Excavations in and around St. Martin's Church in Klosterneuburg yielded evidence that winegrowing was part of life here as early as the 8th c. For hundreds of years, winegrowing was also the most important source of income for the city.

The romantic wine town is steeped in history and situated at the Danube gap between Leopoldsberg and Bisamberg, between the vineyard-covered Vienna Woods foothills and the riparian wetlands of the Danube, on the outskirts of Vienna. Donauland (Danube Land), the name of the wine region surrounding the city, has excellent conditions for outstanding viticulture.

What is a heuriger?

Wein Wachau © Andreas Hofer

“Heurig” is an adjective in Austrian dialect that means “this year.” It refers to “this year’s” wine, i.e. the new wine, as well as to the winemakers’ premises where they are allowed to serve their own wine to the public along with simple down-to-earth foods. These heurige are typical of the wine regions in Lower Austria.    A genuine heuriger is open only at certain times of the year. A few fir or conifer twigs hung out (ausgesteckt) at the entrance to the house indicate that the heuriger is open.

 To online heuriger calendar