Jakobsweg Danube: Stage 6 Melk – Maria-Taferl

Our route on the Jakobsweg, from Melk to Linz, begins with the first stage at the impressive Melk Abbey. In addition to the abbey, the abbey park is particularly interesting here, which occupies a large part of the abbey grounds and was still used in the 18th century as a vineyard and orchard. Later, the park was transformed into a baroque garden according to the then prevailing paradisiacal model. A special highlight in the abbey park is the baroque garden pavilion, which was built in the park after the completion of the abbey (1747-1748). From Melk, we now begin our stage and cross the Danube bridge towards Emmersdorf, the so-called "Gateway to the Wachau". Our path leads us past the parish church of St. Nicholas, which is located on a hill, from where you can enjoy a beautiful view of the Danube and Melk Abbey in the distance. It continues right along the Danube to Weitenegg Castle, where we shortly leave the Danube cycle path and pass over meadows and fields to reach Leiben. In Leiben, the visit to the Europaschloss is especially recommended, which was already built in the Middle Ages, around 1113. On the Marterlweg, we leave Leiben and reach Artstetten via lovely field, forest and meadow paths. The parish church of St. James in Artstetten is located directly next to Artstetten Castle, which was the family residence and summer residence of the imperial family during the imperial era and later the final resting place of the heir to the throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. The late Gothic church itself is dedicated to St. James the Greater and was rebuilt and extended over time, so that today there are no longer any signs of the Romanesque castle chapel that was probably here earlier. Through the hilly landscape, we now follow the Jakobsweg first to Unterthalheim and then to the endpoint of this first stage of the Jakobsweg, Maria Taferl. The beautiful pilgrimage church Maria Taferl is the destination of many pilgrims and, alongside Mariazell, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Austria.