Wachau World Heritage Trail 03: Weißenkirchen-Spitz

Description

Wachau World Heritage Trail: From Weißenkirchen to Spitz

The stage from Weißenkirchen to Spitz runs through one of the Wachau’s most impressive wine landscapes, high above the Danube across the region’s largest continuous vineyard area. Renowned vineyard sites such as Kollmitz, Kollmütz and Hochrain shape this section, repeatedly opening wide views across the Danube Valley and the terraced slopes. Above St Michael, the trail crosses the Michaelerberg, a varied mosaic of dry grassland, woodland and distinctive rock formations, with remarkable viewpoints along the way.

Via the historic Rote Tor, the route reaches the traditional wine town of Spitz. In both Weißenkirchen and Spitz, numerous Heurigen and restaurants invite enjoyable breaks. Along the stage itself, however, there are no refreshment stops, so adequate provisions are recommended. In Spitz, local eateries provide a relaxed place to pause and linger.

Walking the Wachau World Heritage Trail reveals, step by step, why the Wachau is a UNESCO World Heritage region. Finely curated World Heritage Spots make the defining World Heritage Highlights visible—the interplay of cultural landscape, traditional viticulture, exceptional natural habitats and the Danube as a shaping force.

For a carefree, all-round offer—including luggage transfer, tastings and transfers—one of the varied walking packages is recommended.

Thanks to excellent rail connections, a relaxed and sustainable journey to the Wachau is straightforward. Within the region, a dense public transport network makes all stages easy to reach by bus, train, ferry and boat, allowing stages to be combined with great flexibility.

The Wachau World Heritage Trail also holds the Austrian Hiking Quality Seal. This certification represents high standards in route design, waymarking, safety and infrastructure, confirming the trail as a reliable, high-quality walking experience at the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Starting point of the tour

Weißenkirchen, Market Square

Destination point of the tour

Spitz, Church Square

Route description Wachau World Heritage Trail 03: Weißenkirchen-Spitz

From the market square in Weißenkirchen, the castle stairs lead left up Bachstraße to the castle district, one of the oldest settlements in the Wachau with Gothic grape harvest lofts and several Heurigen businesses (stamp station Heurigen family Rosenberger). At the end of the castle district, we hike down into the Lichtgartl and reach the vineyards. We cross Seiberstraße and arrive at the Ritzling vineyard. Here, we turn right and pass the Postaller vineyard, climbing up to the famous Kollmitz vineyard. A descent to Wösendorf and Joching is possible here. The main route continues right on the high path into the beech forest. After a few minutes, we leave the vineyards and enter a beech forest. After the forest loop, we come back to the vineyards at Geißberg and follow a scenic high path over the well-known vineyards Hochrain, Höll, and Kollmütz. At the end of the wine landscape, the path leads into the forest to the viewpoint and natural monument Michaelerberg, where a descent to St. Michael is possible (about 20 minutes down). Michaelerberg was an old grazing meadow and is one of the most species-rich meadows on the Danube. Bizarre rock and stone formations, dry grasslands, and forest steppe adorn Michaelerberg. After a relaxing rest with stunning views, we follow the St. Michael high path through an untouched oak and hornbeam forest down into the Miesling valley. Upon reaching the stream, we turn right, soon crossing Miesling stream and then climb uphill to the legendary Red Gate, the remains of the former defense wall of Spitz. We walk through the gate into the Spitz wine landscape and down on a historic connecting path straight to Spitz. Passing famous vineyards such as Rotes Tor, Singerriedel, and Axpoint, we reach the stage destination, the picturesque Spitz church square, after 10 minutes.