Rauhenstein Castle ruins and other Vienna, Austria Off The Beaten Path Tips

We had to visit these ruins (which are not far from Baden) because Beethoven regularly walked through the woods around the ruins (it was a ruined castle even in his time) and because his nephew Carl tried to commit suicide there. The walk to the ruined castle is lovely - its about 2 kilometres - but do it on a dry day. It was raining when we set off and even though Koos said it was becoming dry we got caught in a thunder storm on the way there and there is no shelter. We had hail, thunder, lightening and very heavy rain. I was soaked to the skin.... Koos said it gave us the feeling of dispair that Beethoven's nephew must have felt when he tried to kill himself!! Koos felt it added to the "romance" of the area -I was just so cold I didn't feel any romance!
In the film "The Immortal Beloved" there is a wonderful sequence when Carl goes up into the ruins and tries to shoot himself and that brings the terrible feeling of unhappiness he and Beethoven must have felt about their relationship. It is a beautiful film even though it strays from the truth about Beethovens mystery love to whom he wrote that wonderful letter. It starts with:
My Angel, my all,my very self
in the letter he writes;
though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you,My immortal Beloved..... I can live only wholly with you or not at all.
The whole letter is so wonderfully romantic, the langauge so beautiful and it tears at your heartstrings. I can read it over and over again.

Leave a Comment

The spa town of Baden is lovely and there are several nice places for a drink of something to eat. We of course had to go there because of it was a place Beethoven visited and where he lived for some time in his search for a cure for his deafness. On our first visit we found a lovely little coffee shop in a side street where Beethoven had actually been to drink. That was a real thrill for us. So on our next visit we planned to go again - only to find the place had been knocked down and modern buildings put up!
You really must visit the Beethoven house where the composer lived and wrote his fantastic 9th symphony. The plaque in the photo is on the house where Beethoven lived. The little museum is on the upper floor where the great composer lived. As you enter the rooms there is a coat and hat (just like the ones Beethoven is wearing on the statue of him in Heiligenstadt.... makes you think he is still living in the house and has just popped out for a walk!
Although the museum is small you do get a right feeling about this wonderful composer and his life, he went to Baden in the hope of being cured from his deafness which he dared not tell anyone about. He thought it was impossible, as a composer, to say "I am deaf".

Leave a Comment

The grave of Mary Vetsera (the lover of Crown Prince Rudolf and the son of Sissi)at Heiligenkreuz.
The Mayerling hunting lodge in the Vienna Woods was the scene of the double suicide of Crown Prince Rodolf and his 17 year old mistress Mary Vetsera. In 1889 Rodolf aged 30 was found dead with Mary. The princes suicide was a more than a social scandal - it was a blow to the Habsburg dynasty because he was known to be progressive and intelligent. It is thought that he found the protocol of the court limited his ideas.
The hunting lodge is now a chapel. After his son's death the desperately unhappy Emperor Franz Joesph gave the lodge to the Carmelite convent and it was completely rebuilt.

Leave a Comment

This is the highest point of the Vienna Woods - 484 metres. At the top is a church an observation terrace and a restaurant. The views over the surrounding vineyards, the Danube bridges and the Vienna woods are wonderful. the Kahelenburg is very important in the history of Vienna. In 1683 John Sobieski led his troops down from here to rescue the Viennese forces fighting for the city. Today you can make a lovely walk through the vineyards to Nussdorf (a wine village) and the most northern part of Heiligenstadt - an area loved by us because of its association with Beethoven. It is known that Beethoven regularly walked in this area. The walk takes about three hours but it is lovely at all times of the year.
You get to the Kahlenburg with bus 38A

Leave a Comment

This dates from 1927 -1930 and is an immense council blocks containig 1382 flats. The architect was Karl Ehn who was a pupil of Otto Wagner. it is the best known of the housing developments built between 1919-1934 when 63,000 new homes went up around the city. It is of course not open to the public but is worth seeing from the outside.
Heiligenstadterstrasse 82092
Go with the U-bahn to Heiligenstadt

Leave a Comment

Melk Abbey is Austria's most famous example of Baroque architecture. The first documented reference to the name Melk dates from the year 831, it was then probably then a clifftop castle on the site of the present-day abbey. It was originally the property of Bavarian Count Sizzo. The castle was captured by the Babenberg Margrave Leopold 1.He made it his main castle and from this time Melk was always a part of the Babenberg dynasty. Melk was where the forebears of the ruling dynasty were buried traditionally, and they wished to see it preserved as a sacred site. In 1089 Babenberg Margrave Leopold II of Austria (1075-1095) gave the church and the castle of Melk to the Benedictine abbot Sigibold and his monks. Since then monks have lived here observing of the rules that were formulated by Saint Benedict of Nursia. The Baroque age was really the peak of abbey's history, within 34 years the whole complex was rebuilt. Berthold Dietmayr (1670-1739) was appointed Abbot of Melk in 1700 and he wanted to show the abbey's importance. It is a wonderful place to visit, but do NOT take the guided tour - as you will be rushed through. Go alone and take the time to pause and see all its wonderful decorative art.

Leave a Comment

This city is close to the Austrian/ Hungarian border, but it is worth going out of the way to visit and with an early start you can go for a day while in Vienna.
Eisenstadt is on the southern slopes of the Leitha Mountains and it is the capital of the Federal Province of Burgenland. The city is situated in the centre of the the wine region. We of course had to go there because of the cities musical connections. Joseph Haydn lived and worked in the city for years. He was born in the nearby village of Rohrau where the house is now a museum.
The Esterhazy palace is a beautiful yellow Baroque palace and in it is the famous and wonderful Haydn Hall which was where many of Haydn's works were first heard and where concerts are still given regularly. The tour through the Palace is very limited (only a few rooms) but is the only way to see the lovely hall. The Palace gardens are lovely to walk through. Close to the Palace is the Hydn Museum which is where the composer lived during his time in service to the Esterhazys. It is a very interesting museum so worth the short walk through the Palaces front garden.
On the corner oppositye the Palace is a lovely statue of the com[poser Liszt - as a young man charming, handsome and liked by the ladies. A walk up the hill pass the hospital will bring you to the Bergkirche and the Tomb of Haydn. In Unterberg there is an old Jewish cemetery which is also worth visiting.

Leave a Comment

This is lovely little museum in Eisenstadt and it was a place we had to go to because Haydn does really have a special place in the history of music. He is considered to be the creator of the string quartet and his works did help to advance the symphony to a high form of music. Mozart called him Papa Haydn.
Eisenstadt and Haydn belong together. Haydn began a career that spanned 40 years in 1761 when he took a psotion with the Esterhazy family first as assistant musical director and then musical director. Five years after his appointment he got and lived for 12 years in a Baroque house built on the site of todays Haydngasse 21. The museum contains some original instruments and furnishings, plus mementoes, portraits and manuscripts of his works. Every year there are special exhibitions about links between Haydn and other composers from the region. When we were there it was about Haydn and Beethoven so we were very lucky. The exhibits are multimedia and very well done.

Leave a Comment

Website: www.haydnmuseum.at

This is in Eisenstadt so it means an early start for a day out from Vienna - but we had it and had a wonderful day out. The town was part of Hungary until 1918. In the town is the Esterhazy palace where Haydn worked as Kapellmeister for 30 years, the house where he lived and the church with his tomb. The church is a short walk from the palace.
Opposite the palace is a lovely statue of the composer Liszt.

Leave a Comment

This little village which in close to the Hungarian border is about an hours drive from Vienna and it has a little house which is a museum. It is where Haydn and his brother Micheal were born. The mueum is small but interesting as it documents the composers life.
Haydn's father was a farmer-wheelwright. When Haydn was very young he showed great talent, so at the age of 5 he was given into the care of a Hainburg schoolmaster called Franck. Franck taught him the basics of music and then when Haydn was 8 years old he went to Vienna as a choirboy at St. Stephen's.
In 1761 he was made vice-kapellmeister to Prince Paul Esterhazy at Eisenstadt in Hungary. He remained in the Esterhazy household for 30 years. Prince paul and his successor Nikolaus were both music lovers.
In 1790 Prince Nikolaus died and Haydn's service to the household ended, although he was left a salary. Haydn then went to visit London, he was given an honary degree at Oxford university in 1791.

Leave a Comment