Looking into the heart of the Wachau
It almost takes your breath away. As abruptly as the terrain breaks off at the Dürnsteiner Kanzel. As unhindered as the view 300 meters into the depths over the heart of the Wachau: Even more impressive than the Dürnstein Abbey Tower - at the bottom left! - the Dürnsteiner Donauschlinge can be seen from here. And over on the southern bank of the Danube - next to the wine village of Rossatz - the lush floodplain vegetation of the Pritzenau can be seen.
The Pritzenau nature reserve is a real treasure trove of biodiversity along the river. Old tributaries of the Danube have been renaturalized here. The area is home to rare species such as the huchen, Danube lamprey and kingfisher.
Would you have thought it?
In the 1970s, there were still plans for a "Dürnstein barrage". Only protests by the local population prevented the Wachau up to Spitz from being submerged in a reservoir. Today, alongside the Donau-Auen National Park, it is the last stretch of river in Austria where the Danube flows freely.
