An open book over the millennia
The Wachau usually packs its beauty into a small space - between the Danube and its steep, often rocky banks. At Spitz, however, the riverbank zone widens out. Here, the Wachau takes a deep breath. Just like the people who settled here around 40,000 years ago. Even the oldest human skeleton found on Austrian soil was discovered here. It is attributed to a child of around 8 years old.
The Spitzer Boden is something of an open history book for later prehistory. Even after around 4,000 years, a small burial ground suddenly brings the Bronze Age very close: with ceramic handled pots and bowls as grave goods. With pins and fittings that even make it possible to reconstruct the costume of the time.
To arrive firmly back in the present, we recommend a stop at the Old Shipmaster's House. Although the history of Spitz is also present here: the house has been run as an inn since 1680!
Would you have thought it?
The Old Shipmaster's House already gives you a clue: rafting played an important role in Spitz. Timber and firewood from the Waldviertel was transported to Vienna here. The last raft set sail in 1953 after the river power stations made rafting unprofitable.
