Hainburg is located in between Vienna and Bratislava, slightly closer to the Slovakian capital. Bratislava sits on the hills to the east of neighbouring Wolfsthal; Hainburg is its counterpart in the other direction, to the west where the river Morava meets the Danube. The hill it sits on, known as the Braunsberg, is a 346m high lump of limestone jutting out from the endless flat landscape of the Pannonian Plain, considered the start of the Carpathians.
With its counterpart on the Slovakian side of the Danube the Devínska Kobyla, it forms the Devín Gate or Hainburger Pforte in German, marking the end of the Upper Danube. (The Middle Danube runs from the Devín Gate to the gorge of the Iron Gates on the border between Serbia and Romania, and the Lower Danube from there to the Black Sea).
People have lived on the Braunsberg for seven thousand years, and the Celts built a hillfort and fortified metalworking centre there in the second century BC. The Romans built their city of Carnuntum at the base, in order to control the Baltic amber trade coming down the rivers. In medieval times its superb defensive location was the ideal spot for a castle, and in the twelfth century the huge ransom received for Richard the Lionheart (who was held captive in the previously mentioned Castle Dürnstein) was used to upgrade the castle.
Most of the inhabitants were massacred by the Ottomans in the 1683 however, and the town became a poor place mostly sustained by its tobacco factory. Joseph Haydn started his career singing in the choir there, living in abject poverty despite his star choirboy role.
Nowadays it’s a funny place. It doesn’t receive the mass volumes of tourists on river cruises like Melk or Krems further upstream, and the old town feels more like somewhere in France than Austria, with a certain carefree shabbiness allowed that is not the Austrian norm.
The castle sits on a steep hill above the town.
This zodiac themed house was at the top of the hill. I’m sure a wizard must live there.
DIY is one of Austria’s national sports, and it’s practically illegal to not have your house done up to the nines in some places. Hainburg is clearly more relaxed.
Again more colourful and whimsical than is the norm in Austria. Normally old houses are done up with fresh coats of plaster and a tastefully immaculate cream paint job.
The mayor’s name was on loads of benches around town. Do you reckon he can ban you from sitting on them if you cross him?
This guy kept me company when I ate a pizza. The restaurant owners were from somewhere in the former Yugoslavia, so the pizza was a lot better than the usual standard in small Austrian towns.
These steps lead down to the Danube.
Big fan of these UFO picnic tables
The flags mark different walking paths.
While I was waiting for my train, I saw this ridiculous cruise boat that must have been as long as a train itself.
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