Austria has nine separate
provinces.
Lower Austria, or Niederösterreich as it is known, forms the
north east
corner of the country. As you can see it entirely
surrounds the city of Vienna which because of its population size counts
as one of the nine provinces.
It is split into various administrative
areas . . . .
To the north it borders on the Czech Republic. To the east it has a border with Slovakia.Our web pages
reflect those general areas.The north east corner is rather flat
and uninteresting and so we offer very few properties there i.e. in
Mistelbach, Hollabrunn, Korneuburg and Gänserndorf - but we do have a
few.The north west corner - Gmund, Waidhofen an der Thaya,
Zwettl, Horn and Krems are really attractive areas and properties there
are particularly cheap.In the south of the province is Scheibbs,
Lilienfeld and Neukirchen. These provinces are in the foothills of
the Alps and there and many small family ski resorts in those areas. -
They are too small for the package tour companies but ideal for families
and lift passes are much cheaper.
Here is the link to the
official Austrian website for the Niederösterreich region - in
English
It is worth reading the whole site.
http://www.niederoesterreich.at/portal/language.asp?tt=NOE09L_R13
Life in this region is all
about sitting under the shade of the vines and
enjoying the local wines produced by the local
vineyard together with home made food and home made
bread
This is a "Buschenschank" or "Heuriger".
Links to area ski resorts . . . .
Forsteralm
Here is the link to around 35 ski
resorts in the area.
http://www.winter.niederoesterreich.at/winter/d/resorts.asp?tt=WINTER_R2&ci=karte
Hochkar, Semmering and Ötscher
are quite large ski resorts.
World cup races are held at Semmering. Most of
the others are relatively small but great for a
quiet day without queues !
The Danube long distance cycle track
In German this is
called the Donauradweg
See
www.donauradweg.at
There is a continuous cycle track along
the banks of the Danube from the Austrian / German border at Passau to
the Austrian border with Slovakia at Bratislava.
Most people cycle "downhill" from
Passau towards Bratislava and then catch the boat back to Passau.
Bikes travel for free. It's great as there are no hills !
You just cycle as far as you want and then stay in one of the many
hospitable small hotels along the route. The cycle track passes
right through the Wachau which is a world famous wine growing area.
Check out the "Grüner Veltliner" - the unique white wine from the area.
There are many other cycle tracks and
details are available from local tourist offices.
Monasteries and castles to see
The area boasts a great many spectacular monasteries.
This is Melk. It lies directly on the Danube.
See
http://www.stiftmelk.at
This is Göttweig
See
http://www.stiftgoettweig.or.at/
Just amazing !
You can also visit Klosterneuburg . . . .
See
http://www.stift-klosterneuburg.at/index.php?language=en
And most important of all . . . .the wine growing !
Austria produces 30% more wine annually than is
produced in
the whole of Germany. It's big business here.
Most of the wine is cultivated in the province of
Niederösterreich with the greatest production
concentrated around the shores of lake Neusiedlersee
just south of Vienna. The other area of major
importance is the Wachau area which lies along the
Danube.
Wines are also produced in significant quantities in
the province of Steiermark
and also in Burgenland.
Wine growing in Göttweig
Vineyards on Neusiedlersee
The majority of wines from this
region are white wines and a variety known as
Grüner Veltliner produces a
fresh, crisp really enjoyable wine.
It is not well known outside Austria.
Red wines are few, but look out for "Zweigelt" which
is the most commonly
produced red wine variety in Austria.
Also worthy of note is "Blaufränkisch".
See
http://www.weinausoesterreich.at/eindex.html
Check out the oldest wine growing region in Austria which
has been producing wine since Celtic times. This area is centered
around the
attractive town of Traismauer
See www.traismauer.at
For details of all the "wine roads" in Niederösterreich see
www.weinstrassen.at
Here is a list of interesting and cultural
attractions in the region
For cruises on the Danube see
www.brandner.at
The castle at Aggstein see
www.ruineaggstein.at
The theatre in St Pölten
www.festspielhaus.at
Donau arena Melk
www.sommerspiele-melk.at
Kokoschka Haus Pochlarn
www.poechlarn.at
Kunstmeile Krems
www.kunstmeile.cc
Regional theatre for Niederösterreich
www.landestheatre.net
Loisium Weinattraction
www.loisium.at
Niederösterreich Regional Museum
www.landesmuseum.net
Schloss Artstetten
www.schloss-artstetten.at
Schloss Grafenegg
www.grafenegg.at
Schloss Schallaburg
www.schallaburg.at
Interested in castles ??
Then see this . . . .
