Danube Cycle Path Stage 8 North Bank: Vienna/North Bridge - Hainburg

Vienna has a wealth of sights to offer. And you probably still have many impressions of SchönbrunnPalace and Zoo, Vienna's old town with St. Stephen's Cathedral, Hofburg Palace, Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum, Treasury, Spanish Riding School, KunsthistorischesMuseum and MuseumsQuartier, Belvedere Palace, the Prater with the Giant Ferris Wheel, Art Nouveau, coffee houses and wine taverns.

But now nature awaits you as far as the eye can see. Because before you have even really left the city, you are already in the Danube Floodplain National Park, which stretches like a green ribbon between Vienna and Bratislava. A habitat for over 800 species of higher plants, 30 species of mammals, 100 species of breeding birds and around 60 species of fish.

This can be explained in detail at Orth Castle, just off the cycle path. This four-towered Renaissance moated castle is home to the schlossORTH National Park Center. On the castle island, you will find its own floodplain adventure area including an underwater observation station. The castle also houses the museumORTH with a local history museum that is well worth a visit.

Orth Castle is one of the so-called Marchfeld castles, another of which you will soon get to know - when you leave the Danube cycle path at Eckartsau for a detour to the castle of the same name. This interesting residence of the last Austrian imperial couple Karl and Zita now serves as a backdrop for films, celebrations, weddings and concerts. From April to October, you can explore the castle on guided tours, and the interactive national park exhibition "Wild Wechsel" will whet your appetite for a walk through the Au.

Another detour is recommended at Stopfenreuth - from the floodplain forest to the Danube, where the platform of the "Au-Terrasse" offers views of the river landscape (campsite, wild bathing). From here it is not far to the Danube bridge at Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, which takes you to the south bank and soon to Hainburg.

Vienna - Schönau - Stopfenreuth - Hainburg

Route description:

Right at the start of your route, you change river banks and cycle along the New Danube and the picturesque promenade. A stop at one of Vienna's cafés is highly recommended.

At the central tank depot in the Lobau, turn left and continue on Lobgrundstraße, along a long right-hand curve. Then go briefly straight ahead, still on Lobgrundstraße, until you turn left at the second right-hand curve.

You leave the nearby Danube bank and cycle through the picturesque Donau-Auen – one of the largest floodplain landscapes in Central Europe – until you see a bridge on your left, which you cross. Just before Schönau, the path branches off eastwards. After about 26 kilometers, just behind the sleepy village of Stopfenreuth, you reach the federal road, which you follow south and cross the river on the Hainburg Danube bridge. You leave the bridge on the right and continue on Hollitzer Allee heading towards the Danube shore.

Soon after, you arrive in Hainburg, which you can already recognize from afar by the two distinctive elevations to the right and left of the town, where the Hainburg gate lies. In Hainburg stands one of Europe's oldest fortified castle complexes, which should definitely be visited.

You will find an overview and a map of the detours at www.carnuntum-marchfeld.com .