Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald

About the museum

The impetus came from Georg Höltl, founder of the travel company Rotel Tours. When he opened a hotel on the Dreiburgensee in 1973, he came across the Rothaumühle nearby, a mill documented since 1430 whose roof had collapsed and which was slated for demolition. Georg and Centa Höltl bought the building, had it restored, and opened a local history museum in it in 1974.

The response was enthusiastic, and the family soon received offers from all over the region: first household goods, tools, and furniture, then granaries, houses, and entire farmsteads. Between 1975 and 1980 alone, more than 200 farm properties were offered to them. Höltl wanted to save at least part of the disappearing rural architecture and, over some 25 years, had more than 150 buildings dismantled and rebuilt on the Dreiburgensee, modeled on historic village layouts. Since 1980, the Gasthaus Mühlhiasl inn has been the village’s gathering place.

Today the site covers about 25 hectares with farmhouses and farmsteads from 1580 to 1850, chapels, mills, sawmills, an old village school, cottage gardens, and old breeds of domestic animals. The folk culture collection of around 60,000 objects is considered the largest in the Bavarian Forest; parts of it can be seen in thematic exhibitions, walk-through storerooms, and furnished parlors. For its 40th anniversary in 2014, the Rothaumühle received a new oak waterwheel four meters high. The museum is still family-owned and belongs to the Rotel group of companies.

Highlights

• Rothaumühle, the museum’s nucleus, with a working waterwheel from 2014
• Bucheckergut – the only four-sided farmstead in the museum village
• Schoolhouse with more than 1,000 historic school wall charts
• Exhibition “Zeugnisse der Volksfrömmigkeit” (testimonies of popular piety) with reverse glass paintings
• Largest museum collection of smoke-hood beehives in Germany
• Sleigh of a Prince-Bishop of Passau

Permanent exhibitions

• Zeugnisse der Volksfrömmigkeit – In more than 100 display cases in the Rothaumühle, the museum shows religious folk art, devotional objects, and reverse glass paintings from the Bavarian Forest and neighboring regions.
• Keramik in Niederbayern – The tithe barn displays selected pieces from a collection of around 1,500 vessels, mostly from workshops in the Kröning area, on the Rott, and around Passau.
• Historische Imkerei – Old straw skeps, wooden beehives, and homemade honey extractors tell the story of rural beekeeping in the Bavarian Forest.

Founded

1974

Operated by

Museumsdorf Bayer. Wald (Familie Höltl, Rotel-Unternehmensgruppe)

Admission & discounts

On days with turnstile access, a reduced flat rate of €3 applies (coins only).

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

Dedicated children's exhibition in Stadel No. 110 with play and experiment stations on country life around 100 years ago; tour specifically for children and students (approx. 1 hour) by arrangement. Free admission for children up to age 6 accompanied by parents.

Getting there & parking

By car via the A3 (exit Aicha vorm Wald) or from Passau via the B 85 to Tittling.

Amenities & dining

• Restaurant: not available

According to the website (as of September 10, 2026), the Gasthaus Mühlhiasl in the museum village is temporarily closed due to a change of tenant. Dogs on a leash allowed, no smoking.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 150 guests.

Civil weddings from June to mid-September in the farmhouse parlor of the Fischergütl (about 40 people, room rental €300 plus admission), celebrations for up to 150 people in the Mühlhiasl hall. Weddings require use of the catering, which is currently closed due to a change of leaseholder.

Plan your visit