August 18 - Bad Kreuzen - Grein - Heuriger Bruckhof

Another long day today as we traveled further away from our home base of St. Florian.

Our first stop was at the Village of Bad Kreuzen where Bruckner went for treatment of his recurring nervous condition. We visited the new cure facility and the partial remains of the old cure facility. We were greeted by the Mayor of Bad Kreuzen, the director of the new facility and the director of the old facility which is now being used as a refugee center.

Regarding the new cure center, some of the treatments there are new but some even pre-date Bruckner. The following example comes from their brochure:
Blood letting according to Hildegard of Bingen (12th century!!-Ed.)
During this type of bleeding, only bulkage-rich blood is removed and the clean blood remains in the body. According to Hildegard such blood letting may only occur in the first six days after a full moon...In the Bad Kreuzen "Bleeding Timeout" special package (2 nights) we offer blood letting in combination with special nutrition and therapies. However, bleeding can also be completed on an out-patient basis.

After visiting the new and old cure centers, we ventured down a long and winding path to the spring where Bruckner went for solace and cold water treatments.

After leaving Bad Kruezen we traveled to Grein where we received a tour of the oldest bourgeois theater in Europe - established in 1791. Grein had a choral society during Bruckner's time and he wrote a "motto" for the society (WAB 148).

Before returning to St. Florian, we stopped at the Heuriger Bruckhof in Wallsee which was the ancestral home of Bruckner's father. A plaque is attached to the building at this location.

Panoramic view from Bad Kreuzen

John Berky talking with the director of the present cure facility and our tour guide

What remains of the old facility that Bruckner visited

The rooms in the old facility have changed little since Bruckner's time

Down at the stream near the facility

A sign describing the showers at the stream

Sign at Bruckner's solitude spot

A second sign at the solitude spot

A view of the Danube from Grein

The town square in Grein

The old theater

Entrance to the Bruckhof