Of show gardens, rat catchers and leisure islands
Tulln is one of Austria's oldest cities. From here, the Danube cycle route leads along the north bank through the Gemeindeau nature reserve, past Korneuburg with its picturesque old town, all the way to Austria's capital city, Vienna.
Explore the art and garden city of Tulln on a historic city tour: the walk takes you, among others, to the late Baroque Minoriten Church and through the Tulln of the ancient Romans. At the Tulln City Museum, which includes the Roman Museum Tulln, the documentation about the imperial women's convent, and the Virtulleum, you will learn even more about the time when the city was still called Comagena. Visits to the Egon Schiele Museum, the Egon Schiele Birth House, or a walk on the Egon Schiele theme trail or through DIE GARTEN TULLN (show gardens, treetop trail, water park) require a bit more time.
Along the extensive Stockerau Au, you then cycle towards Vienna. At the Greifenstein power plant, the cycling route could be interrupted for a visit to the nearby festival town Stockerau – to, for example, climb its church tower, the highest in Lower Austria. The castles Greifenstein, on the opposite Danube bank, and Kreuzenstein, initially visible in the distance, come ever closer. Soon after you have passed the Greifenstein power plant, you reach the "rat catcher city" Korneuburg.
Apparently, here once a rat catcher cheated out of his wages abducted the children of the city. The Rat Catcher Fountain in front of the neo-Gothic town hall reminds of this legend. Dominating the Main Square, lined with patrician houses, is the massive medieval city tower. After a look inside the Augustinian Church, which is adorned with a ceiling fresco by Franz Anton Maulbertsch, you leave this city – and soon enter the metropolitan area of Vienna.
When you finally cross over to the Danube Island, you are definitely on Viennese soil. The 21-kilometer-long "island" was created between 1972 and 1988 as part of the flood protection for the metropolis and as a recreational area. That is why, in the last few meters to the stage destination Nordbrücke, you pass inviting beaches as well as playgrounds and barbecue areas.
