Pulkau: Wine Trails, Wine Tradition and Cultural Heritage
Accommodation in Pulkau
Pulkau lies where the Waldviertel meets the Weinviertel. Approaching from the northwest, the town forms the gateway to the Weinviertel, Austria’s largest wine-growing region. Vineyards and orchards surround Pulkau. The landscape, wine-growing and historic buildings offer different ways to spend your time here. When choosing a hotel, it may help to consider what you would like to focus your stay on: the vineyards, wine culture or architectural history.
Wine Trails and Wine Tradition
Four wine hiking trails wind through the vineyards, offering views of Pulkau, a town of wine and culture, and the surrounding landscape. This gives visitors who want to explore wine-growing and the area on foot a specific focus for their walks. Wine-growing in Pulkau was first mentioned in a document in 1216. Alongside this early historical reference, there are opportunities to discover GrĂĽner Veltliner and related wines: numerous wineries that have achieved national and international success invite visitors to get to know them. As visitor arrangements may vary by winery, it is best to contact the winery in advance if you have a particular one in mind.
Hiking, Local Dialect and Pilgrimage
The local-dialect hiking trail offers a different focus from the wine trails. It explains regionally typical agricultural terms, from “Rebirlhaufn” to “Oftalesn”. While the wine trails offer views of the vineyards, town and landscape, this trail draws attention to the language of agriculture. You can choose between different themes: landscape and wine-growing on the one hand, and regional words on the other.
One religious destination is the Maria BrĂĽndl pilgrimage chapel. You can reach it on foot via the Quellenweg through the forest. The BrĂĽndlfest also provides a fixed date for planning your trip: it takes place every year on 2 July. Specific festival arrangements may change, so check them before your trip.
Buildings from Several Centuries
St. Michael’s Parish Church in Pulkau is a fortified church dating from the 12th century. It houses the Jesswagner organ, the largest Baroque organ outside a monastery in Lower Austria. Here, the history of a fortified church and an instrument of special standing among Lower Austria’s Baroque organs come together.
Pulkau’s Blood Church, officially called the Church of the Precious Blood of Christ, is an example of 14th-century Gothic architecture in Austria. It is also known for its Late Gothic winged altar, completed around 1515. Guided tours are available by prior arrangement with the parish office. If you are planning a tour, confirm your preferred date with the parish office in advance.
At the Karner Pulkau, you will encounter a different architectural form: the round chapel was built in the 13th century as a replica of the Holy Sepulchre. The Europahaus with its parish rectory, meanwhile, is a three-winged building with a Baroque façade. It was built around 1700 on the site of an older building dating from the 13th century. Together, these buildings offer insight into different periods of Pulkau’s local history, from the medieval round chapel to the Baroque building.
Discover more destinations: GroĂź-Reipersdorf, Ziersdorf, Retz, Rohrendorf An Der Pulkau, Glaubendorf, Sitzendorf An Der Schmida, Seefeld, Limberg.
For the higher-level travel overview: Hollabrunn.
