The Wachau

 

Well it’s snowing again…winter in Austria can be mildly depressing . Its typically gray, wet and dark. So to keep my spirits up I thought I would reflect on last summer and the beautiful Danube River Valley and in particular the section of the river northwest of Vienna called the Wachau. The 24 mile stretch of the river between the villages of Krems and Melk is as beautiful as it gets.

Durnstein Wine Country

Durnstein

One of my favorite  places is the village of Durnstein. The name  Durnstein  originates from the rocky area “Durren Stein”, where the settlement was founded. Durnstein has kept its historic character and is regarded as one of the most romantic places in the Wachau.
During the Middle Ages Durnstein was an ideal location. The steep rock riverbanks gave protection against floods and left enough space for settlement and fortification. In this narrow part of the valley, road and river can be closed off easily. This was of great importance of the local ruler.

The ruins of a castle fortress, 159 meters above the town, are  linked to the Crusades. Here Leopold V, the Babenberg duke ruling the country at that time, held Richard the Lion-Hearted of England prisoner in 1193. It seems that Richard had insulted the powerful Austrian duke in Palestine during the Crusades to capture the Holy Land. The story is that when Richard was attempting to get back home, his boat crashed on the rocks of the Adriatic and he tried to sneak through Austria disguised as a peasant. The English monarch was discovered, arrested and imprisoned by Leopold.

Castle Ruins of Durnstein

For quite some time, nobody knew exactly where in Austria Richard was incarcerated, but his loyal minstrel , Blondel, had a clever idea. He went from castle to castle, playing his lute and singing Richard’s favorite songs. The tactic paid off, the legend says, for at Durnstein Richard heard Blondel’s singing and sang the lyrics in reply. The discovery forced Leopold to transfer Richard to a castle in the Rhineland, but by then everybody knew where he was. So Leopold set a high ransom on the king’s head, which was eventually met, and Richard was set free. The ransom was used to expand the city of Vienna.
The castle was virtually demolished by the Swedes in 1645, but  the ruins are still fun to visit if you don’t mind the  climb. It had Mike Fawcett and I huffing and puffing! The castle isn’t much, but the view of village ,Durnstein and the Wachauis more than worth the effort.

Ah Durnstein!

A lovely little spot overlooking the Danube. Here we pause for a tasteymeal,  Peter Waggitt, Mike and Chris Fawcett, all from Australia, and Karen enjoy the fruits of the harvest!  The village is quite charming. There are several places like this to sit back , relax and enjoy life with good friends. This will be on the tour for those of you who come over for a visit in the spring or summer. The place is also famous for its marillion (apricot) schnaps . In the spring the valley is spectacular especially during the bloom of the apricot orchards.

  

On to Melk

The village of Melk lies at the western end of the Wachau valley just upriver from Durnstein. Its most famous feature is a huge abbey,the Melk Abbey, of course. It is said to be one of the finest examples of baroque architecture in the world. Melk is a working Abbey. It was presented to the Benedictine monks by the Babenberg ruler Leopold II in the 11th century. Its reputation as a center of learning spread throughout Europe. The library contains over 100,000 volumes and 2,000 manuscripts.The Turkish invasion in 1683 and the Reformation took its toll on the building. In 1702 it was rebuilt and given the baroque design still seen today.

The Abbey at Melk

 The Abbey sits on a bluff overlooking the Danube River. Melk was the location of the seat of the Babenberg dynasty which ruled Austria from 976 until the Hapsburgs took over in 1278. It was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1297.

The present design is that of the famous architect Jakob Prandtauer. Napoleon used the terrace you see here (underneath the archway) as a look out point when he made Melk his headquarters during the campaign against Austria in the early 1800’s. Umberto Eco’s novel “The Name of the Rose” was a murder mystery set in Melk.

 

Aggstein

Further up the Danube one can visit Aggstein Castle.  Aggstein is thought to have been built originally in the early 12thCentury. The main part of the castle was subject to siege over the centuries, and has been restored and various parts rebuilt, although much of the courtyard and other structures date from the time of the original construction. Part of the castle was restored in a Renaissance style  in the year 1606. However, it too fell into disrepair. The final round of restorations to the main castle were completed by 1930.

Aggstein

 Now the castle can be visited by nearly anyone. We decided to make the trip and it was well worth it. The drive up to the castle from the floor of the Danube valley through the dense woods to the rocky bluffs is steep and beautiful. Many people hike and bicycle this route as well. We were’nt quite that ambitious.  The views are gorgeous of the Danube valley and the Wachau.

According to history the castle was given to a man named Scheck vom Wald in the 1430’s. (I think this is who they named Shrek after). It was in ruins  and in order to finance the reconstruction, he was given permission to extract a toll from vessels  travelling up and down the Danube.  

Scheck was forcibly relieved of his goods, titles and the castle in 1463, as he apparently misused his rights and privileges he had been granted. Soon, frightful stories emerged regarding his rough and vicious character, stories such as the legend of his “garden of the roses”.  Apparently Scheck kept his prisoners in a room on a high rocky precipice and they were given the option of starving to death,  or leaping from an open portal to their deaths on the rocks below.  He described the area where the bodies decomposed as his ” garden of the roses”.

In 1529 the castle experienced its second forceful destruction when it was looted and ravaged by marauding Turkish troops. Two years later,  King Ferdinand of Austria  restored the castle and also  reinforced its fortification, at the remarkable cost of 4000 Gulden (appr. 220.000 euros).  

In 1606 Kaiser Rudolph II sold the castle, including lordship and toll privilege to the widow Freewomen Anna von Polheim. After the Thirty Years’ War , Aggstein castle was guarded by an imperial troop, there was a rapid succession of owners. and the castle deteriotated.

Early in the 19th century some restoration work was done. From 1922-1930, the castle was restored to nearly its present condition and has become a popular tourist spot. it is a delight to wonder around in. You can easily imagine the scene in medieval times as you walk from room to room and in the courtyard.

 

Aggstein Overlooking the Danube

 

Inside Aggstein