Ardagger Markt - Hößgang - Ybbs an der Donau - Krummnußbaum - Pöchlarn - Melk
Route description:
You start the route in Ardagger Markt and immediately look for the path to the Danube. There you join the Danube Cycle Path. With a beautiful view of the river, you cycle through the cultural landscape of Strudengau. It owes its name to the many dangerous whirlpools and shallows. It was therefore once considered by boatmen to be one of the most dangerous sections of the Danube. Today, this landscape section belongs to the reservoir area of the subsequent power plant and is easily navigable for shipping.
It continues on the Danube Cycle Path without major settlement contact to Ybbs an der Donau. You have plenty of time to enjoy the flora and fauna in the Strudengau, which impresses with its large number of protected trees alone. In Ybbs an der Donau, it is time again for some culture. Here, the old town of Ybbs, with its restored Renaissance townhouses, and the St. Lorenz parish church stand out. The organ in the church bears the initials of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart since his visit in 1767. Also located here is Austria's largest run-of-river power plant, the Ybbs-Persenbeug power plant. You pass through the town and then cross the Ybbs.
A stretch along the river follows back to Sarling on the Danube. Your next stop is the town with the peculiar name Krummnußbaum, whose origin most likely lies with the nut trees that once grew by the river. Directly afterwards is the municipality of Pöchlarn. In the early Middle Ages, it was known as Bechelaren and is mentioned in the Nibelungenlied as the ancestral castle of Rüdiger of Bechelaren. It is also the last larger town that separates us from our destination, the town of Melk. After a lonely but relaxing ride along the Danube, you finally reach the end of today's stage.
Melk is a beautiful conclusion to this route, as it can be called a real "cultural highlight". Parts of the town, such as Melk Abbey, are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Wachau. The abbey has been described as the "most symbolic and dominant Baroque building"; it also houses the Melk Abbey Secondary School, Austria's oldest still existing school. Since the well-known landscape section "Wachau" begins here, the hills get higher and steep vineyards accumulate on all sides. An ideal panorama to end today's bike tour.
