Spitz an der Donau

Spitz sits on the north bank in the middle of the Wachau under the Tausendeimerberg, the thousand-bucket hill, so called because the terraced vineyard on it was reckoned to yield that much wine in a good year - the terraces are dry-stone walled and run right up behind the houses, which is the image the village is known by. Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are the grapes. The parish church has a set of carved apostles on the choir gallery and a late Gothic net vault. Above the village stands the Hinterhaus ruin. Spitz was a shipping station on the river with a museum in the old Erlahof covering Danube navigation and viticulture, and boats still stop at the landing. The whole Wachau is inscribed as a cultural landscape.

History

Spitz has been occupied since Celtic times and is first mentioned in 830. Its Late Gothic parish church of St Maurice is known for its figures of the Apostles, dated 1380, and for an altarpiece by Kremser Schmidt, and the fortress of Hinterhaus stands to the south of the village. The ferry across the Danube here has neither motor nor sail: it is anchored to a cable above the river and driven by a rudder set against the current, and it carries passengers, bicycles and cars (Wikipedia, Spitz, Austria).

What to look for

• The Tausendeimerberg - the terraced hill said to yield a thousand buckets.
• Dry-stone vineyard terraces - running up directly behind the village houses.
• A late Gothic church - net vaulting and carved apostles on the gallery.
• The Hinterhaus ruin - the castle above the village.

When to go

April to October; autumn for the harvest and the wine taverns. A day.

Good to know

The village is small and busy with cyclists and boat passengers in season. Terrace walking is steep. Many wine taverns open only on set weeks - check before counting on one.

Nearby

Weissenkirchen and Dürnstein are downstream; Melk is upstream.

Key facts