12/19/2023 0 Comments Vienna woods holiday homesThe bed in which Mary Vetsera died and then Prince Rudolph apparently shot himself has long been removed, and over that spot now stands the altar of the cloister (which is open to the public for Sunday Mass as well as during the week to tourists). Visitors today can see only a sliver of this history, both in the sense that the bodies and the artifacts have largely been taken away and in that most of the grounds are closed to the public as an active cloister for Carmelite nuns. A tall order for a small house in the middle of the Vienna Woods. This moment (known as the ‘Mayerling Incident’ for the hunting lodge where it all went down) disrupted European politics, altered the line of succession of the House of Hapsburg, and lead indirectly to the start of World War I. People visit Mayerling because of Crown Prince Rudolph, his mistress the Baroness Mary Vetsera, and their (still not entirely certain) murder/suicide pact. There’s a small chapel and exhibition space open to the public, but this is also an aside. This is an active Carmelite cloister, but this is not why people come. Though admittedly not the most photogenic of the bunch, the Mayerling Hunting Lodge has easily the most interesting history. Plus, the views back towards the city as you enter the woods are hard to argue with! It’s relatively unknown to foreign tourists, completely different from the mental image I had of Vienna even after a couple of visits, and all the more delightful because of that. Push even further, deeper into the Vienna Woods and away from the warm embrace of the city, and you’ll see far fewer tourists and 800-year-old monasteries and unsolved murders and underground boat rides in old gypsum mines. These all offer a very different experience from central Vienna, but they’re close enough that you can skip through several in the course of one easy day.Įven if you only get that far, a trip out to the Wienerwald should be a cool experience and a very different side of the Austrian capital compared to the standard ‘ Museums and Cafes and Hapsburgs‘ bit that Vienna is most known for. Grinzing, Cobenzl, and Kahlenberg seem to get the most visitors on account of both proximity to Vienna and the fact that public busses and private bus tours both pass down the well-maintained road that connects the three to each other. Though most won’t (and I didn’t myself), you could easily spend several days exploring just the small communities of the Vienna Woods. To be honest, most of the tourists who get so far as the Vienna Woods will only visit some of the closest settlements to Vienna. Apart from manicured vineyards, you’ll find quaint old churches and winding streets and surprisingly good museums. If you do visit these communities, whether Klosterneuburg or Nußdorf or Döbling or Gablitz, make sure to spend some time wandering the streets of the villages as well. These points are all connected to Vienna by public transport and by fairly bike-able roads and trails, so if you want an independent freewheeling day out of the city this is the way to go. Others, like Cobenzl and Kahlenberg, serve more as convenient stopping points in between long walks than as destinations in themselves. Some of them, like the village of Klosterneuburg with its monastery/winery/museum offerings, justify a whole day in their own right. The first (and easiest) is a day wandering through the trails that connect the small villages immediately ringing the northwest of Vienna. Not feeling quite so ambitious? Vienna is ALSO the only city with proper vineyards inside the city limits as well, and you can sample the fruits of these vineries at the Heuriger restaurant/taverns in the small communities that dot the woods.Īs a traveler in Vienna, there are really two ways to make a daytrip out into the Vienna woods. With over 500 square miles of forest to wander through, it also makes the perfect day trip to get out of Vienna proper and do some biking or light hiking. Indeed this is one of the planned uses for the Vienna Woods, with 39 mountain biking trails and 12 hiking routes. Rising to the northwest of Vienna atop the very first foothills of the Austrian Alps, the Wienerwald is a beautiful green belt and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve actually within the city limits of Vienna. Mayerling, Seegrotte, and Heiligenkreuz Abbey
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