Power station - Church - Emperor
Nibelungengau experience
First stop: river kilometre 2,060.42
After a hearty breakfast at the Riesenhuber bakery in Ulmerfeld, this year's company outing took the Steinbacher team straight to the Ybbs-Persenbeug run-of-river power station on the Danube.
Technical details and the chequered history of the power station were discussed during a guided tour. The Verbund power plant, located at the end of the Strudengau, was opened in 1959 after a number of conversion plans and project variants (planning began in the early 1920s), making it Austria's first power plant on the Danube.
To the oak tree on the Taferlberg
Over lunch at the inn To the Golden Lion In Maria Taferl we enjoyed the unique panoramic view of the Alpine foothills.
This was followed by a short guided tour of the early baroque Maria Taferl Basilica, which is visited by thousands of pilgrims every year.
The "flower emperor's" domicile
We continued our chronology with a visit to Artstetten Castle, which was acquired by Emperor Franz I, also known as "The Flower Emperor", in 1823. In 1889, the castle finally became the property of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este, who had it remodelled according to his own ideas.
Not least in view of the current war situation in Eastern Europe, the family crypt, where the heirs to the throne who were murdered in the Sarajevo assassination are buried, was thought-provoking.
No autumn without a Heurigen
The sunny autumn day with such a full programme ended with a visit to a wine tavern in Nussendorf. There, the Steinbach team was spoilt with snacks and drinks.
