Spitz (207m/679ft; pop. 1,700), further downriver from Willendorf on the left bank of the Danube, is an old market village with some beautiful Renaissance and Baroque houses. Occupied since Celtic times, it was first mentioned in records in 830. The vine-clad hill above is known as the "Tausendeimerberg" (the "Hill of a Thousand Buckets"). The
Late Gothic church of St Maurice boasts a fine group of Apostles (1380) and an altarpiece by Kremser Schmidt on the high altar.
To the southwest lie the ruins of Hinterhaus castle.
As the Danube winds past Schwallenbach, the Teufelsmauer ("Devil's Wall"), a curious spur of rock, projects into the river on the left. Then follow the ruined castle of Hinterhaus and below it the market town of Spitz (207m/680ft), the chief place of the inner Wachau, magnificently situated around the isolated vine-clad hill known as the Tausendeimerberg ("Thousand Bucket Hill"), because in good years it yields enough grapes for that quantity. A popular excursion is to the summit of the Jauerling (959m/3,146ft), the highest point in the Wachau, commanding extensive views (telecommunications tower).