Spirits of old Bavaria linger in a forest village museum

View through a stone archway of a traditional Alpine village with white buildings featuring dark wooden balconies and red tile roofs, set against forested hills under a clear blue sky.

The Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald, or Bavarian Forest Museum Village, is a living museum in Tittling, Germany. It features over 150 historic buildings set up like a farming village from hundreds of years ago. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

On a quiet Monday in the Bavarian Forest, I wandered through a deserted village, where the air smelled old as time and the straw beds still seemed to wait for their long-gone inhabitants.

The Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald, near the southeastern city of Passau, features over 150 historic buildings set up like a farming village dating from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Among its charms are scores of artifacts, farm equipment, vehicles, and on busier days, reenactors. It seems like there’s a Jesus statue for every blade of grass nestled deep in the rolling hills and spruce-beech woodland.

A rustic metal crucifix depicting Jesus on the cross stands in the foreground of a scenic rural village. Behind it are traditional alpine-style wooden houses with white walls and sloped roofs, surrounded by lush green meadows, trees, and a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.

Bavaria's history as a bastion of the Catholic faith in Germany is evident in nearly every one of the more than 150 buildings of the Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald, or Bavarian Forest Museum Village, in Tittling, Germany. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

Interior of a small chapel with vibrant blue ceiling and red walls, featuring religious paintings, photographs of people arranged on the walls, and an altar with crosses and religious imagery.

The Pilgrimage Chapel from Thierham, Germany, dating back to 1828, is one of over 150 antique buildings at Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald in Tittling, Germany. Photos of fallen and missing German soldiers from Tittling and Thurmansbang adorn its walls. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

Close-up of an ornate mask displaying intricate craftsmanship with visible eye holes, mounted on a light-colored display stand.

An old form of punishment called a schandmaske, or shame mask, is on display at Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald in Tittling, Germany. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

Traditional Alpine village scene showing historic wooden and white-painted buildings with characteristic balconies and steep roofs, surrounded by lush green hills and forest.

Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald in Tittling, Germany, features over 150 buildings set up like a farming village from hundreds of years ago. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

I made the two-hour drive from Tower Barracks in Grafenwoehr on a Monday in August. The name translates to Bavarian Forest Museum Village, and the site did not disappoint.

I had hoped to take my wife and kids, but the start of school snuck up on us. Instead, I went ahead to scout, to see if it was worth a return trip as a family.

It is open five days a week in season and offers a reenactor-free version with less open buildings on Mondays and Tuesdays, providing both a vibrant touristy vibe on busy days and an almost eerie quiet on the others.

Interior of a historic mill showing large wooden gears, grinding stones, a wooden barrel and traditional milling equipment with exposed wooden beams overhead.

The age-old art of brewing is the subject of one of the many exhibits visitors will find at Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald, a living museum in Tittling, Germany, that preserves assorted aspects of Bavarian culture. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

Display shelves in a museum showing traditional pottery and ceramics including decorated plates, bowls, jugs and vessels in various sizes, colors and patterns against a stone wall.

Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald in Tittling, Germany, has an extensive collection of antique ceramics from Lower Bavaria. Pottery was an important feature in nearly every Bavarian household in the 17th to 19th centuries. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

Exterior view of a traditional water mill with large wooden wheel visible through stone archway, surrounded by stone walls and wooden building structures with metal roofing.

The restored water mill at Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald in Tittling, Germany, dates to 1430 and still works. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

I followed the roads winding around the 61-acre site. A faraway village turned out to be part of the property as well. I stopped at dozens of houses, from single-ridge buildings to residential stables and four-sided farmsteads, along the way.

Since it was an off day, some were closed, but I got to enter the majority of them. The old straw beds in tiny bedrooms, handmade wooden furniture, period dress, artisanal ceramics and wooden shoes intrigued me, as I pictured myself living there.

It was a bit eerie and far too quiet. The air inside smelled old as time; it was just me and the ghosts.

Placards outside the buildings offered information on where the home had been moved from, who had lived there and sometimes photographs of former inhabitants. It was like stepping into the past.

The museum was started by travel agent and hotelier Georg Höltl in 1974, according to its website. After opening a hotel across the street, he purchased and saved the mill, which was slated for demolition.

Saddened by the disappearance of historic Bavarian homes, he opened the museum and began procuring buildings and artifacts. Today, the museum is home to thousands of period items and the largest folklore collection in the region.

Interior of a historic bedroom featuring a wooden bed with carved headboard, traditional furniture, religious artwork on white walls, exposed wooden ceiling beams, and period furnishings.

A traditional farmer's bedroom displayed at Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald in Tittling, Germany, portrays rural Bavarian life between the 17th and 19th centuries. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

Interior of a traditional Alpine kitchen with log walls, wooden furniture, shelving displaying pottery and dishes, hunting trophies mounted on walls, small windows with curtains, and rustic wooden table and chairs.

Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald in Tittling, Germany, is full of displays like this parlor in a traditional Bavarian farmhouse built in 1710. The open-air museum boasts over 150 restored buildings. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

German museum information panel titled “Inhäus vom Donaubauern” (Danube Farmer’s House) from Thierham bei Sonnen, containing historical text, architectural diagrams, photographs of the building and a vintage family photograph.

Placards posted on each house at Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald in Tittling, Germany, share details of the building's history and former occupants. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

In another area of the site, I saw an old brewery that teaches visitors about Bavarian beer traditions. Nearby were blacksmith and cobbler workshops, family homes of varied sizes, gardens and barns.

The highlight of that area was a Danube farmer’s house from 1864. The home looked untouched, down to its peeling paint and numbers carved into the facade. A photograph of the Zillner family, taken before the U.S. got involved in World War II but after the German invasion of Poland, brought the former residents into view, making the past feel strikingly close.

The Gasthaus Mühlhiasl, located near the entrance, serves hearty Bavarian fare and beer. On warm weekends, the terrace fills up with guests taking a break from the exhibits.

A traditional alpine farmhouse with white plastered walls, small barred windows, and a wooden upper floor with a long balcony made of carved wooden railings, set on a stone foundation under a wide gabled roof.

This restored Bavarian farmhouse is one of over 150 buildings making up the old farming village on display at Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald in Tittling, Germany. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

A rustic religious painting on wood depicting the Coronation of the Virgin Mary. She kneels in prayer as Jesus and God the Father hold a crown above her head, with a dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit above them, all surrounded by clouds.

A 200-year-old hand-painted depiction of the coronation of Mary by the Trinity can be seen on the ceiling of a small shrine in a restored granary at Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald in Tittling, Germany. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

Exploring the village in solitude was enjoyable, but I cannot wait to bring my family to see the other version, complete with arts and crafts, reenactors, livestock, exhibits and more open buildings.

Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald is a must-visit for anyone seeking to truly understand Bavaria’s people and culture. Just make sure you have a translator app and a fully charged phone if you’re not a German speaker.

On the QT

Address: Am Dreiburgensee, Tittling, Germany

Hours: For the Museum Village, Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. via the ticket office and Monday and Tuesday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. via the turnstile. Visitors can walk through from November to Easter, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. via the turnstile. For Gasthaus Mühlhiasl, Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; closed from November to Easter.

Costs: 7 euros for adults, 5 euros for students, the disabled and individuals in groups of over 16; children under 6 accompanied by parents, free. Turnstile entry is 2 euros, payable only in coins of 1 or 2 euros.

Information: Online: www.museumsdorf.com/de/startseite

Matthew M. Burke

Matthew M. Burke has been reporting from Grafenwoehr, Germany, for Stars and Stripes since 2024. The Massachusetts native and UMass Amherst alumnus previously covered Okinawa, Sasebo Naval Base and Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, for the news organization. His work has also appeared in the Boston Globe, Cape Cod Times and other publications.

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Spirits of old Bavaria linger in a forest village museum

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