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The text below is taken from the D%C3%BCrnstein article on Wikipedia, and is used under the terms of their licence.

This article is about the village of Dürnstein in the Wachau. For the Dürnstein in Styria, see Dürnstein in der Steiermark.
Dürnstein
Coat of arms Location
Wappen or image_coa
Dürnstein (Austria)
Dürnstein
Administration
Country Flag of Austria Austria
State Lower Austria
District Krems-Land
Mayor Barbara Schwarz (ÖVP)
Basic statistics
Area 16.81 km² (6.5 sq mi)
Elevation 209 m  (686 ft)
Population 911  (31/12/2005)
 - Density 54 /km² (140 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate KR
Postal code 3601
Area code 02711
Website www.duernstein.at

Coordinates: 48°23′44″N 15°31′13″E / 48.39556, 15.52028
Dürnstein from the castle.
Dürnstein from the castle.

Dürnstein is a town in the Wachau in Krems-Land, Austria. It is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Lower Austria.

Etymology

The town gained its name from the medieval castle which overlooked it. The castle was called "Duerrstein" or "Dürrstein", from the German duerr/dürr meaning "dry" and Stein, "stone". The castle was dry because it was situated on a rocky hill, high above the damp conditions of the Danube River at the base of the hill, and it was built of stone.

History

Castle ruins and vineyards in Dürnstein
Castle ruins and vineyards in Dürnstein
Dürrstein Castle
Dürrstein Castle

In the castle above the town, King Richard the Lion-Hearted of England was held captive in 1193 by Duke Leopold V of Austria after their dispute during the Third Crusade. Duke Leopold suspected that King Richard ordered the murder his cousin Conrad of Montferrat in Jerusalem. And, Richard had personally offended Leopold by casting down his standard from the walls of Acre. Pope Celestine III excommunicated Duke Leopold for capturing a fellow crusader. Leopold gave custody of Richard to Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, who imprisoned Richard in Trifels Castle.

The castle was almost completely destroyed by the Swedes in 1645. The Battle of Dürenstein was fought nearby in 1805.

Subdivisions

In the land register, Dürnstein is subdivided into the Katastralgemeinden of Dürnstein, Oberloiben and Unterloiben.



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Municipalities in the district of Krems-Land
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