Steyregg: Castle, Town History and Danube Floodplains

When looking for a hotel in Steyregg, you could first consider whether you would like to focus on the town’s history and sacred architecture, trails along the Danube, or geological and scenic features. The town brings together several different themes that can also be explored individually.

Town History, Castle and Parish Church

Steyregg was founded and laid out around 1280, with a town square and town walls. Steyregg Castle is located just above the town centre. Around 1160, the chronicler Bernardus Noricus described it as an “old castle – castrum vechium.” From 2002 to 2004, the castle was expanded into an events and cultural centre. It includes a knights’ hall and a castle chapel of historical and cultural significance. If you are planning to visit for a specific event, check the date in advance.

The parish church also reflects several eras. Built around 1300, it was dedicated to Saint Stephen. Its original Romanesque form was later expanded in the Gothic style; after a fire, the Jesuits renovated the church in the Baroque style around 1730. Its features include a Baroque interior and remarkable frescoes dating from around 1320. The frescoes and the later Baroque renovation thus represent different periods within the same church.

Danube Floodplains and Special Rest Stops

The “Donauauen am Donausteig” circular trail is seven kilometres long, flat and easy to walk. It follows the Danube through floodplains with a near-primeval forest character. The starting point is the car park by the tennis courts in Steyregg, next to the medieval town wall. The trail description therefore connects a specific landscape with a clearly identified starting point.

The Roman rest stop is located on the Danube Cycle Path in Steyregg. A fair-faced concrete column commemorates a Roman milestone along the Limes; there is also a Roman head created by Miguel Horn and information about the local municipality, the Danube Cycle Path and the Romans. The five-metre-long resting bench made of concrete and stone complements the information displays. At this spot, Roman architecture and a practical place to rest sit side by side.

A distinctive nature spot is the Plesching Oyster Bank above the village of Plesching, about one kilometre from the turn-off from the B 125. Numerous fossilised oyster shells are embedded in the heavily consolidated sandstone bank. They come from the former shoreline of a Tertiary sea that existed around 25 million years ago. This site turns the focus to the history of the Earth and has a different theme from the town’s historic buildings.

Trails Through the Valley and Countryside

The Reichenbach Valley is a cultural landscape of small farms, fields, meadows and forests. A relatively natural trail and a hiking path run alongside the stream. One trail starts in the monastery village of Pulgarn and follows the stream to its source area in the municipality of Engerwitzdorf. In contrast to the Danube floodplains, the landscape here is shaped by the valley, the stream, and a mix of farmland and forest.

For cycling trips, the signposted mountain bike trail on Pfenningberg is another option. It may be used in compliance with the Highway Code and the mountain biking rules. Check the current conditions before setting out. At Steyregg bathing lake, a circular trail features two fitness stations and views of the lake and town. These options offer different ways to spend your time: mountain biking, exercise by the lake, or trails through river and valley landscapes.

Planning for the Town Festival

The traditional Steyregg Town Festival takes place every three years. If you would like to plan your trip around it, check the date and programme of the next festival in advance.

Discover more destinations: Zwettl An Der Rodl, Herzogsdorf, Eidenberg, Engerwitzdorf, Reichenau Im Mühlkreis, Kirchschlag Bei Linz, Altenberg Bei Linz, Walding.

Back to the main travel overview: Urfahr-Umgebung.