You might already know the "Sommerfrische" village Gars am Kamp in Lower Austria. If not, please read more in this story.
The hike I am going to present in this story starts in the Schimmelsprunggasse in Thunau, a small village that belongs to the municipality of Gars am Kamp. By the way: The Schimmelsprunggasse is also starting point for the hike to Buchberg castle that I described in this post.
You follow the tracks of the "Kamptalbahn" in southern direction.
Right before this house you have to turn right and walk up the mountain.
Follow the blue marks on trees or signposts.
When I took this hike last June I missed the way at some point because the nettles have been that high. Since nettles hurt when you touch them I recomment wearing long trousers when you take this hike in summer!
You have to pass a creek that usually is quite small.
The signpost is really hard to see. So I better tell you the co-ordinates of the point where you have to cross the creek. It is 48.58423, 15.64659!
Then the trail becomes steeper and steeper.
After approximately one hour I finally reached the ruins of Schimmelsprung castle - and saw that dark clouds approached the castle.
The castle has been first mentioned in 1196. The name "Schimmelsprung" means "white horse's jump". According to a legend, once oppressed peasants rebelled against their master (the owner of the castle). He wanted to flee with his white horse. But he saw no way out and then jumped with his horse over the rocky slope and died.
If this story is true? I don't know. In fact, the manors of Thunau and Gars have been merged around 1390. Since the location of the castle of Gars (from that today also only ruins are left) had a more convenient location, the castle of Thunau that today is known as "Schimmelsprung" has been left and fell into disrepair.
I discovered this small room with a size of approximately 2 × 2 × 2 meters and that was very good because just when I wanted to leave the ruins, it started raining and I heard thunder approaching.
I returned to this small room - which seemed to be the only part of the ruins that still has a roof - and stayed there until the thunderstorm was over. In fact, it has been a really big thunderstorm and Gars am Kamp has been the center of the thunderstorms on this day. A lot of cellars in the Thunau have been flooded.
After about one hour the thunderstorm was over and I was able to walk back.
The creek I had to pass was not that small anymore.
When you find the way immediately and you don't have to wait for one hour in a small room that's more like a cave, you'll need about one and a half hour for the whole hike.
After this adventurous hike I drove to the center of Gars am Kamp and visited the Kurkonditorei Ehrenberger, a traditional bakery, cake shop and restaurant I know and like for decades and bought a big cup of ice cream.
On my website schmatz.blog you can find a detailled German story of this hike, more images including 360° panoramic images and a more detailled map as well!
Other stories about hikes in Gars am Kamp I published on TravelFeed:
View this post on TravelFeed for the best experience.