We spent today in Durnstein, Austria. We have been here before and hiked up to the castle, which is good because there is no way I could make it up there now. It was a steep climb up an uneven trail. I’m happy to see it from below today.

Durnstein Castle above vineyards

Pretty grapes

Durnstein is best known for being the town with the castle where Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) of England was held captive in 1192 by Austria’s Leopold V as Richard was suspected of murdering his cousin during the third Crusade. Today the castle is unfortunately just ruins on the hill overlooking the town now as it was destroyed by Swedish troops in the 1600s.

Durnstein Abbey in the background (blue church)

more grapes

Fresco on a building in Durnstein

Rathaus in Durnstein

The town is very small. We were told that only 93 people live in the city walls with another 400 living outside the walls but in the town. It is a quaint place with lots of vineyards and apricot trees. We went to a wine tasting and an apricot tasting. I truly had one of the best white wines I have ever tasted. I’m going to have to order some when I get home as it is a specific local variety. We walked around the town and had a nice, leisurely time.

Town across the Danube from Durnstein

Across the river

Durnstein

In the afternoon we sailed for a while. As usual, there were some cute towns along the way.

view of Melk Abbey from the boat

Town

Church

Austrian countryside

church in an Austrian town

We docked in Grein, Austria. We were able to go on a tour of the Greinburg Castle. It was originally built in the late 1400s with most of its current form being built in the 1500s. It has changed hands multiple times over the years but has been owned by the same family since 1822. This family, the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, are related to Queen Elizabeth of England through Queen Victoria.

View of the Danube from Geinburg Castle

Grein

Mosaic in Greinburg Castle made from Danube River stones