Wienerwald

Introducing Wienerwald

The Wienerwald (Vienna Woods) encompasses gentle wooded hills to the west and southwest of Vienna, and the wine growing region directly south of the capital. For the Viennese, it’s a place for walking and mountain biking, but it is often overlooked by tourists. Numerous walking and cycling trails in the area are covered in the Wienerwald Wander und Radkarte, available free from local tourist offices and the region’s main office, Wienerwald Tourismus (02231-621 76; www.wienerwald.info; Hauptplatz 11, 3002 Purkersdorf; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri).

Attractive settlements, such as the grape-growing towns of Perchtoldsdorf and Gump­old­skirchen, speckle the Wienerwald. Picturesque Mödling, only 15km south of Vienna, was once favoured by the artistic elite: Beethoven’s itchy feet took him to Hauptstrasse 79 from 1818 to 1820, and Schönberg stayed at Bernhardgasse 6 from 1918 to 1925. More information is available from the Tourismus-Information Mödling (02236-267 27; tourismus@moedling.at; Elisabeth­strasse 2; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri).

About 20km from Mödling is Heiligenkreuz and the 12th-century Cistercian abbey Stift Heiligenkreuz (02258-8703; www.stift-heiligenkreuz.at, in German; Heiligenkreuz 1; tours adult/student & child €6.40/3.20; tours 10am, 11am, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm Mon-Sat, 11am, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm Sun). The chapter house is the final resting place of most of the Babenberg dynasty, which ruled Austria until 1246. The abbey museum contains 150 clay models by Giovanni Giuliani (1663–1744), a Venetian sculptor who also created the Trinity column in the courtyard. Note that tours in English are by request only.

Mayerling, which lies 6km southwest of Heiligenkreuz, has little to show now, but the bloody event that occurred there still draws people to the site. The Carmelite convent (02258-2275; Mayerling 1; admission €1.50; 9am-5pm) can be visited, but it’s not really worth the effort; all you see is a chapel and a couple of rooms of mementos.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009