Vienna Woods, Lake Neusiedler, and the Danube River Sights

Shopping Nightlife Performing Arts

1. Burg Kreuzenstein

Seemingly lifted from the pages of a German fairy tale, Burg Kreuzenstein bristles with storybook turrets and towers. Sitting atop a hillside three kilometers (two miles) beyond Korneuburg, "Castle Cross-stone" is, in fact, a 19th-century architectural fantasy built to conjure up "the last of the knights"—Emperor Maximilian I himself. Occupying the site of a previously destroyed fort, the enormous structure was built by Count Nepomuk Wilczek between 1879 and 1908. Using old elements and Gothic and Romanesque bits and pieces, the castle was carefully laid out according to the rules of yore, complete with a towering Burgtor, "kennel" corridor (where attackers would have been cornered), Gothic arcades, and tracery parapet walls. Discover the Burghof courtyard, with its half-timbered facade and Baltic loggia, a festival and banquet hall, a library, a stained-glass chapel, vassal kitchens, and the Narwalzahn, a room devoted to hunting trophies (if you've ever wanted to see a "unicorn horn," here's your chance). Guided tours are available on the hour. A group of falconers keeps peregrine falcons and other birds of prey near the castle grounds, and there are regular shows April through October. The quickest and most pleasant way to reach the castle is to take the suburban train (S-Bahn) to Leobendorf, followed by a 45-minute uphill walk. Only cash payment is accepted, and there is no ATM at the castle.