Fun things to do in Bundesland Niederösterreich

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I will be hypocrite if I say that I like this church because of its architecture. I feel something different just by staring at it and when I'm inside the church and pray, I feel blessed and being heard of.

Pilgrims pass by this church on their way to Mariazell, a more-popular destination. I, however, feel very much at home as a Believer in this house of God.

The fresco, the altar and the location of the church make this sanctuary very unique.

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The gate is the most dramatic feature of this castle/museum. Notice the lions, the angels and the height of the gate itself which attract your attention from afar but you'll be distracted by the arrays of flowers that lead you through it. The area is known for having many wonderful gardens in Austria.

You will not be allowed to take photos inside. Listen carefully to the guide about the ownership of the castle, who the personalities on the paintings are and before you know it, you will be enchanted by the renaissance-styled edifice. Well, the castle/museum is said not to receive financial support from the government to preserve its museum (and library on criminal law) so you'll understand why some of the items are falling apart.

Before leaving the castle, from the gate, cross the street and go towards another gate. You can either sit down here or take a walk or just enjoy the beautifully-lined up trees.

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Try the Verlaengerter Caffee and cake while watching the roundabout. The centre is rather small. An artist shop, banks, shops selling clothes and shoes, flowers, newspapers, and....Really cute!

I went to a tiny bakery which sells freshly-made bread, non-alcoholic drinks, and coffee. The two shopkeepers know their customers by names and it was so good to watch while sipping coffee. An old man who seems not to hear well and had only coins was well attended too. They know his kind of bread and even counted the money for him. You won't miss the bakery because there's only one in the middle of the town and is next to a Tabac Trafic.

No mentioning of wine and Niederösterreich on VT is complete without the most famous wine producer on VT, Manfred Edelmann from Göttlesbrunn, VT-member MEdelmann. I tasted his wines at his place. Manfred is even running a Gasthaus which offers the perfect opportunity to sleep after the wine tasting there and to continue driving next day. See his website for all that.

No, it is not an orthographic mistake, it only reflects the softer nature of Niederösterreich as compared to Oberösterreich. Please do not mix up Hitler from Braunau who probably did not understand much of a good wine and Hiedler from Langenlois, a prominent one among the many excellent wine producers in this best known Austrian wine growing place. For more details see the website and my Langenlois page, for the other my Braunau am Inn page....

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It may happen that the connection of "Cellar" and "Niederösterreich" rises unpleasant associations nowadays. But I do not want to write here about these two world-infamous cellars in Amstetten and Strasshof.

There are innumerable cellars in Lower Austria with extremely pleasant contents - great wines. A part of them is completely underground and as usual for cellars you dont see them from the surface. But in many wine growing areas they are only partly in the loess or other ground where it is easy to dig them. You see from outside alleys of small houses with a front side showing an entrance door, windows and a roof while the bigger part behind this front is dug into the hill behind it. This hill often consists of loess or other material in which it is easy to dig.

These houses are not the places where the vintner live and often in quite a distance from the wine villages themselves. Behind the entrance door are rooms containing some tools essential to make wine, like the press etc. and - very important - the area where the vintners taste the wines. Behind and below all that is the cellar with an ideal climate for the wine.

It is clear that the vintners are not always there and when they are there they have to work. But on certain occasions they open the cellars to sell the wine or to arrange wine tastings. sometimes even a "Kellergassenfest" is organized and all cellars are open so you may go from one to the other to taste - and buy the wines.

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Carnuntum was the capital of the Roman province Upper Panonia and was home to about 50,000 inhabitants at the time of its heyday. The impressing witnesses of this fascinating metropolis find a revival in the Archaeological Park Carnuntum, about 40km from Vienna

Carnuntum is rich in Roman remains, including an amphitheatre, roman palace and most famously the 'Heidentor'. This former four pillar building which was over 20 metres high is supposed to have been erected under Emperor Constantin II (337-361) as a victory monument. Today the two remaining massive pillars connected by an archway have become the characteristic symbol of the Petronell-Carnuntum area.

Admission fees are Euro 8 for adults and free for children below 14 years old