Discover Schönbühel on the Danube

Schönbühel on the Danube combines a striking riverside setting with buildings from different centuries, as well as cycling and hiking routes. Schönbühel Castle stands on steep cliffs directly above the Danube. The Servite monastery sits high above the river at the entrance to the Wachau. The fifth stage of the Danube Cycle Path also passes through Schönbühel on the Danube. This gives you three main options to consider when planning your trip: historic buildings, a riverside cycling route and hiking trails with different routes.

Castle and Servite Monastery

The castle and Servite monastery are easy to distinguish by their locations and history. The former Servite monastery is in Schönbühel, on a cliff on the right bank of the Danube, 500 m downstream from the castle. It is also situated high above the Danube at the entrance to the Wachau. Konrad Balthasar von Starhemberg had the Servite monastery built between 1666 and 1674. Schönbühel Castle was built around the turn of the 11th to the 12th century, but it did not take on its present appearance until the 19th century. The castle thus brings together an early origin and a much later form, while the monastery is associated above all with its construction in the second half of the 17th century.

Special places in the Servite monastery include the Grotto of Bethlehem and the Peregrinus Chapel. The grotto is Austria’s only replica of the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The Peregrinus Chapel was added in 1737; 30 years later, Johann Wenzel Bergl decorated it with Rococo frescoes. The grotto and chapel offer distinct points of interest: the replica of the Grotto of the Nativity and the monastery’s later artistic decoration.

Cycling and hiking

The fifth stage of the Danube Cycle Path runs from Melk to Mautern and passes through Schönbühel on the Danube. Its route is: Melk, Schönbühel on the Danube, Aggsbach, Aggstein, Rührsdorf, Rossatz-Arnsdorf and Mautern. This places Schönbühel within the stage as a whole, rather than focusing only on one section through the village.

There are walking routes with different itineraries to choose from. One stage of the Welterbesteig from Melk to Aggsbach Dorf is about 16 km long; a historic farm track on the Welterbesteig then leads to Schönbühel. The Wachau Way of St. James between Göttweig and Melk Abbeys is a 49 km spiritual pilgrimage route on foot. Via Hohenwarth, the Way of St. James continues to Schönbühel along trails No. 653 and 05. The distance figures refer to different sections: a stage of the Welterbesteig and the route between two abbeys on the Way of St. James. To compare them, first consider each route’s itinerary and type, rather than just its distance.

Getting there and finding accommodation

The municipality of Schönbühel-Aggsbach is connected to Melk by bus route 720, which runs every two hours. Check current departure times before your trip and take the service frequency into account when planning your journey. When looking for a hotel, you can first decide whether the castle and monastery, cycling or hiking will be your main focus.

Discover more destinations: Dorfstetten, Weiten.

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