Waldviertel Poppy

The Waldviertler Graumohn is a poppy with grey-blue seed grown on the thin acid granite soils of the Waldviertel, protected under EU designation of origin, and it has been cultivated here for centuries because the crop tolerates ground that suits little else. The seed is pressed for oil or ground and used heavily in the local cooking: Mohnzelten, flat cakes of potato dough filled with sweetened poppy; Mohnnudeln, potato noodles rolled in ground poppy and butter; strudel, dumplings and cake. Armschlag, a hamlet in the district, markets itself as the poppy village with a museum, a mill and a restaurant working through the repertoire. For about two weeks in June the fields flower white, lilac and pink across the hills, which is the reason to time a visit.

What you actually see

• Fields in flower in June - white, lilac and pink across the granite uplands.
• A protected origin crop - grey-seeded poppy grown for centuries on poor soil.
• Mohnzelten and Mohnnudeln - the potato-dough cakes and noodles with ground poppy.
• Armschlag - the poppy village with mill, museum and restaurant.

When to go

June for the flowering; the food is available all year. A meal.

Honest expectations

The bloom lasts about two weeks and the date moves with the weather. Fields are private - stay on paths and roads. The Waldviertel is remote and needs a car.

Nearby

Zwettl Abbey is south-west; Ottenstein reservoir and the Kamptal are east.