Krems & Dürnstein

Twin jewels of the Wachau. Krems is Austria's oldest wine town (documented since 995, but Roman before that). Dürnstein's blue church tower is iconic. Between them, the greatest concentration of top Austrian wine producers — Hirtzberger, Knoll, Pichler, Prager.

What to do there

4 things to do

1. 1 Cross the Danube to Where Rome's Frontier Died History · Free

   Mautern (ancient Favianis) sits directly across the river from Krems. The Roman fort here held the northern edge of civilization from the 1st century AD until 488 — when the last order from Rome told them to leave.

   Where: Cross the Danube from Krems by the road bridge to Mautern an der Donau (GPS: 48.3880, 15.5890). Walk the riverbank facing back toward Krems, or visit Nikolaihof winery (Nikolaigasse 3, Mautern) whose foundations are a Roman tower from 63 BC.

   What: You are standing in Favianis — Rome's last garrison on the Danube. The fort here was staffed by Germanic Batavian cavalry and British mounted archers (their brick stamps survive). When Germanic pressure became overwhelming in Late Antiquity, the civilians flooded in from the surrounding villages INTO the fort for protection. In 488 AD, Rome sent its final military order: evacuate Noricum. The soldiers and refugees walked away. Saint Severinus — who had built his largest monastery here and sheltered Danube refugees for decades — had died six years earlier at this exact spot. His disciple Eugippius carried his bones south to Naples, and in 511 wrote the Vita Sancti Severini: the only historical record we have of the entire 5th-century Danubian frontier. Everything we know about the end of Roman Austria comes from one monk's book about one man who lived in this town.

   How: The crossing is free. Drive or walk the bridge (5 minutes from Krems center). Nikolaihof is open seasonally for their Wine Tavern — check stift-duernstein.at for hours. From the Mautern riverbank, look back: Krems grew in Favianis's shadow, the civilian settlement behind the military line. Two thousand years of that relationship, still readable in the roofline.

   Backup: If Nikolaihof is closed, walk the Mautern old town — Roman street outlines are still visible in the irregular medieval grid. The Lower Austria regional website has a walking guide to Roman traces (lower-austria.info/mautern).

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2. 2 Taste the Vineyard Called 'Too Hard to Work' Wine · Price: moderate

   The Steiner Hund is one of Austria's greatest Riesling sites — a patch of conglomerate rock and thin loess so steep and punishing that winemakers named it after a curse. It's been producing wine here since before Richard the Lionheart was born.

   Where: Weingut Stadt Krems, Stadtgraben 11, Krems an der Donau (GPS: 48.4082, 15.6050). Tel: +43 2732 801441. Website: weingutstadtkrems.at. The cellar entrance is in the old city moat — Stadtgraben means 'city ditch.'

   What: This winery has been making wine on behalf of the Krems city hospital since 1452 — 573 years of municipal viticulture. The municipality still owns it. When you taste the Steiner Hund Riesling, you are tasting a single vineyard that sits at the border of two worlds: to the east, thick Kremstal loess gives round, ripe, peppery Grüner Veltliner; to the west at Stein, the loess thins onto crystalline granite and gneiss — and Riesling takes over with minerality that cuts like cold water. The Steiner Hund sits exactly at that transition. The name means 'the dog' in German: local legend holds either that the site was a 'dog to work' (punishing terracing by hand on near-vertical slopes) or that a desperate winemaker exchanged ownership for an actual dog during famine. The wines themselves take 10+ years to become what they can be. Ask staff to taste the Steiner Hund alongside the entry-level Grüner Veltliner — same vineyard zone, different soil, different epoch.

   How: Walk-in tastings available. Budget €15–25 for a flight including the single-vineyard Rieslings. The 200-year-old cellar beneath the city center is part of the experience — ask to see it. Also worth: the Sandgrube 13 tour at Winzer Krems cooperative (Sandgrube 13, 10 min walk; €11.80 per person including 3 wines, English by appointment: sandgrube13weinsinn@winzerkrems.at).

   Backup: If Stadt Krems is closed, Winzer Krems cooperative at Sandgrube 13 is open Mon–Sat 8am–5pm (also Sun May–Oct 10am–4pm) and offers the same single-vineyard education with their own Steiner Hund holdings.

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3. 3 Stand on the Walls Where a Ransom Built Vienna Adventure · Free

   Dürnstein Castle ruins are free to enter and take 25 minutes to climb. Richard the Lionheart was held here in 1192. The ransom paid for his release — 150,000 silver marks, 34 tons — funded Vienna's city walls, founded Wiener Neustadt, and established the Austrian mint.

   Where: Dürnstein village, 9km west of Krems (GPS castle ruins: 48.3978, 15.5219). Take bus 715 from Krems toward Melk, alight at Dürnstein/Wachau Parkplatz P2 (17 minutes). From the Kremser Tor gate in the old town, turn right — signed 'Burgruine Dürnstein 20 min.'

   What: In December 1192, Richard I of England was travelling home from the Third Crusade in disguise. He was arrested near Vienna — a servant had tried to pay for food with gold coins bearing Richard's face. Duke Leopold V of Austria had been waiting 18 months for this. At the Siege of Acre the previous year, Richard had personally torn down Leopold's standard from the city walls and thrown it in the mud. Leopold imprisoned him here, in this castle, on this clifftop above the Danube. The ransom demanded: 150,000 silver marks. Three times England's annual royal income. When it was paid in 1194, Leopold's share built Wiener Neustadt from scratch and upgraded Vienna's city walls. The echo of one humiliation at an Acre siege wall still lives in Austrian city architecture. Here is where that money was extracted. The legend of the troubadour Blondel — who wandered castle to castle across Europe singing the first verse of a song until a voice from behind these walls answered with the second verse — may be legend, but stand here at dusk, looking at the Danube bend below, and it feels entirely possible.

   How: Steep uphill, two path options: easy gravel (Leichte Variante, historical signs) or direct stone steps (Eselsteig, better views). Both ~20–30 min. Ruins are free, open daily. Total loop 1–1.5 hours. Sturdy shoes recommended; closed when icy. Descend before dark — no lighting.

   Backup: If mobility is limited, the blue tower of Stift Dürnstein (Augustinian Abbey, GPS: 48.3955, 15.5195) is at street level and fully visible from the village square — the 1733 Baroque landmark designed by Matthias Steinl that became the defining image of the Wachau. Same medieval drama, no climbing required.

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4. 4 Find the 36,000-Year-Old Dancing Woman in the Old Town History · Price: low

   In the museumkrems — a 13th-century Dominican monastery — a copy of the Venus of Galgenberg watches from the permanent collection. She is 36,000 years old, found 1988 near Krems, and 7,000 years older than the famous Venus of Willendorf. She is in a dancing pose. Nobody knows who made her or why.

   Where: museumkrems, Dominikanerplatz 1, Krems an der Donau (GPS: 48.4086, 15.6053). The building is the former Dominican monastery — look for the Gothic church façade in the old town center. 10-minute walk from Stadtgraben.

   What: This museum holds the history of wine and human habitation in the Krems valley from 36,000 BC to the present. The Venus of Galgenberg figurine — nicknamed 'Fanny' after the 19th-century ballerina Fanny Elssler because of her dancing pose — is made of greenish amphibolite slate, 7.2cm tall, 10 grams. She predates every other human figurine found in Austria. The museum also holds: the Kremser Pfennig (oldest coin in Austria), paintings by Kremser Schmidt (the great 18th-century Baroque painter whose works fill regional churches), and an entire floor on Kremstal viticulture — the history of why this city has been the wine capital of its valley for a documented thousand years. The medieval wine cellar beneath the monastery can be accessed. Bring 45 minutes.

   How: Open Tue–Sun 10am–6pm (check for seasonal closure Nov–March). Admission approx. €8–10 adults (ticket covers museumkrems + galeriekrems + Dominikanerkirche). The Gozzoburg (Körnermarkt 14, 3 min walk; GPS: 48.4090, 15.6048) is separately ticketed and holds the oldest secular frescoes in Austria — a 13th-century merchant's palace with a 1330 fresco cycle called 'The Heavenly Court.' Only accessible on guided tours (max 20 people). Book via krems.info.

   Backup: If the museum is closed, the Kunstmeile Krems (Steiner Landstrasse 3) runs contemporary art exhibitions in the adjacent Dominikanerkirche — same building complex, different entrance, year-round programming.

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