Danube Cycle Path from Passau to Bratislava

4
RIGHT BANK
ARDAGGER TO MELK
// FROM THE BICYCLE MUSEUM TO THE CITY OF THE NIBELUNGS
Ardagger is one of the main towns in the Mostviertel.
If you are an art enthusiast, you will want to
visit the church of the former monastery, which
has the oldest figural glass painting in Austria, the
»Margaretenfenster« made in the 13 th c. If you prefer
sports you have a choice of many watersports and
the recreational offerings at the »Donauwellenpark«
(= Danube wave park) right along the bike
path (beach volleyball, wall climbing, etc.)
Then you proceed through the scenic Strudengau.
This narrow section of the Danube Valley is lined with
high and densely wooded hills. Every now and then
you find inviting sandy beaches along the river and
little towns such as Hößgang and Freyenstein to
add variety to your journey.
Soon after the Ybbs-Persenbeug danube
power stations (guided tours with advanced reservation
only) you reach Ybbs, a small city with a
fascinating bicycle museum. It documents all the
favorite two-wheelers, from the wooden draisine
to the Waffenrad, an Austrian bicycle from the final
decades of the Austrian Empire. The Renaissance
burgher houses in the historical center are enchanting,
as is St. Lorenz’s Church with its impressive
reticulated vaulting and an organ that Mozart
himself signed during a visit to this city in 1767.
After passing the towns Sarling, Säusenstein
and Krummnußbaum you arrive at Pöchlarn,
City of the Nibelung. Its sights include the birthplace
of the painter Oskar Kokoschka (exhibitions) and
a carpentry museum. The Nibelung memorial
reminds visitors that this ancient epic was also set
in Pöchlarn and along the Danube itself. 45 short
minutes later you reach Melk, the western gateway
to the Wachau.
Especially recommended is the Melk Abbey
founded by the Benedictines in 1089. The magnificent
library, with its 85,000 volumes, and a ceiling
fresco, by Paul Troger, accommodates several
magnificent items including a fragment of the Nibelungenlied-song.
Resting point close to Ybbs-Sarling © Klaus Engelmayer
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