Dürnstein is an old village in the Wachau. In the Wachau the Danube breaks through rocky hills, making it a favored stretch for robber knights profitting from the traffic below their strongholds. Legend - only legend, mind you - has it that Richard the Lionhearted spent a long time in the castle dungeon, waiting for his faithful troubadour Blondel to find him and return to England to raise the ransom money.

Nowadays the castle is in ruins and the old baroque church, once shining in a warm beige-yellow, has been repainted a ghastly (ghostly?) blue-grey. Following the old tradition, tourists visiting the Dürnstein Abbey are advised to bring ransom money.

If you spend, do spend also on the excellent wine of the region and, if in season, its delicious, fragrant apricots - the best in the world for making apricot dumplings (Marillenknödel).