Weissenkirchen in der Wachau

Weissenkirchen is built around its church, which stands on a rock above the houses and was fortified in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries against Ottoman raids - walls, a tower and gun ports round a parish church, reached by a covered wooden stairway climbing from the square, which is the feature everyone photographs. The village is a wine village: Grüner Veltliner and Riesling off terraces on the slopes behind, with taverns opening by rota. The Teisenhoferhof, a fortified courtyard house with arcades and vines, holds the Wachaumuseum, whose collection is largely paintings of the valley by the artists who worked here from the late nineteenth century, the so-called Wachau school. Danube boats stop and the cycle path runs along the bank.

What to look for

• A fortified church on a rock - walls, tower and gun ports round the parish church.
• A covered wooden stair - climbing from the square to the church door.
• The Teisenhoferhof - the arcaded courtyard house holding the Wachau museum.
• Terraced vineyards - Veltliner and Riesling on the slopes behind the village.

When to go

April to October; autumn for the harvest. Half a day.

Good to know

Small and busy with cyclists and boat traffic in season. The museum has seasonal hours. Wine taverns open by rota, so a specific one may be shut. Parking is limited.

Nearby

Dürnstein is downstream; Spitz is upstream; Krems is east.

Key facts