Fotos c) by Margit Anna Binder
Lower Austria is divided into 6 areas: The Mostviertel, The Weinviertel, The Waldviertel, The Danube Area ,The Wachau and The Wienerwald.
The Mostviertel is a beautiful hilly landscape with numerous orchards in the South West of Lower Austria.
The main tourist attractions in the Mostviertel are:
· The Moststrasse, over 200km theme route to sights and hospitality, e.g. Most Gallery, Shopping and Cider tasting.
· Waidhofen an der Ybbs with its historic city centre and museums
· Annaberg, Austria’s Grand Canyon
· The village of Gaming, Capuchin monastery, Ötscher (Mountain) Tormäuer Park, Old Time Railroad Ötscherland
· Schallaburg, a Renaissance Castle
· Lilienfeld Abbey and Herzogenburg Abbey
The Weinviertel is located in the North East of Lower Austria, an area of gentle rolling hills, covered with vineyards or with huge corn fields. The ”Kellergassen” are rural roads, lined with long rows of white- washed wine cellars, half buried in the earth. The wine cellar owners like to socialise and invite guests around for wine tasting regularly.
Before the fermentation process is finished, the liquid passes through phases where it is sweet tasting and in the earlier stages is called Most (non alcoholic) and later becomes Sturm when it is again, sweet but contains Alcohol. The word Sturm means Storm in English as the appearance of the liquid looks cloudy.
The area with the majority of corn fields is called “Marchfeld” and it is known as the granary of Austria.
This area of Lower Austria borders the Czech Republic.
The Waldviertel is largely covered by forest and situated in the North West of Lower Austria. It is usually a few degrees colder there than anywhere else in Austria, even on hot summer days. The landscape is wild and romantic, with its hills, valleys, castles and it’s hidden lakes. Rocking stones and stone circles, which were probably used for ritual purposes by the Celts, create a mystical impression for the viewer.Aside from the splendour of nature the Waldviertel region has to offer, I would like to recommend the following places:
Heidenreichstein (Castle and Moorpark)
Gmünd (Heath land and Nature Park)
Castle Rapottenstein, Castle Rosenburg, Castle Grafenegg
The Danube Valley between Ybbs and Krems has the international reputation as being one of the most beautiful river landscapes in Europe. In the western part of the river is the Nibelungengau with a pilgrimage village called "Maria Taferl. From the front terrace of the baroque basilica you have a beautiful view of the alpine foothills and beyond into the higher alpine region around the Ötscher, Dürrenstein and Hochkar.In the nearby “Artstetten Castle” the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand resided with his wife prior to departing for Sarajevo, where he was murdered. Today a permanent exhibition entitled “For Heart and Crown" illustrates these fateful events from the closing stage of the Danube Monarchy.The "Stift Melk" is the largest Benedictine monastery in Europe. The huge marble hall with all its abundant ornamentation looks very impressive and is definitely worth a trip. The monastery is known as the gateway to the Wachau."The Wachau is a 40km long stretch of the Danube valley, which is also known as “the smile on Austria’s face”. When you travel along the Wachau, you will see vineyards on one side and the river on the other. On the way to Krems, you pass through a little village called "Willendorf “which is the place where the "Venus of Willendorf”, a 28,000 years old fertility goddess, was found. The next nearest historic town is "Dürnstein", where the legend says that the English king “Richard the Lionhearted” was kept imprisoned in the former Dürnstein Castle and who was rescued by his minstrel. Nowadays only a ruin, a few stones on a hill remain from that time.
The "Wienerwald", known as the Vienna Woods is a hilly area, covered in forest and it is bordering the metropolitan city, it is also called the “green lungs of Vienna”. The Vienna Woods start in the West and extend to the South end of Lower Austria, partly surrounding Vienna City.In concluding this article, I would like to add that I unfortunately, due to space restrictions cannot include all the interesting places in Austria, and I have mentioned some of the nicer ones. Of course everyone is free to explore Austria and discover some of our other treasures.
The Mostviertel is a beautiful hilly landscape with numerous orchards in the South West of Lower Austria.
The main tourist attractions in the Mostviertel are:
· The Moststrasse, over 200km theme route to sights and hospitality, e.g. Most Gallery, Shopping and Cider tasting.
· Waidhofen an der Ybbs with its historic city centre and museums
· Annaberg, Austria’s Grand Canyon
· The village of Gaming, Capuchin monastery, Ötscher (Mountain) Tormäuer Park, Old Time Railroad Ötscherland
· Schallaburg, a Renaissance Castle
· Lilienfeld Abbey and Herzogenburg Abbey
The Weinviertel is located in the North East of Lower Austria, an area of gentle rolling hills, covered with vineyards or with huge corn fields. The ”Kellergassen” are rural roads, lined with long rows of white- washed wine cellars, half buried in the earth. The wine cellar owners like to socialise and invite guests around for wine tasting regularly.
Before the fermentation process is finished, the liquid passes through phases where it is sweet tasting and in the earlier stages is called Most (non alcoholic) and later becomes Sturm when it is again, sweet but contains Alcohol. The word Sturm means Storm in English as the appearance of the liquid looks cloudy.
The area with the majority of corn fields is called “Marchfeld” and it is known as the granary of Austria.
This area of Lower Austria borders the Czech Republic.
The Waldviertel is largely covered by forest and situated in the North West of Lower Austria. It is usually a few degrees colder there than anywhere else in Austria, even on hot summer days. The landscape is wild and romantic, with its hills, valleys, castles and it’s hidden lakes. Rocking stones and stone circles, which were probably used for ritual purposes by the Celts, create a mystical impression for the viewer.Aside from the splendour of nature the Waldviertel region has to offer, I would like to recommend the following places:
Heidenreichstein (Castle and Moorpark)
Gmünd (Heath land and Nature Park)
Castle Rapottenstein, Castle Rosenburg, Castle Grafenegg
The Danube Valley between Ybbs and Krems has the international reputation as being one of the most beautiful river landscapes in Europe. In the western part of the river is the Nibelungengau with a pilgrimage village called "Maria Taferl. From the front terrace of the baroque basilica you have a beautiful view of the alpine foothills and beyond into the higher alpine region around the Ötscher, Dürrenstein and Hochkar.In the nearby “Artstetten Castle” the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand resided with his wife prior to departing for Sarajevo, where he was murdered. Today a permanent exhibition entitled “For Heart and Crown" illustrates these fateful events from the closing stage of the Danube Monarchy.The "Stift Melk" is the largest Benedictine monastery in Europe. The huge marble hall with all its abundant ornamentation looks very impressive and is definitely worth a trip. The monastery is known as the gateway to the Wachau."The Wachau is a 40km long stretch of the Danube valley, which is also known as “the smile on Austria’s face”. When you travel along the Wachau, you will see vineyards on one side and the river on the other. On the way to Krems, you pass through a little village called "Willendorf “which is the place where the "Venus of Willendorf”, a 28,000 years old fertility goddess, was found. The next nearest historic town is "Dürnstein", where the legend says that the English king “Richard the Lionhearted” was kept imprisoned in the former Dürnstein Castle and who was rescued by his minstrel. Nowadays only a ruin, a few stones on a hill remain from that time.
The "Wienerwald", known as the Vienna Woods is a hilly area, covered in forest and it is bordering the metropolitan city, it is also called the “green lungs of Vienna”. The Vienna Woods start in the West and extend to the South end of Lower Austria, partly surrounding Vienna City.In concluding this article, I would like to add that I unfortunately, due to space restrictions cannot include all the interesting places in Austria, and I have mentioned some of the nicer ones. Of course everyone is free to explore Austria and discover some of our other treasures.
