An Incantato Favorite: Duernstein, Austria

Dürnstein is a small town on the Danube river in the Krems-Land district, in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the Wachau region.  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 at the base of the hill, and it was built of stone. Dürnstein was first mentioned in 1192. The ruins of the castle fortress, 159 meters above the town, are inextricably linked to the Crusades. Here Leopold V, the Babenberg duke ruling the country at that time, held Richard the Lionheart of England prisoner in 1193. It seems that Richard had insulted the powerful Austrian duke in Palestine during the Crusades to capture the Holy Land. The story is that when Richard was attempting to get back home, his boat foundered on the rocks of the Adriatic and he tried to sneak through Austria disguised as a peasant. The English monarch was arrested and imprisoned by Leopold.
For quite some time, nobody knew exactly where in Austria Richard was incarcerated, but his loyal minstrel companion, Blondel, had a clever idea. He went from castle to castle, playing his lute and singing Richard's favorite songs. The tactic paid off, the legend says, for at Dürnstein Richard heard Blondel's singing and sang the lyrics in reply. The discovery forced Leopold to transfer Richard to a castle in the Rhineland Palatinate, but by then everybody knew where he was. So Leopold set a high ransom on the king's head, which was eventually met, and Richard was set free.
The castle was virtually demolished by the Swedes in 1645, but you can visit the ruins if you don't mind a vigorous climb (allow an hour).  
The fifteenth century Dürnstein Abbey (Stift Dürnstein) was initially an Augustinian monastery and was reconstructed when the baroque style came to Austria. It was established in 1410 by Canons Regular from Třeboň and from 1710 rebuilt in a Baroque style according to plans by Joseph Munggenast, Jakob Prandtauer and Matthias Steinl.The blue tower of this church is one of the best baroque examples in the entire country and a notable landmark in the Danube Valley. There is also a splendid church portal. Kremser Schmidt, the noted baroque painter, did some of the altar paintings.  The monastery was dissolved by order of Emperor Joseph II in 1788 and had been given to the Herzogenburg Priory. 

Incantato Destinations: Beautiful Prague

The Czech name „Praha“, or „Praga“ in Old Czech, actually means threshold or doorstep. The oldest records do not mention any place with this name, but rather, they mention a settlement along the river described as „Mezigrady“, meaning „between the castles“. From the 10^th to the 12^th centuries, the name Prague referred only to the Castle. The name later  came to be used for the settlements on both sides of the river Vltava. People originally used the term Prague Village, then Prague City and later simply Prague. The capital of the Czech Republic has always played an important role in the history of the  country and Europe. Since the Middle Ages Prague has been famous as one of the most beautiful cities of the world and has been attributed adjectives such as “golden“, “hundred-spired“,  “the crown of the world“. The unique character of the city is also partly a consequence of its natural environment: Prague, similar to Rome built on seven hills, was built on nine hills along the Vltava river. The dominant features of the city architecture are reflected in the river: towers, church spires and cupolas, palaces and town houses, along with the greenery of gardens, parks and islands. 

Prague's top monuments are: The Prague Castle: National cultural monument, the symbol of more than millennial development of the Czech state. Since its foundation in the last quarter of the 9th century it has been developing uninterruptedly throughout the past eleven centuries. 
Charles Bridge: The oldest Prague bridge built in the place of the Judita's Bridge that had been badly damaged by a flood in 1342. The Stone or Prague Bridge has been called Charles Bridge since 1870 was founded by Charles IV in the year 1357. 

Old Town Hall with Astronomical Clock: Established in 1338 as the seat of the Old Town authorities. The oldest Gothic part of the complex which includes a tower and an oriel chapel is richly decorated with coats of arms. It was built in the latter half of the 14th century.

Old Town Bridge Tower: The entrance gate to Charles Bridge from the Old Town river bank, the most beautiful gate of Gothic Europe, was a masterpiece of the Court buildings. It was finished before 1380. It is richly adorned with sculptures. And many, many more to explore.

Fun Fact: Tremors under foot:

Many writers and academics have claimed to have felt strange and disturbing tremors coming from under the ground in Prague. Dark alleys and desolate squares have been known to produce many eerie sounds and have spooked many writers, including those such as Kafka and his friends, into thinking ghouls were beating drums underground.  

Some famous people and Prague: Mozart came to Prague with his wife in January 1787 for the first time. In his honor, a large ball was organized in Breitfeld Palace (at the corner of Nerudova Street and Jánský vršek), where Mozart also met with Giacomo Casanova. Mozart himself conducted The Marriage of Figaro in the Nostic Theatre performed by the Italian Pasquale Bondini opera company and he also performed two public piano recitals. He was immediately drawn into Prague social circles and musical events.

The famos writer Franz Kaffka (Letters to Milena, The Castle, Amerika) was born in Prague in 1883 and lived there for a long time until he moved to Austria where he died at age 40 in 1924. His body was transported to Prague and buried in a family tomb at the New Jewish cemetery in Strašnice (grave No. 137).