Vienna Woods - Excursion

(Local Name: Wienerwald) The Wienerwald (Vienna Woods), extending over 80sq.km/31 sq. mi, is the most popular local recreational district of Vienna. It lies in the extreme northeastern part of the Eastern Alps, and, to the west of Vienna, falls in several terraces down to the Danube. In the north the scenery is charming, with broad hillocks and beech woods; in the east it is sunny with stands of black pines; in the southeast rugged with gorge like valleys. Sights include: in the south the Cistercian Monastery, which was the impetus for settlement in this area; Gumpoldskirchen, where vines grow on the slopes of the Wienerwald; Laxenburg and Baden where the Court used to pass the summer; in the northwest the vintners' village of Grinzing and the vantage point of Kahlenberg; in the north Klosterneuburg. Below, as an example, the route (38km/23.5mi) over the Hohenstrasse to Klosterneuburg is described. Although it is some 25km/15mi longer than the direct route via Kahlenbergerdorf, with which it can be combined in a very pleasant round trip (50km/31mi), it is nevertheless full of delightful scenery. By taking the roads from Vienna leading to Neuwaldegg, Neustift am Walde, Sievering or Grinzing many other round trips can be put together. Leave Vienna on the road to the west, passing near Schönbrunn and follow the Wien valley upstream. At Wien-Hacking (11km/7mi) turn right and cross the River Wien. In 500m we reach Wien-Hütteldorf. Now follow the winding and scenically beautiful Wiener Höhenstrasse above the Wienerwald to the Kahlenberg (large parking lot). 1km beyond the parking lot the road to Klosterneuburg bears off to the left, but it is better to continue to the end of the Höhenstrasse at the Leopoldsberg (423m/1,388ft), the most easterly promontory of the Wienerwald, high above the Danube. Here there is an inn and a Baroque church on the site of the former Babenburg castle, and from here the view is as fine if not finer than that from the Kahlenberg. We return to the Klosterneuburg turning and descend the winding road on the northern slope of the Kahlenberg to the monastery, some 5km/3mi distant. Visitors who would like to walk in the Wienerwald are recommended to use routes 1 and 4 of the brochure published by the Stadtinformationsamt.