Pilgrim walks in Melk

The section of the Austrian Way of St. James between Melk and Persenbeug is not only a popular pilgrimage route but also an insider tip for pleasure hikers.

Archduke Carl Ludwig and the family around his son Archduke Franz Ferdinand very often set out on foot to visit the basilica and the pilgrimage site Maria Taferl.

The Wachau Way of St. James between Göttweig and Melk Abbeys is a 49 km long spiritual journey on foot.

The section from Maria Langegg to the baroque Benedictine Melk Abbey is considered one of the great highlights of the pilgrimage route.

Up and down the hills, this section of the Way of St. James leads us through the largely agricultural landscape of the Mostviertel region. Across pastures, through corn fields and along the beautiful Danube, we make a pilgrimage from the pilgrimage basilica Maria Taferl to Linz to the Pöstlingberg and enjoy the tranquillity of the Mostviertel cultural landscape for long stretches.

The first stage of the Mostviertel Way of St. James from Maria Taferl to Neustadtl an der Donau begins with a steep downhill walk through an idyllic chestnut forest (Bußweg) until we reach Marbach. From there we walk along the Danube for a long time. Only at the parish church in Gottsdorf do we leave the Danube cycle path and walk cross-country to Persenbeug. A detour to Ybbs (on the opposite bank of the Danube) is well worthwhile. Only then does the mountainous part of this stage begin, with a relatively continuous ascent to Neustadtl.

The pilgrimage from the pilgrimage site Maria Taferl to Sonntagberg is easy to walk in 3 stages of approx. 78 kilometers and takes about 26 hours.

The 24-kilometre first stage of the Way of St. James from Melk to Linz leads us from Melk Abbey along the banks of the Danube, through the UNESCO World Heritage Site Wachau and via the idyllic villages of Leiben and Artstetten with their castles and churches to Maria Taferl. The most famous place of pilgrimage in Lower Austria not only boasts a pilgrimage basilica of the same name (Maria Taferl pilgrimage basilica, since 1947 Basilica minor = honorary title awarded by the Pope to important church buildings), but also a magnificent view of the Danube and an impressive panoramic view of the Danube valley and the Ötscher in the distance.

The pilgrimage trail leads from the center of the city of St. Pölten mainly on dirt roads to Mank. At the beginning you are on the Pilachtal Pilgrims' Trail and then continue partly on Roman paths towards Mank. You can see the Ötscher and the impressive mountain panorama of the Alpine foothills on many sections of the trail. The path leads past chapels that invite you to linger and reflect.

The section of the Way of St. James on the Danube begins in the Vienna Woods town of Purkersdorf to the west of Vienna and leads through the Vienna Woods via Herzogenburg, Göttweig and Melk to the famous pilgrimage site of Maria Taferl.