Subscribe

Lower Austria

Providing popular day-trip material from Vienna, Lower Austria possesses the country's most vibrant cultural landscape, a combination of vineyards and art, monasteries and low wooded hills. Through this enchanting scene flows the mighty Danube which forms the famous Wachau – one of Europe's most fascinating valleys, watched over by castles and medieval villages.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Lower Austria.

  • See

    Stift Melk

    Of the many abbeys in Austria, Stift Melk is the most famous. Possibly Lower Austria's finest, the monastery church dominates the complex with its twin spires and high octagonal dome. The interior is baroque gone barmy, with a riot of chubby cherubs, barley-sugar twirls and polished faux marble. The theatrical high-altar scene, depicting St Peter and St Paul (the church's two patron saints), is by Peter Widerin. Johann Michael Rottmayr created most of the ceiling paintings, including those in the dome. Historically, Melk was of great importance to the Romans and later to the Babenbergs, who built a castle here. In 1089 the Babenberg margrave Leopold II donated the castle to Benedictine monks, who converted it into a fortified abbey. Fire destroyed the original edifice, which was completely baroque-ified between 1702 and 1738 according to plans by Jakob Prandtauer and his disciple, Josef Munggenast. It's claimed nine million bricks were used to create the 500 rooms – don't worry though, you don't have to visit them all! (Most of the complex is taken up by a school, monks' quarters and offices.) Besides the monastery church, highlights include the Bibliothek (library) and the Marmorsaal (Marble Hall); both have amazing trompe-l’œ-painted tiers on the ceiling (by Paul Troger) to give the illusion of greater height, and ceilings are slightly curved to aid the effect. Eleven of the imperial rooms, where dignitaries (including Napoleon) stayed, are now used as a somewhat overcooked concept museum. Before or after a tour of the main complex, take a spin around the Nordbastei (north bastion), where you'll discover some quirky temporary exhibitions, a viewing terrace and the Stift's gift shop. English tours run at 10.55am and 2.55pm as well as 2pm May to September.

  • See

    Landesgalerie NÖ

    From one side it looks like a squashed cube, from the other as though it's about to topple over – welcome to the latest addition to Krems' Kunstmeile: a bold, 21st-century statement in grey aluminium tiles that looms over the newly created Museumsplatz like an alien spacecraft. It's a more than apt setting for the ever-changing exhibitions of edgy modern art and contemporary installations inside, and gives focus to the 'Art Mile' that had been missing up until it opened in 2019.

  • See

    Forum Frohner

    Part of Krems' Kunsthalle network, this contemporary white cube is named after the artist Adolf Frohner and is housed in the former Minorite monastery. It has an impressive calendar of conceptual work, both international and Austrian.

  • See

    Arnulf Rainer Museum

    Located inside the former Frauenbad (Women’s Bathhouse) near the tram terminus, this interesting museum showcases the work of its namesake Arnulf Rainer, who was born in Baden in 1929. A recalcitrant art-school dropout, he began painting in a surrealist style before developing his idiosyncratic multimedia and performance works. This includes the infamous painting with chimpanzees episode where Rainer attempted to mimic the work of a number of painting apes only to be chased by one of his unwilling collaborators. The museum has retained the delightful marble features of the Biedermeier bathhouse from 1815, making it all the more worth a visit. Exhibitions change twice a year.

  • See

    Stift Göttweig

    Founded in 1083, the abbey was devastated by fire in the early 18th century and so sports an impressive baroque interior. It's still a working monastery today. Aside from the sublime view back across the Danube Valley from its garden terrace and restaurant, the abbey’s highlights include the Imperial Staircase with a heavenly ceiling fresco painted by Paul Troger in 1739, and the over-the-top baroque interior of the Stiftskirche, which has a Kremser Schmidt work in the crypt. Fully guided tours take in the abbey’s Imperial Wing, church and summer vestry; shorter tours explore either the Imperial Wing or the church and vestry. The best way to reach Göttweig is by train from Krems (10 minutes, hourly), though it’s a steep walk uphill from the village station.

  • See

    Domäne Wachau

    If you're intent on tasting the best of what the Wachau has to offer, it's a good idea to do a broad range of vineyards, from the innovative family-run operations to the big boys like Domäne Wachau, one of the region's most well-known producers internationally. A large, modern tasting room is set back from the river and staffed by an army of keen young assistants. It also stocks some nice local food products if wine's not your thing.

  • See

    Egon Schiele Museum

    The Egon Schiele Museum, housed in a former jail near the Danube, vividly presents the story of the life of the Tulln-born artist. It presents around 100 of his paintings and sketches, and a mock-up of the cell where he was briefly imprisoned, when he fell foul of the law in 1912 and over 100 of his erotic drawings were seized. Schiele-themed temporary exhibitions add more flesh to the bones.

  • See

    Piaristenkirche

    Reached by a covered stairway (Piaristenstiege) from Pfarrplatz, Krems' most impressive church has a wonderful webbed Gothic ceiling and huge, austerely plain windows. It's most atmospheric after dark, when you can best imagine the spectacle of the massive baroque altar for the 18th-century parishioners.

  • See

    Kunsthalle Krems

    One of the main attractions on Krems' Kunstmeile, the Kunsthalle has a program of changing exhibitions. These might be mid-19th-century landscapes or hard-core conceptual works, but are always well curated.