!!!Wachau
Wachau Valley, Lower Austria, approx. 30 km long, meandering
section of the River Danube between Melk and Krems an der Donau;
much-visited tourist region because of its sights and beautiful
landscape (particularly when the fruit trees blossom and at the time
of the wine harvest). The Wachau valley forms a narrow gap through the
south-eastern part of the Bohemian Massif, from which it separates the
Dunkelsteinerwald Hill Region south of the River Danube. West of the
Wachau valley lies the Nibelungengau, to the east the Wachau valley
fans out into the Tullnerfeld plain. The edges of the Wachau valley,
partly covered by woods, partly by sloping vineyards, are a hilly
region, broken up by lateral valleys; includes some steep slopes (e.g.
Hohe Wand near Duernstein and Teufelsmauer near Spitz). The Jauerling
(960 m, near Willendorf in der Wachau) and Sandl (723 m,
near Duernstein) hills are the highest elevations in the Wachau
valley. The Wachau valley was settled very early on ( Venus von
Willendorf, Gudenus Cave north-west of Krems an der Donau). It formed
a heavily fortified section of the northern border of the Roman
Empire. The fortified villages and churches and numerous fortress
ruins still bear witness to the valley´s traditional function as
a trade route and passage for armies. First documented mention of the
area around Spitz as "Wahowa" around 820. Some of the most
important sights and villages of the Wachau valley (on the right bank
of the River Danube) are the Benedictine abbey of Melk (alt.
213 m), built by J. Prandtauer, the castle in
Schoenbuehel-Aggsbach (alt. 210 m), the ruins of the Aggstein
(alt. 501 m) castle of the Kuenringer family and Goettweig Abbey
(alt. 425 m) located about 5 km south of Krems. On the left bank
of the River Danube lie Willendorf in der Wachau (alt. 209 m),
the castle, navigation museum and the Tausendeimerberg mountain in
Spitz (alt. 207 m), the fortified church of Weissenkirchen in
der Wachau (alt. 206 m), the fortress ruins, castle and palace
and abbey in Duernstein (alt 209 m), dubbed the pearl of the
Wachau valley and Krems an der Donau (alt. 203 m) with its
perfectly preserved old town and the district of Stein. Other villages
in the Wachau valley are Aggsbach Dorf (alt. 208 m), Rossatz
(alt. 225 m) and Mautern an der Donau (alt. 201 m) on the
right bank of the River Danube and Emmersdorf an der Donau (alt.
240 m), Aggsbach Markt (alt. 214 m) and Schwallenbach (alt.
212 m) on the left bank. The Wachau valley features frequently in
literature, song and film. An additional attraction is the traditional
Wachau women´s costume with its golden bonnet. The mild climate
in the Wachau valley - spring there begins about a 1½ months
earlier than in the Waldviertel region to the north - and the fertile
loess ground provide excellent conditions for wine growing and fruit
(mainly apricots). Wine was cultivated here as far back as Roman
times. Today the main wines grown on terraces in the Wachau valley are
Riesling, Gruener Veltliner, Neuburger and Mueller-Thurgau. Navigation
used to be very dangerous in the meandering section of the River
Danube in the Wachau valley. Road bridges cross the Danube near Melk-
Emmersdorf an der Donau and near Mautern- Krems an der Donau. Car
ferries are operated at Spitz- Mitterarnsdorf and Weissenkirchen-
St. Lorenz. The Donauuferbahn railway line and the Wachaustrasse
road run along the northern bank of the River Danube, roads running
from Melk via Rossatz to Mautern an der Donau on the south bank.
Tributaries of the River Danube in the Wachau valley are the River
Pielach and Fladnitz river on the right bank and the Spitzer Bach
stream and the River Krems on the left bank.
!Literature
G. Ruettnauer, Wachau, 1983; E. Schueler, Die Wachau und
ihre Sehenswuerdigkeiten, 1984; V. Maier and R. Sommer, Die Wachau mit
Strudengau, 1994.
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