Places to stay in or near Donauworth

It's been some years and a little out of your way, but Neuburg an der Donau. The old city is worth a visit and there are many churches and a few museums. We stayed at the Hotel & Brauerei-Gasthof Neuwirt. We were there for an overnight on New Years Eve and had dinner with the Dinner for One play. There was no dedicated parking then for the hotel.

Rain itself, a friendly old town, would be a possibility, or Schloss Leitheim (not cheap), the former summer residence of the abbots of Kaisheim (see below). The only other town-like settlement between Donauwörth and Augsburg is the historic town of Friedberg.

Since you seem to be interested in sacral architecture: on the way from Donauwörth to Augsburg, you'll pass the monasteries of Thierhaupten and Holzen which are worth a stop. The same holds for the Kaisheim Monastery, a few miles northeast of Donauwörth.

Holzen, by the way, also runs a small hotel.

As for Niederschönenfeld: it hosts one of the oldest playable church organs
in Bavaria, by Paul Prescher (1683). If you are interested, you may want to contact the Association for the preservation of the organ.

EDIT: Guess you are, why on earth else would you go to Mönchsdeggingen. ;)

Greetings from Augsburg.

Thank you SLA019 and MCHPP for your responses!

MCHPP: I had looked at Neuburg an der Donau - beautiful town and nice church - but it takes us too far East. Next time!

SLA019: I'm CRAZY about Baroque Churches - Monchsdeggingen has been on my list for a very long time! Not worth it?
Perhaps I'll add Kloster Holzen or Thierhaupten instead. My other choices could be Maihingen or Neresheim. Too many to choose from! Do you have a favorite between Rothenburg and Freising?

Thanks again for your suggestions.

@Tweets55:
Apparently, I have misunderstood your posting, because I was thinking that who wants to see Mönchsdeggingen and Niederschönenfeld at the same time, would surely like to see the both organs by Paul Pscherer.

But when it comes to architecture and art: There is no reason to replace Möchsdeggingen by Holzen or Thierhaupten. Mönchsdeggingen is a beautiful example of the Bavarian Rococo, whereas at Holzen, the most remarkable thing is the ceiling made of Wessobrunn stucco, and in Thierhaupten that of Feichtmayr.

But the most splendid example of a baroque monastery complex in the region, even in the whole of southern Germany, is Ottobeuren, and besides that much gets insignificant. It would, however, mean a detour of 150 km between Nördlingen and Freising, but if you are interested in baroque, its a must have seen.

Maybe you can make up the time by skipping some of the other places you mentioned. I am thinking primarily of Dinkelsbühl and Wemding. If you have seen Nördlingen, you can skip Dinkelsbühl easily. Both are very similar (the typical little southern German imperial cities, which fell into agony after the 30-year war and therefore have preserved their medieval appearance), but Nördlingen has one of the best hall churches of the late Gothic period, whereas the one in Dinkelsbühl is much smaller and the interior was replaced in the 19th century for the most part by neo-Gothic kitsch. Wemding belongs to the pretty, but not to the great things in Bavaria.

Ottobeuren also has a number of hotels ranging from cheap to expensive (prices for a double room incl. breakfast start from about 60€); driving time to Freising is about 1:30.

Happy planning!

Did you know that the church in Nordlingen is made of meteorite breccia and has micro-diamonds throughout? Nordlingen is in the middle of the Ries Meteor Crater.

I'm so glad that the magnificence of Ottobeuren has been mentioned.

If you stay in Nördlingen, I would recommend staying at Wengers Brettl. I haven't stayed in their new place, but I did stay in their old hotel near Deiningertor, and liked it.

SLAO19 - Thank you for the suggestion of visiting Ottobeuren!
In a few years, I hope to plan a trip down the whole Barockstrasse - so I'll definitely see Ottobeuren then.
Dinkelsbuehll has such a cute Christmas market that it's on our list again.
We have not walked the walls of Nordlingen so I thought we'd do that and see St. Georg. Thank you for endorsing Monchsdeggingen - it does look beautiful. I might add Kircheim am Ries because the alter looks fantastic! Thanks so much for your recommendations!

NICKB - No I didn't know that - amazing!

LEE - I appreciate the recommendation of the hotel!

Happy New Year to you all.

When you eventually get to Ottobeuren I think you will have a really good time.

(my best friend's sister's husband is attached to Ottobeuren, personal prejudice but factually based)

@nigel - Thanks Nigel - I"m looking forward to seeing it!!

personal prejudice

Your prejudice is shared by the most important German handbooks of architecture and art, including the famous Dehio, Handbuch der deutschen Kunstdenkmäler, and Reclams Kunstführer ("wohl die prächtigste Klosteranlage Oberdeutschlands" / arguably the most magnificent monastery complex in Upper Germany).