Mödling: A Classic Day-trip from Vienna - Part II
One that is quickly accessed from St. Othmar is the former castle of Mödling, which now appears to be in pretty bad shape at the first glace (but there are still people living in it, so I think it looks better from the backside). The hill on which the castle sits is the closest to the parish church and grants great vistas over Mödling and the plains south of Vienna, far beyond Schwechat (Vienna Airport) into the Marchfeld area.
The most popular destination within the Mödling′s city limits is the Seegrotte Hinterbrühl. This former gypsum mine was flooded in 1912, upon which occasion the mining was stopped. The Nazis used the mines for a labour camp in which compartments of jet engines were manufactured (note the convenient vicinity of Mödling to Vienna and Wiener Neustadt, where traditionally a lot of plane engineering had been done). Today, the Seegrotte hosts Austria′s biggest underwater lake, which is the main attractant to the site.
Mödling Surroundings & Centre
Back to the city of Mödling: There are two important composers that spent their summers in the city, and both got their little museums in commemoration of them. Ludwig van Beethoven rented a flat in the Hafnerhaus Building. This is now called the "Beethoven Haus" for obvious commercial reasons. Beethoven spent the summer of 1819 in Mödling and intended to return the following year. However, the landlord refused to accept him again as a guest, according to rumour due to Beethoven′s eccentric behaviours of the previous year.
The other significant composer that liked to spent the summer days in Mödling was Arnold Schoenberg. His cottage is located south of the city centre and houses a small collection of memorabilia and references to the creator of odd music and expressionist paintings (though the latter one is less well-known).
Attractions near Mödling include the many sights of Vienna; as well as the pretty (and pretty posh) spa town of Baden, the Stift Heiligenkreuz Abbey, the chateaux of Mayerling (which I have voted into my list of the least attractive places of Austria), and the Habsburg′s summer retreat of Laxenburg with its famous formal gardens. Hiking in the Vienna Woods (or even to the Vienna Woods from Vienna itself) can be a pleasant leisure at several points - I would recommend to approach a tourist information centre for details on hiking routes.
Return to "Mödling - Part I"
Back to: "Lower
Austria
Sightseeing Guide"
Sightseeing by Austrian Province
Bregenz and Vorarlberg - Innsbruck and Tyrol - Salzburg - Salzkammergut - Graz and Styria - Klagenfurt and Carinthia - Wachau and Lower Austria - Vienna - Burgenland
Further Reading
Official Website of Lower Austria
