Zellerndorf combines architectural history with the Maulavern wine cellar lane and several named routes. To plan your visit, you can first decide whether to focus on historic buildings, an event date or a longer route.
Parish Church and Maulavern Wine Cellar Lane
North of Zellerndorf stands the parish church dedicated to Saints Philip and James. The Gothic hall church was built in the first half of the 14th century. The charnel house, dating from the second quarter of the 14th century, lies to its south. Together, the two buildings illustrate different stages of medieval architectural history within a small area.
The Maulavern wine cellar lane adjoins Zellerndorf directly to the west. It is around 750 metres long and surrounded by vineyards. When planning your visit, it is important to distinguish between the lane and the cellars: the cellars are open only during events or guided tours. The lane itself is interesting as a place with its own history and as a stop on several routes.
A recurring event is the Pumpkin Festival in the Maulavern wine cellar lane, west of the market town. It has been held every year on the last Saturday in October since 1994. If you would like to combine your visit with the festival, check the event details before travelling.
Routes and Guided Walks
The Veltliner Tour passes several named stops, including the Grüner Veltliner Square, the Maulavern wine cellar lane and its cellar museum, the Radlerrast, the Rankl Cross, the Schiefer Weg, the Schloßmühle, the Kuchl- und Kölla Museum, and the parish church of Saints Philip and James with its charnel house. The BERG und TAL route is described by its course: it leads from Veltliner Square in the municipality of Zellerndorf via the Maulavern wine cellar lane to the municipality of Deinzendorf, then returns to Zellerndorf via the Point wine cellar lane.
Those considering a designated cycling route will find another option in the Weinviertel DAC Wine Cycling Route. It is around 55 kilometres long, passes through several towns on its way to Zellerndorf, and goes past the Maulavern wine cellar lane there. The routes can therefore be distinguished by their respective named stops, their course and—in the case of the wine cycling route—the approximate total distance, without assuming a particular duration or difficulty level.
Guided walks through Zellerndorf’s wine cellar lanes focus on the history of the “villages without chimneys”, winegrowing in the past and “naive architecture”. If you would like to join one of these walks, arrange your booking in advance. This offers a different perspective on the wine cellar lanes than following the stops along the routes.
Other Places and Getting There
Platt, which is within the municipality of Zellerndorf, also has a cultural attraction: the Stone Age and Celtic Cellar displays finds from excavations at Sandberg as well as finds from the region’s more than 7,000-year settlement history. In Watzelsdorf, the renaturalisation of the Pulkau stream created several ponds and flowing waterways.
There are several options for breaks with places to play: a playground is located directly in front of the Schloßmühle; children can play and run around at Riedlplatzl. A cellar belonging to the Döller family also houses a self-service Radlerrast. These specific places complement the cultural stops without needing to be combined into a single route.
Zellerndorf station is on the Nordwestbahn railway line. S3 rapid transit trains to Retz and Wiener Neustadt main station stop there, as do regional express trains to Retz and Znojmo, Unterretzbach, Vienna and Payerbach-Reichenau. If rail travel is important to your plans, check the timetable before travelling.
Discover more destinations: GroĂźmeiseldorf, Obermarkersdorf, Rafing, Limberg, Retz, GroĂźkadolz, Guntersdorf, Jetzelsdorf.
For the regional travel overview: Hollabrunn.
