Eggmühl - A Battlefield Walk

April 21-22 marks the 211th anniversary of the battle of Eggmühl.  To commemorate this event, I dipped into past travel photos to refresh the memories from my visit.   

I visited Eggmühl as a half-day trip out of Regensburg (see A Stroll Around Regensburg) during our two week visit to Bavaria and the Tirol in May 2018.  Oh, the days of travel.  I remember them fondly.  Two trips have been cancelled thus far this Spring: one to Texas and one to Switzerland.  

Not interested in an early morning battlefield exploration and claiming she wanted to find a laundromat to wash some clothes, I left Nancy at the hotel and departed for Eggmühl on an early morning train.  While I do not remember the train timetable, I recall the trip being no more than 20 minutes from Regensburg train station to Eggmühl.  The train station itself is unattended with the town fire station backing up to the track.  

Not far from the station is the Lion Monument commemorating the 1809 battle.  Flanking both sides of the park are a series of placades describing both the operational aspects of the campaign and battle details.

 The informational markers include some useful maps to help me find my bearings.

The train station and Lion Monument sit on high ground with the village of Eggmühl below in what was once the lowland water meadows.  Before I dropped down onto the road to Eggmühl, I surveyed my surroundings.  To the northwest, the white steeple of Unterlaichling can be seen beyond the treeline in the distance.  On the 22nd, St. Hilaire's division, led by the 10th Legere, attacked Austrian positions defending in Unterlaichling.

Unterlaichling in the distance

To the west, the spire of the church of Schierling can be seen.  Due to urban growth, the view to Eggmühl was obscured from my vantage point.  For a glimpse of Eggmühl, I would need to walk in a northeasterly direction along a narrow road through a minor industrial area. 

Schierling in the distance

The Vorberg

Bettelberg in the distance

On the way to the village I crossed over the bridge spanning the Gross Laaber.  While a modern bridge has replaced the 1809 bridge, it was this important crossing at which the Peterwardein Grenz put up a stiff resistance to early French attacks.  The grenz repulsed the first two assaults by Württemberg light infantry.  The third assault by the König Jägers successfully pushed the Austrians out.  Many of the remaining grenz were surrounded and captured in Eggmühl.

Gross Laaber looking east

Gross Laaber looking west

The Gross Laaber may not appear as a huge obstacle but the soft ground surrounding the stream and the muddy bottom likely presented a formidable barrier to attacking troops.

Having passed over the bridge, the road curves to the east and enters Eggmühl.  First into view is the church adjoining the imposing Schloss.  With onion-shaped spire, the church presents typical Bavarian architecture.

Schloss Eggmühl is now a retirement home.  From the outside, the chateau still dominates the landscape.  A steep earthen berm surrounds the southern approaches to the chateau.  The building, itself, is built upon a brick foundation rising above the water meadow.  

Schloss Eggmühl

The last building of note in the village is the inn.  While closed on my early morning visit, the building seems to house a restaurant and souvenir shop.  Adorned with murals, the inn definitely has the feel of a tourist destination. 

Eggmühl Inn

One end of the inn has the mural below marking this important event.  The painting depicts the meeting of Davout and Napoleon at the chateau.

With my walk of Eggmühl complete, I retraced my steps back to the train station.  On the way back, I paid a second visit to the Lion Monument before heading to the train platform.  

Lion Monument

After boarding the train, I selected a seat on the left side of the carriage so that I could focus on the expansive views of the rolling hills of the Vorberg and Bettleberg as they receded into the distance.  Back into Regensburg before noon and hungry, I had a chance to pick over the remaining morsels on the hotel's breakfast buffet.  This was a good day out.