The Easter weekend is approaching and the apple and pear blossom bath the Mostviertel in white. On a sky-blue day, I get my bike out of hibernation, pump some air into the tyres and set off.
Saint Margaret#
I start in Ardagger-Stift. The monastery that gave the village its name has been abandoned for a long time. It was founded in 1049 by the German Emperor Henry III as a collegiate monastery in honour of Saint Margaret, after he had given the land to the Bishop of Freising to administer. The bishops of Freising, although from Bavaria, are closely interwoven with the history of the region and will be called onto the stage a few more times in my story.
According to the founding legend, Henry III was hunting in the region. His heavily pregnant wife, Agnes of Poitou, was separated from her husband in the dark forest. However, she discovered a small forest chapel where she sought shelter before she went into labour. Then she prayed to God and St Margaret.
Why St Margaret? She is considered the patron saint of pregnant women and women in labour. Her prayers were answered, she gave birth without complications and in gratitude her husband founded a monastery on the site of the forest chapel.
The late Romanesque collegiate church is also home to one of the oldest stained-glass windows in Central Europe. It depicts the hagiography of St Margaret and was created in the early 13th century.
After Ardagger-Stift, there is a steep climb up to the high plateau of the Neustadtler Platte. The route continues up and down until Viehdorf, a foreshadowing for the rest of the route. Pear and apple trees line the roads 🍐🍎 In the distance, the Kollmitzberg church towers imposingly on a hill.
Finally, after Viehdorf, I can ease off the pedal and let my bike roll downhill. I whizz past Seisenegg Castle, which is popular for weddings. First I cross the Westbahn, then the main road and finally the river Ybbs, where I meet the hilly foothills of the Alps on the other side. It’s uphill again.
Cider Taverns (Heuriger)#
Large farms, known as Vierkanthöfe, sit on hilltops overlooking their land. Lush, green flower meadows and orchards with pear and apple trees characterize the landscape. Many of these farms also sell their products on site. From apple and pear cider to smoked meat, you will find numerous delicacies in their shops.
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/>In the evening, it’s time to socialize at the cider taverns. The farmers serve cider. Over a hearty snack, you can gossip and philosophize. One can also stop for refreshments during the day after a strenuous bike ride. But watch out! They are not open all the time, but only for a few weeks in the season. In the Heurigenkalender you can find out in advance when and where a cider tavern is open.
Ostarrichi#
After Euratsfeld, I reach Neuhofen an der Ybbs. This inconspicuous little town is of great importance to Austria. After all, the name Austria was first mentioned in a deed of gift.
In 996, Emperor Otto III handed over the royal shires around Neuhofen to the Bishop of Freising. The document describes exactly where Neuhofen is located - namely in an area called “Ostarrichi” in the vernacular. Or in the original Latin wording: “in regione vulgari vocabulo Ostarrichi.”
The next village on my cycle tour, Ulmerfeld, was also recorded as early as 995. The emperor handed over the castle and the associated village to the Bishop of Freising.
The region of Ostarrichi, in Latin “Marchia Orientalis”, lay on the eastern edge of the East Frankish Empire and was subject to the Duchy of Bavaria. It was only a few decades earlier that the Bavarians and the East Frankish Empire were able to gain control of the land from the steppe riders of the Magyars. It was a border region - hotly contested.
The region is also mentioned extensively in the Song of the Nibelungs. However, the unknown poet transforms the Magyars into Huns, who rattled the Roman Empire a few centuries earlier.
The land was handed over to merited Bavarian bishops and princes to expand the country and secure it against further Magyar invasions. They built monasteries, such as Ardagger Abbey, but also castles for defence.
Ulmerfeld Castle is a wonderful example of a knight’s castle. That’s exactly how I imagine one in my imagination. At the end of the 13th century, the castle was considerably extended in the Gothic style and overlooks the Ybbs on a rocky outcrop. A wide moat surrounds it. The high castle tower is visible from afar. The neighbouring village, Ulmerfeld, has also retained the charm of a medieval market.
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/>Santorium Mauer-Öhling#
After crossing the Ybbs, I cycle through a large forest and emerge in Mauer-Öhling. Here, in a spacious park, there is a beautiful Art Nouveau ensemble, the Mauer-Öhling Sanatorium and Nursing Home, now the Mauer-Öhling State Hospital.
The hospital was built between 1898 and 1902 as a pavilion complex. It was intended to herald a new era in psychiatric care. Instead of locking mentally ill patients in narrow, dark cells, nature should now contribute to the patient’s recovery in Mauer-Öhling. A little later, the facility also served as a model for the Am Steinhof hospital in Vienna.
Unfortunately, the new concept was not quite so revolutionary after all. The old care practices and even worse returned with the National Socialists. During Aktion T4, the majority of patients were sent to Hartheim Castle near Linz and poisoned with carbon monoxide. And those who remained in Mauer-Öhling were deliberately neglected, forcibly sterilized and subjected to daily violence.
The murders did not stop either. Towards the end of the war, inmates were murdered by doctors and nursing staff by means of drug overdoses. The doctors in charge were able to evade justice and a conviction through favourable psychiatric reports and collusion with witnesses and later fled to Syria and Iraq.1
The ensemble is currently being renovated for the National Exhibition, which is why the marvellous building facades disappear behind cranes and scaffolding in my pictures. A permanent memorial to the medical crimes of the National Socialists is also to be created, which will continue to document these crimes even after the end of the exhibition.
Orchards and Hills#
Next in line is by far the longest climb of the entire tour. A marvellous view over the Ybbsfeld to the foothills of the Alps opens up during the ride and at the top of the hill. Watch out when crossing the main road!
However, I immediately give back the elevation I have gained. After the motorway, the route descends steeply to Oberzeillern. The village is surrounded by a large orchard. The apple trees blossom in immaculate white and pink.
In Zeillern I stop briefly at the castle. Today, only a small pond remains of the original moat that surrounded it. The foundation walls also date back to the early Middle Ages. After several alterations, the castle was finally given the baroque facade that still exists today.
My lap is coming to an end. It’s not far to the starting point of my ride. But before I arrive back in Ardagger-Stift, I still have to climb two steep ramps with a gradient of over 10%. Phew 😅
A wonderfully varied cycle route. Especially in April, when the apple and pear trees are in blossom, it’s well worth a ride. On the ramps, however, I wouldn’t have said no to a little electric assistance though.
Mettauer, P. (2020). Survivors, Victims, and Perpetrators at the Lower Austrian Psychiatric Hospital Mauer-Öhling During the National Socialist Era. In: Bardgett, S., Schmidt, C., Stone, D. (eds) Beyond Camps and Forced Labour. The Holocaust and its Contexts. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56391-2_3 ↩︎