Themed Routes

The Golden Staircase, the Blue Wave, the Green Path and the Red Thread guide you creatively and variably through Melk's historic city centre.

The Golden Staircase connects the town centre with Melk Abbey.

The Blue Wave forms a link between the town centre and the waterfront.

The Green Path forms the route inbetween the Wachau Info-Center Melk and the municipal park.

And the Red Thread enables a self-guided tour through Melk and its more than 1,000 years of history.

The old stones of the buildings and alleys in Melk's city centre would have a lot to tell, for sure: Over 1,000 years of history have left their mark upon them. But they shroud themselves in majestic silence and reveal none of their knowledge.

It is the young stones that break the silence. These are made of blue and golden glass and speak through their arrangement within the cobblestones: An encrypted message in form of Morse code.

In July 2009, the brothers Rudy and Martinmaria Gritsch painstakingly laid the stones by hand with hammer and chisel in the cobblestones.

Their work was followed with interest and incomprehension at the same time in the summer heat. The artists willingly provided information about their project. Tourists from all over the world and visitors from the region thus became witnesses to a unique art project.

Since then, they have successfully conveyed their message, while also serving as a guidance system for first-time visitors.

The blue stones lead directly from the waterfront into the city center to the ‘Kolomani Fountain’.

From here, golden stones lead the way up the ‘Sechsergasse’ towards Melk Abbey.