Lower Austria

Krems an der Donau

Krems stands at the eastern entrance to the Wachau, where Danube transport, wine-growing and overland trade created a prosperous twin urban world with neighbouring Stein. Medieval merchants and churches still shape the centre, while flood control, rail and cultural reuse reveal a city continuously adapting to the river that made it rich. This guide treats the Wachau as an economic landscape, not merely scenery.