Land Art & Art in the Public Space within the scope of Wachau 2010plus

The "Wachauer Nase" generated a lot of discussion © Anna Lun
The so-called "Vineyard Snail" is a unique viewing platform above Dürnstein. © Anna Lun
Friedenskreuz St. Lorenz (Peace Cross) memorial © Woessner

Some get you thinking, others make you shake your head – the projects from the fields of Art in the Public Space and Land Art, which were realised in the region within the scope of Wachau 2010plus.

Particularly heavy debates took place over the installation of the "Wachauer Nase" by the artists’ group gelitin in St. Lorenz. This work also marks a commitment to native art, due to the fact that two members of the internationally renowned group of artists hail from the region. What’s more, thanks to reports in the media, the "Wachauer Nase" has since become a highly valuable means of advertising the Wachau and is also an extremely popular photographic motif.

Two different projects were implemented during the construction of the flood defence in Spitz: The golden "Spitzer Spitz" by Gottfried Bechthold shows the height reached by the flood of the century near the ferry pier. A somewhat critically received project is Anita Leisz’s design for the square at the east end of the bankside promenade.

From 2011 to 2014, in the orchard at the apricot farm of the Kausl family in Ötz, in the municipality of Mühldorf, a series of exhibitions entitled "Structure and Organism" was curated and implemented in the summer months by art:phalanx. The artists use the works they created there to debate the landscape of the Spitzer Graben valley, the apricot orchard and nature.

In the municipality of Mautern, above Baumgarten on the pilgrimage trail between Göttweig and Maria Langegg, the work "konkav/konvex – gerade" (concave/convex – straight), an impressive stone monument by the artist Peter Paszkiewicz, was installed.

The first phase of the project on the "Friedenskreuz St. Lorenz Memorial" dealt with the reappraisal of the historic background to the monument, which was erected in the 1960s. The design for the memorial by Martin Krenn was rounded off with works by schoolchildren from Krems. Two printed works were also created: a guideline on the educational handling of the topic and a book containing the scientific background to and general considerations on the topic. Both are available on request at our office in Spitz.

The "Wachau Vineyard Snail" was constructed in 2011 as the outcome of a competition at the New Design University St. Pölten. It is located on Kellerberg in Dürnstein, right alongside the World Heritage Trail, and serves as a rest area.