of the 20th century to the Arco brewery in Moos, which stopped production in Straubing.
The brewery building was renovated in 2015 as part of a development of the property and is a fine example of an industrial building from the turn of the before last century.
Danube with Danube dam
The dam protects the villages behind it from regular flooding and serves as a path for walkers and cyclists along the Danube and through nature. The elevated position always offers beautiful views.
At the Duke’s Castle in Straubing, a wall with a passage closes the gap to the dam, and there is a beautiful viewing terrace there. The passage is closed during flooding. A stone eagle guards the place.
Town square
The town square was the daily center of the town founded in 1218 by Ludwig the Kehlheimer, which was surrounded by walls at the intersection of important trade routes and was intended to consolidate the power of the Wittelsbach family, the rulers of Bavaria until 1918.
To the east of the new town was a settlement that was probably dominated by a Strupo, as the place is mentioned in a document from 897 as Strupinga (at the people of Strupo). The settlement developed into a kind of town, had castle rights and was even allowed to hold markets, a valuable privilege. The center of this settlement was the Basilica of St. Peter, built around 1180.
At the turn of the first millennium, the town was in the hands of the Bishop of Augsburg, a brother of Emperor Henry II, who gave the “Straubing estate” to the Augsburg cathedral chapter.
The town tower
is the landmark and the centre of the town of Straubing Its Gothic mightiness proclaims the prosperity and self-confidence of the citizens of Straubing. Foundations were laid in 1316, gradually expanded until the 16th century and today measures 67m.
At the top there is a gallery with four oriel towers which offers a wonderful view of the town, the Danube and the surrounding Gäuboden. The tower was always a watchtower and the watchman had to look out for fire, ships or possible attackers and to tell the time. The last watchman quit his job in 1927.
One can climb the town tower, but there is no elevator. On nice days the wonderful view is a reward for the strenuous climb. Information about guided tours can be obtained from the tourism office.
Weytter Tower
The Weytter Tower is not far from the Röhrl on the corner of Jesuitengasse/Bürg. It was part of the first city fortifications, the city wall, which the city received around the year 1300.
The almost square tower probably got its name from a Straubing citizen who stood guard there.
In later times the tower served as a city prison for many years.
Today a family of storks lives on its roof ridge and provides Straubing’s offspring.
Since 1990 the Weytter Tower has housed a gallery of the Straubing Association of Fine Artists, which regularly organizes exhibitions there.
Slaughterhouses
The slaughterhouses, built in 1897/98 by architect Dr. Hugo Heiß, was one of the most modern slaughterhouses of its time. The clinker-brick-built ensemble is grouped around a courtyard with three slaughterhouses and a tower with a gable roof in the middle. A representative residential and administrative building is located on Heerstrasse. The entire area is surrounded by a wall.
In 1984, the slaughterhouse was closed and moved to a new facility that meets today’s hygiene requirements.
The area is now a cultural center with a Theater, a “School of Imagination”, a gallery and workshops for artists.
Water tower
Since the 1920s, Straubing’s water supply has been provided by a pumping station on the outskirts of Straubing. Some of the water was pumped directly to consumers, but also partly via the water tower, using the principle of communicating pipes. The tower is an impressive 63 m high and dates from 1922. The stile of this concrete structure is of the late Art Nouveau period.
This is the last water tower built in Bavaria. It houses two tanks that hold 900 m³ of water. Today, a deep tank at the waterworks serves as a water reservoir, but the tower is still used to equalize the pressure for Straubing’s water network.
St. Peter Basilica
A three-aisled basilica was built in the old – formerly Celtic – settlement core of Straubing around 1180. The builder was the Augsburg Cathedral Chapter, to which Straubing belonged at the time. The church was built on the remains of a Roman fort and other buildings. The church is one of the most important Romanesque church buildings in southern Bavaria. Particularly noteworthy are the two elaborately decorated portals and the triumphal cross from around 1200, which shows Christ as King.
The church was given a Baroque makeover around 1722, the then single tower was made higher and the naves were given vaults.
In the 19th century, the church was remodeled in a neo-Romanesque style, the exterior was changed significantly and a second tower was added.
In the years 1975 to 1978, a strongly purifying restoration was carried out to try to recreate a Romanesque spatial impression. The vaults have been replaced by flat wooden ceilings and the Nazarene-style wall decorations have been removed. See for yourself whether the exercise was successful.
The surrounding cemetery is also worth seeing, with many historical tombs, a baroque dance of death chapel and the chapel that Duke Albrecht donated as penance for the murder of Agnes Bernauer.
Bernauerin Garden
At the Duke’s Castle you find the Salzstadel (a building where salt was stored) , which today houses the city archives and the city library. Right there is an access to a small garden behind a tower crowned with battlements.
The tower was probably built in 1474 as part of the reinforcement of the city’s fortifications.
In the 19th century, the tower was slightly redesigned and at that time the rumor spread that Agnes Bernauer had been imprisoned in this tower before her execution in the Danube. Since then, the tower has been known as the Bernauer Tower and the garden behind it as the Bernauerin Garden.
The rumor, probably started by an inventive draftsman, has now been ennobled by the fact that a monument to Agnes Bernauer has been erected there.
The Röhrl
The building on Theresienplatz is almost four hundred years old in its core and is protected as an individual monument. In 1726 the house was rebuilt and probably enlarged; the beautiful Rococo façade also dates from this period.
In 2014/2015 the building was carefully renovated from the ground up and brought up to the latest technical standards.
The hotel was also expanded with an annex to improve the economic basis for the preservation of the building. The construction work was preceded by almost three years of planning, during which the interests of the city, the monument protection authorities, the neighbors and the owners were reconciled. You can find out more about the history of the hotel here.
Ursuline Church
The church, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, is somewhat hidden in “Burggasse”.
It is a gem in Rococo stile, the last church built by the brothers Egid Quirin Asam and Cosmas Damian Asam. Perhaps there was a special relationship with the monastery because Cosmas Damian Asam’s daughter had entered the monastery.
In any case, the two ingenious builders created a church with a round floor plan in cramped conditions, lighting only through high skylights and three altars.
The furnishings are a feast for the eyes, a uniquely harmonious composition of architecture, painting and sculpture, a work of art worth seeing.
Guardian Angel Church
The Guardian Angel Church was built between 1702 and 1707 by an architect from the order for the Franciscan monastery that existed in Straubing at the time. The monastery was later closed down during secularization.
The baroque furnishings are – for the time – rather simple, in keeping with the order’s principles. Nevertheless, the ensemble with the pulpit and the side altars is impressive. The church has recently been restored and is only accessible during services or on request.
The former monastery situated behind the church is now used by the adult education center.
“Persil” clock
In the 1920s, electric clocks were set up in public places in many cities, including Straubing. The Henkel company advertised on some of them the detergent-brand “Persil”, which was introduced to the market in 1907.
The Straubing Persil clock stood at the large intersection of Passauerstrasse and Heerstrasse, from which other streets branch off. The square is not well defined and to this day has no official name. But everyone in Straubing knows the square as “At the Persil clock”. The clock was a meeting and orientation point.
Even when the clock with the Persil advertisement was replaced by a clock advertising the savings bank, the square kept its name in popular parlance and many people used it, even though they had never seen the “Persil clock”. And the savings bank also received an invoice from the city administration for the clock with the new advertisement for the “Persil clock”.
In 2006 a new Persil Clock was erected, and the Henkel company has installed some of the nostalgic clocks in various locations. This has closed a gap in Straubing that contains a lovely piece of popular history.
“Poiger” vinegar factory
The former Poiger vinegar factory dates back to a trading company that had been active in Straubing for a long time and among other things produced brandy and vinegar.
In 1930, a new factory was built on Frauenbrünnlstrasse, the facade of which is still preserved today as part of the Theresiencenter. The factory contained the latest technology and was internationally competitive. Despite further modernization, however, in 2004 the time had come to sell the brand to a Dutch company that stopped production in Straubing.
The design for the building was by Hans Dendl, an important architect from Straubing, whose designs had a lasting impact on the cityscape. The brick building was up to the technological requirements of producing vinegar with the problematic acid fumes. The facade plays with the installation of brick in different directions and is an interesting testimony to the architecture of its time.
Our pictures show a detail of the facade with colored glazed clinker bricks, which unfortunately can no longer be seen today, as the vinegar factory was demolished during the construction of the shopping mall Theresien Center. The facade that can be seen today is a replica.
According to an anecdote, vinegar fumes are said to have repeatedly drifted to the Dietl brewery’s beer-cooling facility when there was an unfavorable east wind and affected the taste of the beer that was left to cool openly (as was common at the time).
Contact - Das Röhrl Hotel & Restaurant
Theresienplatz 36 | 94315 Straubing
Tel.: 09421 - 9696857 | office@das-roehrl.de
Opening hours Hotel 9am - midnight
Restaurant: Mo. - Su. 10 am - 11 pm
Kitchen Mo. - Su. 11.30 am - 09 pm