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Today, 06.03.2026
Clear sky
Wind speed2,1 km/h
Hiking tour Starting from Melk Abbey
The 24-kilometre first stage of the Way of St. James from Melk to Linz leads us from Melk Abbey along the banks of the Danube, through the UNESCO World Heritage Site Wachau and via the idyllic villages of Leiben and Artstetten with their castles and churches to Maria Taferl. The most famous place of pilgrimage in Lower Austria not only boasts a pilgrimage basilica of the same name (Maria Taferl pilgrimage basilica, since 1947 Basilica minor = honorary title awarded by the Pope to important church buildings), but also a magnificent view of the Danube and an impressive panoramic view of the Danube valley and the Ötscher in the distance.
Our route along the Way of St. James, from Melk to Linz, begins with the first stage at the impressive Melk Abbey. In addition to the abbey, the abbey park, which makes up a large part of the abbey grounds and was still used as a vineyard and orchard in the 18th century, is particularly interesting here. The park was later redesigned into a baroque garden, following the paradisiacal model that prevailed at the time. A particular eye-catcher in the abbey park is the baroque garden pavilion, which was built in the park after the completion of the abbey (1747-1748). We now start our stage from Melk and cross the Danube bridge towards Emmersdorf, the so-called "Gateway to the Wachau". Our route takes us past the parish church of St. Nicholas, situated on a hill, from where we can enjoy a wonderful view of the Danube and Melk Abbey in the distance. The route continues directly along the Danube to Weitenegg Castle, where you leave the Danube cycle path a little later and cycle across meadows and fields to Leiben. In Leiben, we particularly recommend a visit to the Europa Castle, which was built in the Middle Ages around 1113. We leave Leiben on the Marterlweg trail and continue along pretty field, forest and meadow paths to Artstetten. The parish church of St. James in Artstetten is located right next to Artstetten Castle, which in imperial times was the family seat and summer residence of the imperial family and later became 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 Elder and has been rebuilt and extended over the course of time, so that today there is no longer any evidence of the Romanesque castle chapel that probably once stood here. We now follow the Way of St. James through the hilly landscape first to Unterthalheim and then to the end point of this first stage of the Way of St. James, Maria Taferl. The beautiful pilgrimage church of Maria Taferl is the destination of many pilgrims and, along with Mariazell, one of the most important places of pilgrimage in Austria.
Clear sky
Wind speed2,1 km/h
Fog
Wind speed1,9 km/h
Mostviertel Tourismus GmbH
Töpperschloss Neubruck, Neubruck 2/10, 3283 Scheibbs
T +43/7482/20 444
info@mostviertel.at , www.mostviertel.at
Upper Austria Tourism Information
Freistädter Straße 119, 4041 Linz
info@oberoesterreich.at
www.wandern.at
Useful maps:
ÖK 4322 Pöchlarn, ÖK 4327 Amstetten, ÖK 4328 Scheibbs,
ÖK 4203 Waidhofen, ÖK 4204 Lunz
All at a scale of 1:50,000 (also available enlarged 1:25,000)
F&B hiking maps 052 Mostviertel (1:50,000),
Kompass hiking guide 1085 Jakobsweg
Important phone numbers:
Alpine emergency call: 140, International emergency call: 112
Recommended literature:
Hiking guide Jakobsweg Austria, www.kompass.at
On the Jakobsweg through Austria, www.tyrolia-verlag.at
Pilgrim paths, www.kral-verlag.at
Pilgrim paths to Mariazell – Volumes West + South, www.styriabooks.at
Letzte Änderung: 25 Feb 2026
