Vienna Castle Tour - To the Castles in Kottingbrunn and Laxenburg

​We’ll bike from Himberg through the Triestingauen region to Schönau. The Wiener Neustadt Canal takes us to Roman ruins at Kottingbrunn Castle and to popular wine-growing villages. We’ll cap off the tour with a visit to Laxenburg Castle Park. DAY 1: Let’s Get Rolling We start our tour at 1 / Himberg Train Station. We cycle down Bahnstraße toward the town center and then turn right at Hauptplatz. At the second house on the left—Hauptplatz 9—we ride through a driveway into Neubachgasse. We continue straight ahead on this street until we reach the T-intersection with Rudolf-Wieser-Gasse. There, we turn left and shortly afterward come directly to the Neubach embankment, Im Wädchen. We get on the bike path and turn left onto it. From here, we follow the signs for Triestingau 9a, which we’ll follow all the way to Schönau an der Triesting. View of Anninger: Soon we’ll be cycling along a shaded tree-lined avenue that leads us south through fields of sunflowers and rapeseed. We ride on flat terrain through the Vienna Basin, and to the west, the sun-drenched vineyards of the Thermenregion and the peaks of Vienna’s local mountains—such as the Vierjochkogel, one of the four peaks of the Anninger—greet us. Rest Stop Under the Chestnut Tree: A 2 / rest stop located at a wayside cross between Himberg and Münchendorf offers us a shaded bench under a chestnut tree, where we can take our first break. For a delightful introduction to the wine region, the 3 / Artner Winery (open in summer and fall, Gartengasse 4, 2521 Trumau, +43 664 455 58 87, www.weinartner.at). In the rustic barn or in the garden, we can sample their own wines or enjoy the house specialty—Grammelknödel with sauerkraut—crafted from regional ingredients. Roman Artifacts at an Industrial Landmark In Oberwaltersdorf, we come across two well-preserved industrial landmarks. First, on the right as you drive along the Triesting River, is the old cotton spinning mill, which now houses exclusive lofts. And about 2 km further on, to the left of the Triesting River, is the former 4 / bedspring factory—now a cultural and event center (local history museum Wednesdays 4–6 p.m., Kulturstraße 1, 2522 Oberwaltersdorf, www.bettfedernfabrik.at). The building, with its tall brick chimney, is now used for events. It also houses the local history museum, which owes its existence to a small group of local historians. The highlight of the collection is a Roman wine barrel, one of the oldest in Austria. Apparently, even the Romans enjoyed the fermented grape juice from this region. A little surprise: Not all of the region’s historic factories now serve as museums or residential buildings. Three villages further along our tour, in Günselsdorf, the former cotton spinning mill from 1846 is used as a cable factory. From Water God to Quaint Innkeeper: When we’re hot, the water-spouting Neptune statue in Tattendorf—located next to a few winegrowers’ farms—cools us off. Until half a century ago, it adorned the Dianabad in Vienna, and for the past 20 years it has stood on Raiffeisenplatz in Tattendorf. If we want to refill our water supplies, we’ll find a drinking fountain at the far end of this long, narrow square. We cycle along the Triesting River between Tattendorf and Schönau through lush floodplain scenery that offers plenty of shade in the summer.