Steiner Tor
Start at the town’s landmark. The Steiner Tor is the one gate Krems kept when it pulled down its walls: until the last third of the 19th century a ring of masonry enclosed the town, and when it was systematically razed, three other gates went with it. Stand on the outer side first. Two flanking towers guard the archway, and they, like the lower storey of the gate, date from the late Middle Ages.
Look to the right of the arch for a small coat-of-arms stone. It carries the motto of Emperor Frederick III, A.E.I.O.U., and the year 1480 in Roman numerals, most likely marking the repair of the fortifications after Hungarian troops had damaged them in 1477. Everything above is far younger: the baroque tower top went up under Maria Theresa, and a chronogram in its inscription resolves to 1756.
The heraldry tells a small story of its own. In the centre sits the Habsburg double eagle of Maria Theresa’s day with the letters M. T. Beside it, the red-white-red shield and the Styrian panther formed the town’s arms from 1453 to 1463, until Frederick III “improved” them in 1463 and gave Krems the crowned double eagle in black and gold that is still its symbol today.
Walk through and turn round. On the inner side a memorial stone recalls 1573, when an ice jam on the Danube caused a great flood. The land outside the gate was long at the river’s mercy, and the walls doubled as flood defence; only once the Danube was regulated could they come down. For the 700th anniversary of the town charter in 2005, the gate was restored as faithfully as possible.
From here it is 520 m, about 8 min, to the Gozzoburg, and the short walk takes you across the Hoher Markt.
