Ardagger Markt - Hössgang - Ybbs an der Donau - Krummnussbaum - Pöchlarn - Melk
Route description:
You start the tour in Ardagger Markt and find your way to the Danube. There you begin the route on the Danube Bike Path. With a beautiful view of the river, you cycle through the Strudengau and its landscape shaped by human hands. The Strudengau derives its name from the many dangerous whirlpools and shoals once found here. Many sailors viewed it as one of the most dangerous sections of the Danube. Today, it is part of the reservoir of the downstream power plant and easily navigated.
You continue along the Danube all the way to Ybbs an der Donau without passing any towns. So, you can have time to enjoy the flora and fauna of the Strudengau, which has an impressively large number of protected trees. In Ybbs an der Donau, it's again time for some culture. The historical center of Ybbs with its renovated Renaissance burgher houses and St. Lorenz Church are worth visiting. Mozart himself initialed the organ at the church on a visit in 1767. Ybbs is also home to the Ybbs-Persenbeug power station, Austria’s largest run-of-river plant. You bike through the city and subsequently cross the Ybbs.
Following a small stretch of this river, you return to the Danube by Sarling. Your next stop is Krummnussbaum (literally “crooked walnut tree”), whose name originates most likely with the walnut trees that formerly grew along the river. Pöchlarn is next. This community was known in the Early Middle Ages as Bechelaren and is mentioned in the Lay of the Nibelungen as the seat of Rüdiger von Bechelaren. It is also the last big town between you and Melk, your destination. After a tranquil but relaxing ride along the Danube you finally come to the end of today's stage.
Melk is a fine conclusion to this tour, because it is a genuine cultural highlight. Melk Abbey is part of the Wachau, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape. The abbey has been called “the most symbolic and dominant Baroque complex” and is home to Stiftsgymnasium Melk, the oldest school in Austria. The famous Wachau section of the Danube Valley begins here, so the hills become higher and steep vineyards start to appear on all slopes. An ideal panorama to bring this current stage to an end.
