The best traffic-free bike rides around Stausee Dobra

Gföhl was first mentioned in documents around 1180 and looks back on a long history as a market town and centre of the Waldviertel. The most important milestones Antiquity and settlement: Prehistoric finds (like from the Bronze Age) prove early traces of humans on the Gföhl plateau. Before German settlement from the 12th century onwards, there was a Slavic presence. First mention (1180): The place name is presumably derived from a topographical depression in the ground. Elevation to market town (1314/1493): In 1314, Gföhl is mentioned as a market town. In 1493, Emperor Frederick III granted the town official market rights and a coat of arms. War hardship and crises: In 1426, the Hussites destroyed the town and church. The population also suffered severely during the Peasants' War (1595) and the Thirty Years' War (1645), as well as from the plague (1679/1681).

The historic old town of Zwettl in the Waldviertel captivates with medieval city walls, colorful baroque facades, and the colorful Hundertwasser fountain on the main square. Highlights include the Old Town Hall with its city museum, the striking Antonturm, and the nearby Zwettl Abbey (Cistercian monastery).

No Merlot here — the shelf stands empty, quiet, waiting for a bottle that never comes. Kein Merlot hier — das Regal bleibt leer, still, wartend auf eine Flasche, die nie kommt. Pas de Merlot ici — l'étagère reste vide, silencieuse, attendant une bouteille qui n'arrive jamais. No hay Merlot aquí — el estante queda vacío, silencioso, esperando una botella que nunca llega.

The Krumau am Kamp castle is privately owned today and serves as a residence, which is why the interior rooms cannot be publicly viewed.

A trip to Jaidhof Castle is particularly worthwhile due to the combination of historical architecture, spiritual tranquility, and nature experience.

After historical decay, the complex was extensively renovated in the 20th century through private initiative and saved from ruin status. As it is privately owned, it can usually only be viewed from the outside.

The municipal authorities succeeded in winning over Master Hundertwasser to plan and build a fountain system in the main square. The presentation of the fountain model met with great approval from the people of Zwettl, but also with vehement rejection. In 1994, the fountain system, consisting of three main elements – the two fountain columns with collecting basins and the pavilion – was handed over to the public. It has since been a popular meeting point in the heart of the city. Friedensreich Hundertwasser died in February 2000 at the age of 71.

Until the end of the 19th century, a monumental public fountain stood in the middle of the main square, the terminus of the oldest Zwettl water pipeline dating back to the early 17th century; a place where the population met, not just to fetch water. In 1925, a war memorial was erected here, and from the mid-20th century onwards, the square in the heart of the city was primarily used as a parking area. In the early 1990s, the municipality of Zwettl decided to redesign the main square. The aim was to give the city an attractive center again and thus preserve the tradition of the old Zwettl main square for the present and the future. Friedensreich Hundertwasser, born Friedrich Stowasser in 1928, had owned an old mill on the banks of the Kamp river above Zwettl since the 1970s.