On this one-hour walk you will get to know the relics of a battle during the Napoleonic Wars and other historic objects in the villages Oberloiben and Unterloiben, two catastral communities of Dürnstein.
We start this walk at the parking directly at the B3 main road.
From there we walk up to the village Unterloiben and turn left into the street.
Already in the first house on the left you can see a cannonball in the wall.
These cannonballs are relics of the Battle of Durenstein, a battle of the War of the Third Coalition that took place here on 11 November 1805.
Around 24,000 Russian and Austrian soldiers fought against 18,000 soldiers of Napoleonic France. More than 6,000, probably 10,000 of them died.
Event today it is not clear who won. The German Wikipedia names the Allies (Russia + Austria) as winners, Italian Wikipedia the French, English Wikipedia calls the battle "Inconclusive", so does French Wikipedia. However, Dürnstein is engraved as victorious battle in the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile in Paris.
After the Pfarrhof (Vicarage) you turn right.
You pass the Parish church…
and turn left after the end of the village.
Soon you will reach the Hinterskirchler Kreuz. This wayside shrine, built in 1680, is one of the oldest in the surroundings.
Then you walk back to Unterloiben.
Here you walk back to the church.
Even in the wall of the church a cannonball can be found.
From the church you walk down the stairs and then walk straight ahead.
This street leads to the B3. There you continue walking on a walking and cycling path parallel to the main road for 150 meters. Then you turn right and…
reach the village Oberloiben. At the end of the road you turn right.
You walk straight ahead in Northern direction and leave the village again.
At the Mitterwegkreuz, a wayside shrine built in the 18th century, you turn left into the vineyards.
After a right-hand bend you will reach Dürnstein. Right before the Domäne Wachau, a local wine co-operative, you turn right.
At the end of the city you see a statue of Saint Urban of Langres. The French bishop who lived from 327 to 390 is the patron saint of vine-dressers.
Later you will see the Dreifaltigkeitskreuz, a wayside shrine depicting The Holy Trinity on your left.
Behind the rails of Wachaubahn you can see the so called Franzosendenkmal. The memorial was erected in 1905, so 100 years after the battle. There are bones of soldiers that died in the battle buried in the memorial.
If you want to visit the memorial you have to turn left after the fire station. After the railway crossing you have to turn left again to get to the memorial.
But now let's continue our way alongside the rails. The next visible landmark is a bridge over the rails and the so called Michaelerkreuz at your right hand. This wayside shrine was erected in 1749, but there has been a wayside cross already in the year 1470.
Soon you will reach the cellar alley of Unterloiben.
At the second crossing, before the "Doctor's Club", you have to turn right.
Right after the Doctor's Club you see the "Burgstaller Wetterkreuz" on the rock left of you. This cross was erected in 1832.
At the end of the road you have to turn left and then at the Weingut Fink you have to turn right into the main road of Unterloiben.
In the house Unterloiben 30, you see some more cannonballs.
Finally you turn left, walk through the passageway in the house Unterloiben 40 and go back to the parking again.
GPS data can be downloaded here!