About this route
Route overview
Spitz an der Donau is a picturesque town in the heart of the Wachau valley (UNESCO 2000), 1700 inhabitants, at the western end of the Wachau closer to Melk, known as the Marillenhauptstadt — the apricot capital of Austria. Surrounded by the steep terraced vineyards of the Tausendeimerberg (the Mountain of a Thousand Buckets at 600 m, said to produce a thousand buckets of wine in a good year) and the Burgruine Hinterhaus (a 12th-century ruin of the Bishop of Passaus castle), Spitz offers the most authentic side of the Wachau without the crowds. The distinctive Gothic parish church of St. Mauritius from 1300 (a wooden altar from the 16th century, a tower from 1497), Schloss Spitz on the Danube (16th century Renaissance), traditional Heuriger Buschenschank scattered through the vineyards. Domäne Wachau, FX Pichler, Hick and over 30 winemaking families produce Steinfeder, Federspiel and Smaragd-classified wines (top class). The Wachauer Marille — a PDO-protected apricot world-famous for Marillenknödel (the apricot dumplings that are Austrias national dish), Marillenmarmelade, Marillenschnaps and Marillenstrudel. The Wachauer Apricot Festival (Marillenfest Spitz) in July marks the peak of the apricot season, with concerts, an apricot products market, tastings and Danube regattas. The UNESCO landscape: apricot orchards blooming pink in April (the 14-day Marillenblüte is the most beautiful spectacle of the Wachau), vineyards golden in September (Lesefest), the Danube always in the frame. 100 km on the B3 along the Wachau, 1 h 15 min. The service runs 24/7. From EUR 580 in a Mercedes E-Class for 1-3 passengers.