Waldviertel holidays in Advent

Waldviertel holidays in Advent - four tips for connoisseurs

We want to enjoy the Waldviertel holiday during Advent. We are here to see what a winter holiday in the Waldviertel has to offer. Therefore we go warmly dressed and in thick winter boots every day on a discovery tour. What we are particularly happy about is that we are already experiencing snow and frost at the beginning of December. While at home the trees are covered with frost at most in the early morning, it is already winter here. On the way there we drive through snow-covered hilly landscapes. On our journeys through the country we pass frozen lakes. The trees become winter ice sculptures through thick hoar frost. We are all the more curious about the experiences that await us in the region. We present four of them here:

In the Käsemacher Welt at the Waldviertel vacation — In the Käsemacher Welt - excursion destination for a Waldviertel holiday in Advent

During the Waldviertel holiday in Advent in the Käsemacher Welt in Heidenreichstein

A Waldviertel holiday in Advent is not complete without the Christmas markets. During our research, we discovered the Advent market in the Heidenreichstein moated castle, a small town about 40 kilometers from the Hotel Schwarz Alm in Zwettl. This takes place on the Advent weekend on which we are in the Waldviertel. Perfect for a trip from Zwettl. However, an Advent market is only worth visiting in the late afternoon. Then the Christmas lights really come into their own. In search of other things that we can do there, we come across the Käsemacher Welt.

Exactly the right topic for a visit to a Waldviertel holiday in winter. We join a tour and learn how cheese is made from goat and sheep milk. However, nobody works in production on Sunday. But on the tour we are shown how milk is made into cheese. On the way we can also taste the different types of cheese that are made in the Käsemacher Welt. What I like best is the final tasting of the antipasti, which are made from the cheeses: small peppers filled with cream cheese, olives or - especially delicious - dates.

The cheese maker world can be found here:

Litschauer street 18
3860 heath empire

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The Christmas market in the Wasserburg Heidenreichstein

After our visit, the sun is already approaching the horizon. The evening is coming. So it's time to set off for Wasserburg Heidenreichstein. This is located in the center of the homonymous village surrounded by an almost completely frozen lake. On it are geese, who come with loud chatter come flying. A proud swan watches them a bit bored, it seems. He looks at her from his location on the ice and extends his wings. He looks a bit like I feel when I stretch out my arms in the morning after a restful sleep. In any case, he is obviously the master of the lake.

Heidenreichstein Castle rises on a rock in the lake and is still well preserved. We reach the inner courtyard over a bridge with slippery planks. There, wooden stalls are grouped along the courtyard wall. It also attracts the smell of fresh gingerbread and Mulled wine through the air. Market visitors stand between the stalls and warm their hands over a cup of mulled wine or hot chocolate. We still have a distance to drive and instead put our hands on a metal container from which a warming fire flickers.

The Christmas market in Wasserburg Heidenreichstein takes place in early December.

Book your accommodation near Zwettl here *

Zwettl Abbey on holiday in the Waldviertel

The next day we visit Stift Zwettl, the Cistercian abbey. It is about eight kilometers from the Hotel Schwarz Alm. Again, we are in Advent at a time when guided tours are offered only on certain days. Our visit is not one of them. So we stroll on our own over the monastery area. In the courtyard we observe some helpers preparing their Christmas trees. Here are the Christmas preparations in full swing.

Pin Zwettl — Zwettl Abbey on holiday in the Waldviertel

Impressive, I find the beautiful windows and doors that face the courtyard. Decorated with painted reliefs, statues and gables, they testify to the wealth of the monastery. The entrance and the facade of the collegiate church also make a magnificent impression. Statues and relief decorate the outer walls. The gothic columns and the baroque altar inside the church can only be seen through a protective grid that blocks our access.

Therefore we make our way back. Instead of the church we prefer to visit the orangery.

The most beautiful gingerbread houses in Europe at the Waldviertel holiday in Advent

Every year in Advent, gingerbread houses are exhibited here, which sugar bakers Peter Forster and his team have been presenting for 22 years. The exhibition is today a true Waldviertler Advent tradition. Forster learned the craft in Styria from the Pieke. Since then he has experimented with gingerbread recipes and forms.

Orangery in Zwettl Abbey — The orangery in Zwettl Abbey is well worth a visit during Advent holidays in the Waldviertel

As soon as we enter the Orangery, a seductive scent of gingerbread greets us. We only have to follow our nose and are quickly in the small exhibition room. What we see there takes our breath away. Colored artworks Gingerbread, which immediately put us in the Christmas spirit. In addition to seven "founding houses" there are also some new things this year. We see castle-like gingerbread houses and confectioner-style cottages, just as you would imagine.

Gingerbread exhibition in Zwettl Abbey - Holidays in the Waldviertel Austria — Gingerbread exhibition in Zwettl Abbey - an excursion destination for a holiday in the Waldviertel during Advent

We are only allowed to photograph two of these works of art. If you want to see the rest, you have to see the exhibition during a Waldviertel holiday in Advent. It is open from November 09th to December 19th, 2021 from 10 a.m. to 17 p.m.

The pen and the Gingerbread house exhibition you can find here:

Pin Zwettl 16
3910 Zwettl

Travel Arrangements:

Parking at the airport

Here you can reserve your parking space at the airport.

Arrival:

Arrival by plane, bus or train*. You can reach Zwettl by car from Munich in four hours (without traffic). away Salzburg takes two hours forty-five minutes, ex Vienna an hour thirty minutes, ex Graz three hours fifteen minutes and up Linz one and a half hours.

Car Rentals:

Cheap Car Hire - Book Fast and Easy! *

Hotels:

We have in Hotel Schwarz Alm near Zwettl spent the night. Further Accommodation and hotels in the vicinity of Zwettl * here.

Ideas for short trips at the beginning of the year

Carp are traditional New Year's Eve in Franconia. Why not even one Short breaks to enjoy Aischgründer carp?.
Another winter rest place for deceleration and relaxation is Bad Neualbenreuth in the Upper Palatinate.
Do you like more bustle and customs? Then we recommend one Short trip to the beautiful people of Ebensee in Upper Austria Beginning of January.
Do not you have enough of Christmas yet? Then take a look Kripperlroas in Ebensee on. The cribs can be seen until the beginning of February.