The Wachau is a stretch of the Danube Valley between Melk and Krems, a landscape of high visual quality. It preserves in an intact and visible form many traces – in terms of architecture, (monasteries, castles, ruins), urban design, (towns and villages), and agricultural use, principally for the cultivation of vines – of its evolution since prehistoric times.
It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations of Lower Austria
Historical monuments:
The historical monuments in the Wachau valley are more than 5000. Some of them are: The Benedictine abbeys of Melk (Stift Melk a massive baroque Benedictine monastery) and Göttweig (a monastery of canons regular), at the beginning and end of the scenic Wachau section of the Danube Valley from where where one gets a visual feast of the city of Melk; the Schallaburg castle, a Renaissance style castle 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from Melk; the Steiner Tor in Krems or Krems an der Donau, the late-Gothic Piarist church; Dürnstein for its wine growing area and the Durnstein castle; and the Burgruine Aggstein.
History:
History in Wachau reaches far into the past. The region was populated very early – as is proven by the statue of the “Venus from Willendorf”, 25,000 years old. The Romans brought viniculture to Wachau and even today archaeological finds can be discovered from that period. From the 11 th to the 13 th century, the knight dynasty Kuenringer has resided in Wachau. They built the well-known fortresses Aggstein and Dürnstein, where the English king Richard Lion-Heart has been held prisoner in 1192.
Official Website: http://www.wachau.at/donau/WN/default.asp?ln=EN
WACHAU – Valley of Golden Magic:
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