Bistum Passau

What Bistum Passau does

Bistum Passau (Diocese of Passau) is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Bavaria, Germany, organized as a public law corporation (Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts). Its origins trace to approximately 450 AD, with the cathedral documented in 730 and formally designated the diocesan seat in 739. The diocese operates the Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral) in Passau, which houses a cathedral organ built in 1928 with 17,974 pipes and 208 registers, and runs the Gnadenkapelle Altötting pilgrimage site — the largest pilgrimage destination in the German-speaking world — together with the Haus Papst Benedikt XVI. treasury and pilgrimage museum featuring the medieval Goldenes Rössl.

The diocese delivers pastoral services, sacraments, religious education, youth and family ministry, social welfare (including a women's shelter against domestic violence), vocational training, and cultural programs through a network of more than 200 parishes organized into Pfarrverbände (parish associations) and deaneries, supplemented by the Domsingschule choir school, the Gisela Schulen education network, the Catholic Student Community, adult education centers, and affiliated retreat houses. It also operates the Museum am Dom in Passau's New Residence, maintains a comprehensive digital Glocken-Datenbank cataloguing church bells across the diocese, and publishes a podcast distributed via Amazon Music, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

The organization is funded through Kirchensteuer (church tax) collected by the German state from registered members, together with donations and institutional revenues — it has no commercial pricing model. It is governed by Bishop Dr. Stefan Oster SDB with administrative support from Generalvikar Josef Ederer. The disclosed headcount of 49 reflects headquarters staff; the wider operational base includes clergy, educators, musicians, and parish employees across the diocese.

Name

Bistum Passau

Legal name

Bistum Passau

Website

https://bistum-passau.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bistum Passau is a Roman Catholic diocese in Lower Bavaria, Germany, operating 200+ parishes, the Stephansdom cathedral, the Altötting pilgrimage site, schools, and museums, funded through church tax and serving the regional Catholic community with pastoral, educational, and cultural services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services / Catholic Diocesan Administration

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (81311), Historical Sites (712120)

akta.pro primary industry

Denominational & Ecclesiastical Governance Bodies (Dioceses, Synods, Conferences) (BPAGAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues) (BPAGAJAA), Religious Landmarks & Pilgrimage Sites (Temples, Churches, Shrines) (THAJACAG), Faith-Based Group Travel (Church/Mosque/Temple) Organizers (THAKAHAH)

Keywords

• Catholic pastoral services
• Religious education
• Church administration
• Liturgical music programs
• Sacred art museums

Headquarters

HQ city

Passau

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Bistum Passau is a Catholic diocese operating as a public law corporation that delivers pastoral care, sacraments, religious education, liturgical services, and cultural preservation across eastern Bavaria. Its core offerings include worship services at the Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral), pastoral counseling and family services, youth ministry, religious education, social welfare outreach (including women's shelter support), and cultural programs through museums, cathedral music, and the Domsingschule (cathedral choir school). The diocese also operates pilgrimage sites, manages over 200 parishes, and preserves historic religious artifacts including the Goldenes Rössl and the cathedral organ.

Product overview

Bistum Passau is a Catholic diocese offering religious services, pastoral care, and cultural programs. The organization provides mass services, sacraments, and pastoral counseling alongside cultural offerings including the Dom St. Stephan cathedral, cathedral music programs, the Domsingschule (cathedral singing school), Museum am Dom, and the Haus Papst Benedikt pilgrimage museum. Additional services include a church bells database covering bells throughout the diocese, education and evangelization programs, and various church-related counseling services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dom St. Stephan: Cathedral of the Diocese of Passau, also known as Stephansdom, housing the famous cathedral organ
• Domorgel
• Museum am Dom
• Haus Papst Benedikt XVI.
• Domsingschule Passau
• Gnadenort Altötting
• Kirchenglocken

Products and services

• Dom St. Stephan (Cathedral) The cathedral of the Diocese of Passau, documented as the mother church of the Danube East region, with a church attested since approximately 450 AD and first mentioned in documents in 730. Houses the famous cathedral organ with 17,974 pipes built in 1928.
• Pastoral Counseling and Seelsorge Pastoral care services including family counseling, pastoral counseling for various life situations, grief support, marriage preparation, crisis intervention, hospital chaplaincy, and emergency pastoral care for the diocese's parishioners and broader community.
• Religious Education and Evangelization Educational offerings including religious education, sacramental preparation, Catholic schools (Gisela Schulen), adult education centers, vocational training, and formation programs for church professions.
• Museum am Dom Museum located in the New Residence in Passau's old town, featuring historical rooms, the baroque library with historic frescoes, a baroque book collection, and changing special exhibitions. Open May through October.
• Haus Papst Benedikt XVI - Wallfahrtsmuseum (Pilgrimage Museum) Museum at the pilgrimage site of Altötting presenting art treasures including the Goldenes Rössl (Golden Little Horse), a unique medieval gold and enamel work from France circa 1400, considered the most precious goldsmith and enamel art piece worldwide. Open April through October.
• Domsingschule (Cathedral Singing School) Vocal music education program for children and youth including early vocal education, pre-choir, children's choir, and youth cathedral choir. All offerings are free of charge.
• Dommusik (Cathedral Music Program) Music program for liturgy and concerts at Dom St. Stephan, including the famous organ and various musical ensembles. The Domorgel with 17,974 pipes is currently undergoing comprehensive restoration through 2028.
• Kirchenglocken-Datenbank (Church Bells Database) Comprehensive digital database cataloging church bells throughout the diocese, including technical data, musical specifications, founders (gießers), and historical information with audio samples.
• Social Welfare Services Charitable outreach and social welfare services including the SkF Frauenhaus (women's shelter) for victims of domestic violence, poverty support, and social integration assistance.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Vierzehnheiligen (Basilica): The Basilica of Vierzehnheiligen is a major German Catholic pilgrimage site with museum, hospitality, and pilgrimage-event operations. It is comparable as a high-traffic Bavarian/German Catholic pilgrimage and cultural-tourism destination.
• Kloster Ettal: Ettal Abbey in Bavaria operates a Benedictine monastery, pilgrimage church, school, and brewery under Catholic auspices. It shares Bavaria's cultural-tourism and pilgrimage dynamics with Bistum Passau, though as a monastic order rather than a diocesan governance body.
• Stift Melk (Melk Abbey): Melk Abbey is an Austrian Benedictine abbey combining active monastic community, school operation, and major cultural-tourism heritage site. It is comparable in combining religious, educational, and cultural-heritage functions but operates in Austria rather than Germany.

Others

• Deutsche Bischofskonferenz: The German Bishops' Conference is the official collegial body of all German Catholic bishops, providing governance coordination, public-policy advocacy, and shared administrative frameworks that Bistum Passau participates in as a member diocese.

Direct peers

• Bistum Regensburg: The neighboring Diocese of Regensburg operates under the same Bavarian Catholic structure with comparable pastoral, educational, and cultural-heritage mandates. It shares Kirchensteuer funding, parish networks, and Catholic cultural-tourism assets in eastern Bavaria.
• Erzbistum München und Freising: The Archdiocese of Munich and Freising is the most comparable German Catholic diocese, sharing the same Bavarian jurisdiction, public-law corporation status, Kirchensteuer funding model, and operational scope (parishes, schools, cultural sites). It is the closest geographic and structural peer.
• Bistum Augsburg: The Diocese of Augsburg is a Bavarian Catholic diocese operating under identical public-law and church-tax frameworks, with comparable parish networks, schools, and cultural-heritage obligations in southern Bavaria.
• Erzdiözese Wien (Archdiocese of Vienna): The Archdiocese of Vienna is a German-speaking Catholic archdiocese with a comparable pastoral, educational, and cultural mandate. It shares the Central European Catholic operating model, public-law corporation status, and stewardship of significant cultural-heritage assets.
• Erzdiözese Salzburg (Archdiocese of Salzburg): The Archdiocese of Salzburg is an Austrian Catholic archdiocese with overlapping pastoral, educational, and cultural-heritage mandates. It shares a German-speaking operational environment and comparable stewardship of historic churches and pilgrimage sites.

Broad incumbents

• Erzbistum Köln: The Archdiocese of Cologne is the largest German Catholic diocese by membership, operating under the same public-law corporation model and Kirchensteuer structure but at significantly greater scale. It provides a useful benchmark for organizational structure and pastoral service delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bistumpassau
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UChg93i2XmXCP7XiVL9zJfEw
• Facebookfacebook.com/bistumpassau
• Instagraminstagram.com/bistumpassau
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bistumpassau

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bistum Passau