Landshut Attractions

At the north end of the Altstadt in Lanshut is the Heiliggeist-Kirche (1407-61), which was partly the work of Hans Stethaimer.

In Landshut's northern suburb of St Nikola, on the left bank of the Isar, can be found the Cistercian nunnery of Seligenthal, with a sumptuous Roccoco church (1732-34; stucco ornament and ceiling paintings by Johann Baptist Zimmermann).

Along Altstadt to the south of the Stadtresidenz can be found the Late Gothic church of St Martin (14th-15th C.), the finest achievement of Hans Stethaimer, the leading architect of the Late Gothic period in Bavaria (his tomb, with a bust, is between the two south doorways). A striking feature of the church is its slender tower (c. 1500), the tallest in Bavaria (133 m/436ft). The church contains a fine carved figure of the Virgin by Hans Leinberger (c. 1520).

Opposite the Town Hall in Landshut stands old Stadtresidenz (town palace of the Dukes), with the German Wing (Deutscher Bau; 16th and 18th C.) and the Italian Wing (Italienischer Bau; 1537-43), the first Italian Renaissance palace in Germany. It contains sumptuous state and residential apartments, with the State Picture Gallery (German masters, 18th and 19th C. painting) and the Municipal Museum.

In Landshut's main street, Altstadt, lined with handsome Late Gothic gabled houses, is the Town Hall (Rathaus; 14th-15th C.). During renovation in 1861 the Great Hall was decorated in neo-Gothic style, with large historical paintings (depicting the marriage of the last Duke of Landshut with a Polish princess in 1475, which was celebrated by a banquet in this hall).