Pfarrkirchen

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Pfarrkirchen is a town in southern Lower Bavaria, the capital of the district Rottal-Inn. It has about 12,500 inhabitants and is an important school centre with about 10,000 pupils from all over Lower Bavaria. The town spreads over an area of about 52 square meters and lies approximately 377 meters above sea level. Pfarrkirchen lies at the small river "Rott", which gives the "Rottal" region its name.

The first settlers came to Pfarrkirchen some 7,000 years ago, as excavations in Untergaiching (a small suburb) prove. The first official written document where the name "Pharrachiricha" is mentioned, appeared in between 875 and 899 AD by the Catholic Bishop "Engilmar". In 1262 Pfarrkirchen and the nearby "Castle Reichenberg" passed into the possession of the Bavarian dynasty "Wittelsbach", who granted the village the right to hold public markets in 1317. Since 1862 Pfarrkirchen can officially call itself a town, and in 1972 it became the capital of the district "Rottal-Inn".

The town's best known landmark is the "Gartlbergkirche", a pilgrimage church for the "Holy Virgin Mary", which was built upon Pfarrkirchen's highest hill in between 1661 and 1715, according to the plans of the Italian architect "Domenico Zuccali". The two towers of the Baroque Church dominate the town's scenery and can be seen even from miles away.

Another well known sight of Pfarrkirchen is the so-called "Wimmer-Roß", an oversized bronze statue, which is located at heart of the town, and showing a black stallion. It was built in 1966 by the sculptor "Hans Wimmer", who donated the statue to his hometown. It symbolizes the high status of horse breeding in the "Rottal" region.

Pfarrkirchen also possesses the Bavaria's eldest "Harness Racing Track", where horse racings have been held since 1894.

Main industry consists of important slaughterhouses due to the rural environment.