German Sights
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Cham, Germany

Where is Cham?

Cham is a small town on the river Regen in the Oberer Bayerischer Wald - the most northern part of the Bavarian Forest - close to the border with the Czech Republic.

View over Cham in eastern Bavaria
View over Cham in eastern Bavaria

It was once an important trading town on the route between Regensburg and Pilsen and nowadays the town of just over 17,000 inhabitants acts as commercial, administrative and tourist centre for visitors to this part of the Bavarian Forest.

How to get to Cham

Nearest airport to Cham

Munich Airport is very nearly the closest airport to Cham and definitely the best option for visitors arriving by air.

Distance to Nuremberg Airport: 141km
Distance to Munich Airport: 145km
Distance to Prague Airport: 178km
Distance to Linz Airport: 209km

Munich offers a wide range of destinations and carriers, with Prague somewhat similar but over the Czech border and involving another currency. Nuremberg and Linz tend to offer a more limited selection of regional flights and some low-cost international carriers.

Train station in Cham

Cham's railway station is located about a kilometre to the northwest of the old town. Regional rail services are offered by ALEX and by the Oberpfalzbahn which connect the town to other neighbours. There are also less frequent direct services to Munich, Regensburg and Nuremberg.

Where to stay in Cham

The hotels in Cham offer a choice of location, despite the limited number on offer.

The Randsbergerhof is right in the centre of the old town, while the Am Regenbogen is just over the river Regen from the former town walls. The Parkhotel, as the name suggests, is located a little out in the countryside in the Altenmarkt area of the town.

Cham accommodation map

If you know when you are planning to go but haven't decided on accommodation, then use the map below to get an idea of which properties are available and to compare prices during the period you wish to travel.

Enter your proposed dates and use the '+' to zoom in on a location and reveal more properties. Click on the price above a property to see more information.

(Please note that this selection will also include some pensions and self-catering apartments for those who are interested in that form of accommodation!)

Check accommodation availability in Cham

Alternatively, if you would like a list of properties available on your proposed dates of travel, use the search box below to find accommodation:

Booking.com

What to see in Cham

The tourist office has a brochure for a self-guided walk around Cham (descriptions only in German) which details most of the sites.

Visitors to the town may be surprised to hear the French national anthem, the 'Marseillaise', being played shortly after midday. The tune, originally called the "War Song for the Army of the Rhine", was dedicated to Count Luckner in 1792.

Luckner was a native of Cham who had been made a Marshal in the French Army. (Sadly for Luckner, he became a victim of the French revolution and was executed by the guillotine two years later.)

History of Cham

Cham is first mentioned back in the 10th century, although the settlement in those days was in an area which is now the Altenmarkt part of the town.

The main settlement was moved to its present site during the 12th and 13th centuries and Cham became a successful trading centre, even joining forces with Nuremberg, Regensburg and Wroclaw in a commercial association.

Unfortunately for the town, it was at the centre of religious and political wars over the centuries. Regularly plundered and, whether deliberately or accidentally, burned to the ground ten times, Cham still managed to survive, although never again at its former level of prosperity.

The Biertor - one of the former town gates of Cham
The Biertor - one of the former town gates of Cham

The town was connected to the rail network in the 19th century and became a centre for timber transport. Wood was drifted downstream to Cham on the river Regen and then loaded onto the railway.

The town was badly bombed in the Second World War and, with the ending of hostilities, became a centre for refugees from the Sudetenland and Silesia, almost doubling the population.

Other towns in the Bavarian Forest

Bodenmais, Germany

Bodenmais

Bodenmais is a picturesque town in the heart of the Bavarian Forest. The Silberberg mountain offers a chance to explore the tunnels formerly used by silver miners. The town is also an official 'spa town' with plenty of local wellness facilities.

Zwiesel Germany

Zwiesel

Zwiesel is famous for its long-standing glassmaking heritage. The Waldmuseum offers insight into Zwiesel’s history as one of Germany's premier glassmaking towns, while it is also another official spa town (a 'Luftkurort' in German).

Cham tourist office

The Cham tourist office is situated in the Cordonhaus near the river Regen and two of the main car parks on the edge of town. It is open from Monday to Friday and on Saturday mornings in the summer season:
Website: www.cham.de