The Mastodon of Schönbühel

MAGYARUL

If a medieval Danube boatman had been granted three wishes by a Danube goldfish, it is almost certain that among them would have been the removal, explosion, excavation, flooding, and total destruction of all the hazardous reefs. These rock monsters of Strudel, Wachau, and the Lower Danube lurked beneath the surface of the water for thousands of years, destructing ships and claiming the lives of countless boatmen. Then, somewhere, some sailor must have caught this golden fish, and during the river regulation, these rock formations were removed, blown up, excavated, or flooded. Except for a few, mostly harmless survivors.

The metamorphic reef of Schönbühel on 20 August (Kienstock 214 cm)

There are not many of these survivors, and they owe their survival to the fact that they were not in anyone's way. Of the examples presented earlier, the Jochenstein rock of St. John of Nepomuk became the end point of a ship lock, The castle on the Wörth rock remained an island, but the Strudel rapids were flooded by the Ybbs-Persenbeug dam, Spielberg, once an island fortress, was swallowed up by the floodplain forest, the increasingly less modest Hunger Stone hid from everyone, the Babacai Rock on the lower Danube shrank, and nothing remained of the deadly rapids of the Iron Gates, where much more was destroyed. This list is not complete; it could also include the previously mined limestone cliff on the Mohács Island, but it is not worth mentioning those that tower high above the riverbanks, such as the monumental Devín castle hill at the mouth of the Morava River.

However, there is also a 'wild' rock on the Danube that has not yet been tamed by river regulation, despite its dangerous proximity to the center line of the Danube. What's more, this rock is located on the Austrian section of the Danube, which has been mostly converted into a shipping channel, where the river has been almost completely dammed. There were only two places in Austria where the Danube was left - so to say - untouched by hydroelectric power plants: the Donau-Auen National Park between Vienna and Bratislava, and the pictoresque Wachau between Melk and Krems. 

The position of the reef during low water

In Wachau, the dark metamorphic rocks of the Dunkelsteinerwald rise over the Danube in many places, often accentuated by various structures, forts, monuments, and crosses. In Schönbühel, a castle and a monastery crown the amphibolite rocks of the Czech massif, which extends into Austrian territory even to the right bank of the Danube, but at the foot of the castle, a cliff resembling the back of a drowned mastodon rises out of the Danube. Viewed from the right bank, this rock formation appears to be in the middle of the river, consisting of two distinct flat humps, which means that at certain water levels it is divided into two parts. This occurs when the water level measured at the Kienstock water gauge exceeds 262 centimeters, as on 22 August 2025, the reef was uniform. Roughly estimated, the Danube completely covers the reef at a water level of around 400 cm.

The reef and the navigation channel (source: Streckenatlas der österreichischen Donau 2024.)

However, the view from the right bank is somewhat misleading, as the rock is not in the middle of the river (if it were, it would no longer be there), but closer to the castle, dividing the river into two parts in a ratio of approximately 1/3 to 2/3. Naturally, navigation takes place in the wider branch. The section below the castle is shallower, where the Danube foams and swirls in the rocky bed at low water levels, performing an activity that is economically immeasurable: it beautifies and diversifies the river. 

The metamorphic reef of Schönbühel on 22 August  (Kienstock 262 cm)

Translated with DeepL.com

Wachau's nose

IN HUNGARIAN

Finally, a hybrid solution was born... From the samples taken at the castle in Rossatz, the nose of the mayor's son was combined with the nose of a woman from Hamburg who has lived in Wachau for a long time. The result was a four-meter-high Danube-front artwork near the ferry in the Austrian village of St. Lorenz, home to 22 people. 

Wachauer Nase (photo © Ariane Reither)

  

Wachau in Austria is a must for anyone who loves the Danube. Climb the steep hillsides of Dürnstein and Aggsbach, taste the local white wines, touch the life-size "Willendorf Venus", marvel at the miniature churches in the miniature villages, cycle and sail through this magnificent valley. And on top of that, at the 2014 river kilometer, you can marvel at Austria's largest nose, which would make Cyrano de Bergerac expresses his appreciation.

But before we take a closer look at the nose, let's visit the nearby Romanesque church. 

Weißenkirchen and St. Lorenz on the 3rd military survey (mapire.eu)

The church of St. Lorenz is one of the smallest and oldest in Wachau. But it is still enough for a village of 22 people. Its history also has a topicality, ranked 12th among Austrian sites in the Frontiers of the Danube World Heritage nomination. This suggests that the Romanesque church on the right bank of the Danube, in the former province of Noricum, certainly dates back to the Roman age. 

St. Lorenz temploma 1938-ban. (forrás: Alte Ansichten aus der Wachau)

The Roman age wall of nearby Bacharnsdorf has already been mentioned on the blog. This building, which is at least 1600 years old, is important because it is an example of what a Roman watchtower in the Danube valley might have looked like, as it forms the wall of a family house. Its three levels could be used to construct, among other things, watchtowers of a similar age in the Danube bend. Although the 4th-century remains of St. Lorenz are similar in size, not much is visible. Two buildings, the south wall of the parish and the north wall of the church form the same structure. And as such it only appears in a small part, above the saddle roof of the parish. 

It seems that nearly a thousand years after the construction of the watchtower (in the 13th and 14th centuries), the walls of the church were still at this height when it was built. It is possible that the stones of other walls (which were in the wrong position for the temple) were also used in the construction.

Well, back to the nose!

The Nose of Wachau hides behind the Romanesque church of St. Lorenz (source)

On 13 October 2012, around 70 people gathered at the former castle of the Counts Schönborn in the center of Rossatz to model their sense of smell for the latest project by the Gelatin group of artists. After all, what other nose could be used for a sculpture of the "Nose of Wachau" than an original nose from the Wachau. During the convivial event, beer, local white wine, and apricot liqueur were served, sausages were roasted and the team of artists took plaster samples of the noses of the enthusiastic applicants. 

And the result? A four-meter-high, five-meter-wide, seven-and-a-half-meter-long work of art that rises upstream.

Nose modeling in progress (Photo © Gelitin)

It's like a giant buried on the banks of the Danube, with only its nose showing. Its nostrils can comfortably accommodate a few people. The Danube's floods fill it with silt, on which the vegetation then colonizes. The grass grows in it like the hairs on its nose. 

Within a short time, it has become a real attraction in the 'Austrian Danube Bend'.

Nostril caves

Here, the old and the new blend well together. In addition to fans of ancient ruins and medieval church architecture, contemporary art lovers will also find something for everyone at the Weißenkirchen ferry!

Die Deutsche Donau

Immer wenn es Herbst wird, wenn im Wind schon der Geruch von welkem Laub und die feuchte Kühle von kommenden Nebeln zu ahnen sind, dann denke ich an die Donau im Süden des reiches, an ihre Auen mit dem silbrigen Glanz der Weidenbäume, an die Altwasser in den dunklen Tiefen des Erlengestrüpps und an die steilen Hänge der Wachau, zwischen denen das Wasser des Stromes nun klarer wird und schon hier und da ein wenig von dem Blau zeigt, das an den Abenden im Spätherbst alles mit seinem Leuchten erfüllt. 

Die Breg windet sich durch den Schwarzwald