Rust

In 1681 the burghers of Rust bought the status of a royal free town from Emperor Leopold I, paying with money and with sixty thousand litres of wine - which tells you what the town produced. It is the smallest statutory town in Austria and its centre is a set of arcaded courtyard houses in ochre and white around two squares, with the Fischerkirche, a fortified church with medieval frescoes and one of the oldest organs in the country. What visitors notice first is the storks: white storks nest on the chimneys through the town from spring, dozens of pairs on platforms the residents maintain, and the clattering is constant. The reeds of the Neusiedler See are a walk or cycle away with a lido on the water.

What you actually see

• Storks on the chimneys - dozens of nests through the town from spring to August.
• A town bought with wine - free status purchased from the emperor in 1681.
• Arcaded courtyard houses - ochre and white around the two central squares.
• The Fischerkirche - fortified, with medieval frescoes and an early organ.

When to go

April to August, while the storks are present. A day.

Honest expectations

The storks leave for Africa in late August and the chimneys are empty until spring. Summer weekends fill the town and the lake road. The lake shore is a walk out through reeds.

Nearby

Mörbisch is south; Eisenstadt is west; the Seewinkel is across the lake.