Danube Cycle Route Stage 5 South Bank: Melk - Mautern

This stage takes you along the Dunkelstein Forest, one of the largest contiguous forest areas in Central Europe. The advantage of the route on the south bank is the wide view - of the magnificent landscape of the Wachau World Heritage Site with its lovely, rocky forest slopes, hill terraces and vineyards as well as the charming villages on the banks opposite. Before you leave Melk, the "gateway to the Wachau", behind you, you should definitely visit the abbey founded by the Benedictines in 1089. The magnificent library with its 85,000 volumes and a ceiling fresco by Paul Troger houses, among other things, a fragment of the Song of the Nibelungs.

Perhaps this ancient epic will remind you on the way of the historic landscape you are traversing. Incidentally, prehistoric finds near Schönbühel also bear witness to this. You pass through this village with its charming castle on the banks of the Danube on the way to Aggstein, where 300 meters above the Danube the legendary castle ruins of the same name (12th century) beckon. This was once the home of "Ritter Schreckenwald" (Jörg Schenk), who extorted tolls from Danube boatmen. Those who did not want to pay had to starve to death on a balcony-like rocky outcrop, the "Rosengärtlein".

Leisurely enjoyment of the countryside is the order of the day as far as Mautern. Along the way, you will come across small villages with charming little churches and pretty old cottages and farmhouses and, near Bacharnsdorf, the remains of the old Roman Danube Limes fortifications, which have been incorporated into buildings and gardens here.

Melk - Schönbühel on the Danube - Aggsbach - Aggstein - Rührsdorf - Rossatz-Arnsdorf - Mautern

Route description:

This route along the south bank of the Danube starts in Melk, also called the "Gate to the Wachau". The cultural landscape is part of the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage and known for its lush green hills with steep slopes, in which countless vineyards are lined up. But the town itself is already worth a visit; it houses an abbey described as the "most iconic and dominant Baroque building" and also includes the Stiftsgymnasium Melk, Austria's oldest existing school.

Thanks to this great start, you are well prepared for the rest of the route. The route takes you downstream along the Danube Cycle Path. First, you pass through the towns of Schönbühel on the Danube and Schönbühel-Aggsbach and enjoy the beautiful flora and fauna of the Wachau, which is not only a World Heritage Site and one of Europe's most enchanting river valleys but also an internationally renowned wine region and a preferred meeting point for connoisseurs. Here you will find cultural treasures and natural beauties that are worth visiting for everyone. Shortly after Schönbühel-Aggsbach, lovers of old castles and fortresses are rewarded in Aggstein. Here the ruin of Aggstein crowns a green hill on our right.

Past the remains of the old castle, you ride on the federal road to Sankt Johann im Mauerthal, where you then turn onto the Danube Cycle Path and cycle directly along the riverbank. With a magnificent view of the Danube Bend near Spitz, you only join the B33 again in Bacharnsdorf. This continues until you reach the Danube Bend near Rossatz-Arnsdorf, where you turn off the federal road in St. Lorenz to cycle through Rührsdorf and Rossatz-Arnsdorf. Here you can discover some historic parts of the Danube Limes.

Soon after, you steer your bike back onto the B33 to steadily approach your destination. At Hundsheim, you leave the federal road for the last time and head to your destination, the town centre of Mautern on the Danube. Here the culture lovers get their money’s worth again, because Mautern has a long Roman historical background and offers many finds from this time. Thus, you can end the day in this beautiful town and conclude your route for today.

Verantwortlicher für den Inhalt dieser Tour

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