Wachau World Heritage Trail

Why this walk?

If you were to rank Western Europe’s major cities by reference to their (i) stock of grand 18th and 19th century architecture, (ii) range of museums and art galleries, (iii) access to live classical music and (iv) modern, efficient tourism infrastructure, it’s hard to see how Vienna could be out-done. It’s stunningly beautiful, inspiring and easy to negotiate.

After feasting on Vienna’s delights for a few days, we were ready for a walking sojourn somewhere within easy reach of Vienna. The standout choice was the Wachau World Heritage region, 80 kilometres west of Vienna.

The Wachau valley is a portion of the much larger Danube Valley. It’s located between the towns of Krems and Melk and has been afforded World Heritage status due to its “high visual and landscape qualities”. According to UNESCO, “It showcases many intact and visible traces of its continuous, organic evolution since prehistoric times, be it in terms of architecture (monasteries, castles, ruins), urban design (towns and villages), or agricultural use (mainly for the cultivation of vines and apricot trees)”.

The Wachau valley also boasts extensive tracts of protected forest. The woodlands generally inhabit the steeper and higher sections of the hills that rise abruptly from the Danube.

All these elements have been woven into a well-signposted and publicised trail, the Wachau World Heritage Trail.

The walk itself

The entire Wachau World Heritage Trail covers 180 km. It’s been broken into 14 stages, starting at the lively and historic university town of Krems.

From Krems, the walk heads westwards along the northern side of the Danube until Emmersdorf, where it crosses the Danube to Melk on the south side. From Melk, the trail heads eastwards on the south side of the Danube to Mautern, where it crosses back to the starting point of Krems.

We didn’t meet any walkers undertaking the whole trail as a through walk (ie in one trip). Like us, most walkers had chosen a few consecutive stages or were linking stages via the local ferries, trains and buses.

Day 1 - Krems to Durnstein

After skirting the towns of Krems and Stein, the track headed purposefully upwards, first through attractive vineyards and orchards and then into dense forest. Historic lookouts along the way provided views of the wide Danube River, the surrounding valley and the forested hills.

This morning ascent and afternoon descent forms the pattern for the Wachau Trail. In the mornings, the track heads upwards out of the riverside town where you spent the previous night. After a bit of huffing and puffing, you find yourself immersed in stunning beech and oak forests. Each day ends with a descent into your next riverside destination, usually through vineyards and accompanied by glorious views over the approaching town and its stretch of the Danube.

In summer, there is the occasional forest cafe/guesthouse serving much appreciated refreshments and meals.

On Day 1, the final descent to Durnstein is especially memorable thanks to the romantic ruins of Durnstein Castle, which overlook the riverside town. There are many informative signs explaining the history of the castle in German and English. Of particular note is the fact that the English king, Richard the Lionheart, was imprisoned in the castle in the twelfth century and languished there until his royal court coughed up a ransom.

Durnstein is a beautiful historic town with a very impressive town wall, Baroque abbey and well preserved medieval buildings. The abbey’s church steeple is a vision of Wedgwood blue and white. The town consists of a maze of intriguing laneways and arches. Happily, due to its small footprint, you’re never in danger of getting lost in Durnstein.

Day 2 - Durnstein to Weisskirchen

The route for Day 2 on our abbreviated version of the Wachau Trail depends upon the level of the Danube River. We were walking following a couple of weeks of heavy rains that had caused the river level to rise, meaning that the small ferry service from Durnstein to Rossatz was not operating.

This meant following the northern route for Day 2 instead of walking on the southern side of the Danube as we’d planned. We started with a steep climb up out of Durnstein, following a gully trail through another beautiful beech forest. Looking around, we were completely immersed in a sea of lime green leaves.

Day 2 is dominated by glorious forest trails that lead, eventually, to a scenic, wine growing region.

Up in the forest, we had the trails to ourselves and as the rain arrived we commented that we would be unlikely to see a soul for the whole day.

As often seems to happen after that sort of prediction, we then bumped into Annouk, a young doctor from Luxembourg. She was walking sections of the trail prior to attending a medical conference in Vienna. We walked together for a while as the rain increased. Annouk was walking in shorts and tee-shirt only and was soon soaked through and cold.

Luckily, we eventually reached a small clearing where a local winery had set up a self-serve wine-tasting station. There was no-one there but there was just enough shelter for us to dry out and get some sustenance.

A highlight of Day 2 is the view over the Danube from Achleiten vineyard. The vista here is special because the vineyard is located in a bend in the Danube that affords excellent panoramas back towards Durnstein and Rossatz plus the ruins of Durnstein Castle.

As the trail continues towards Weissenkirchen, there are truly fabulous views of the town, particularly its famous fortified church of St Michael’s.

Vineyards become your constant companion as you walk into the traditional Old Town of Weißenkirchen which featurs many examples of medieval and Renaissance architecture.

To our surprise, the local street vending machines are stocked with local wines. Ideally, your walk should involve wine tasting elements as you soon realise that you are surrounded by weinguts (wineries) eager to explain and sell their wines.

Day 3 - Weißenkirchen to Spitz

Another day starting with neat ordered vineyards followed by forest tracks. Another day with a sprinkling of people around the start and finish towns but very quiet trails in between.

Highlights include a hilltop lookout commanding vast valley views plus the historic and photogenic Torr Gate that frames your entrance down to the popular town of Spitz.

Spitz is clustered around a central church and attractive town square. The local vines are planted right up to the town’s buildings providing a closeup view of the grapes.

Aside from the all important grapes, this is the land of apricots and cherries. Cherries must be an early summer fruit here as the trackside trees are laden and look ripe. However, they’re not all ripe and we quickly learn to identify those that will provide a delicious experience and those that are way too sour.

Apricots are the real star of the show in the Wachau. In fact, apricots have been monetised to the “enth” degree. They are used in jams, liqueurs, ice cream and a myriad of desserts. The most iconic apricot dessert in the Wachau is the Marillenknodel apricot dumpling. This is a local specialty and should be sampled, at the very least, to supplement walking energy levels!

Wonderfully, the Wachau forests are home to a plethora of birdlife including the charming cuckoo bird. If you’re lucky, you may also spot squirrels, hares and deer.

Day 4 - Spitz to Melk

This is a day full of exciting highlights.

First off is a short ferry ride across to the southern side of the river. From there the trail heads through vineyards and orchards, into the forested hills.

Woodstacks are everywhere in the forested sections of the trail. However, the days of the lumberjack strenuously chopping wood are long gone and have been replaced by portable and powerful wood chopping machines. Artistic wood-stacking is practised here with silhouettes of hearts and butterflies being incorporated into the humble wood pile.

The Spitz to Melk stage of the trail intersects with the well known St James Way pilgrimage path. This leads walkers to the imposing pilgrimage church of Maria Langegg near the village of Aggsbach.

The church’s magnificent interior hints at former days of glory when the church and village were flooded by religious pilgrims. Today, the church is home to a Beattitudes Collective (a monk order of some description). However, on the day we visited there was not a soul in sight at the church and the village felt like a sleepy hollow.

From the church, the trail heads back into the forest and leads you to the remarkably well-preserved ruins of Aggstein Castle. The castle stands proudly on a classic rocky outcrop from where the local rulers could have easily surveyed the surrounding valley and river, ever watchful for invading enemies.

Allow enough time to visit the castle with its many rooms and chapel. The castle views over the Danube are exceptional.

From Aggstein Dorf, we opted to catch the bus to our final destination of Melk. This attractive town is dominated by the massive Stift Abbey on the hillside. Aside from the abbey, Melk is home to an abundance of quaint traditional architecture.

Melk Abbey was built as a testament to the power of the Catholic Church hence its scale and opulence rivals that of major European palaces. Its extensive gardens feature a meditation forest and a Baroque summer pavilion.

Day 5 - Melk to Krems

Cruises along the Danube are big business including the long distance cruises between Amsterdam and Hungary.

For walkers, day cruises provide the perfect way to return to the starting point of Krems. Riding aboard the ferry gives you a completely different perspective of the river, the surrounding landscape plus the historic riverside towns and romantic castles. The Danube River flows at a surprisingly rapid rate and feels like a powerful creature that rules the Wachau Valley.

The Wachau Valley Trail certainly gave us an insight into the history and the way of life in this well known wine and river region. The Wachau forests were an additional treat, full of tranquility and memorable natural beauty.