A visit to the historic site of the Battle on the Moravian Field: 1 km to 13 km

• Readers of this post are probably wondering why a walk entirely taking place Austria (and quite a long distance from the Czech border) is included in a site focused on myczechwalks? One possible answer is that this part of Austria was, for a brief period, actually part of the Czech Crown lands. It was annexed to the kingdom of Bohemia during the second half of the 13th century by the Přemyslid warlord and king, Ottokar II.
• However, Ottokar actually held territories as far as the Adriatic coast, and the author has no intention of extending the guide into Croatia and Slovenia! No, the main reason for including a walk in this non Czech territory is that arguably the most important medieval battle to affect Central Europe (and certainly the history of the Czech nation) took place here in August 1278.
• It was a swelteringly hot summer’s day. Ottokar was leading his army of some 10,000 heavy and light cavalry in pursuit of the Habsburg Count Rudolf I, who had deprived the Bohemian warlord of his Austrian possessions two years earlier. Rudolf had a larger, but more lightly equipped, cavalry force, including a contingent of Cuman horse archers. The two armies met in the low hills that line the Morava river (called the ‘March’ in German) between between the villages Dürnkrut and Jedenspeigen.
• After hours of inconclusive fighting, most of Ottokar’s heavy cavalry was left exhausted by the heat. One of Rudolf’s commanders led a surprise attack on Ottokar’s right flank with a cavalry force that had been concealed behind a hill (a sneaky move contrary to the normal medieval chivalric behavior). Ottokar attempted to counter the attack with his last reserve of cavalry, but this was interpreted by the rest of his army as the beginning of a rout, which promptly began to flee the battlefield. Pursued by the horse archers, the Bohemian forces suffered huge losses. Ottokar was later discovered dead, lying close to the river Morava. The king’s body was taken to Vienna and displayed there by the victorious Count, a signal to the whole of Europe that the Habsburgs were now a force to be reckoned with.
• The Battle on the Moravian Field (or the Battle of Marchfeld) was arguably the most consequential battle ever fought by a Bohemian army. Had Ottokar won, and Rudolf (rather than the Bohemian king) fallen in the battle, then the whole pattern of European history – possibly world history – could have looked very different. The Habsburg family subsequently dominated the politics of central Europe from the 15th century until the outbreak of world war I, when the heir to the Habsburg lands was assassinated in Sarajevo. Take away Rudolf and the hitherto inconsequential Swabian family might have disappeared from the pages of history books (and walking guides).
• An impressive memorial to the battle was erected in 1978 (the 700th anniversary) just off the main road between the Austrian villages of Dürnkrut and Jedenspeigen, some 20 km south of the current Czech border. Both villages have impressive medieval castles that are worth investigating. Jedenspeigen castle hosts an excellent museum dedicated to the battle and its consequences.
• If just planning on visiting the memorial, there is a parking area directly off the main road (map point 3). It is a very short walk from there to the memorial. For a longer walk, it is possible to construct a circular route using a mix of footpaths in the hills (some of which pass vineyards, whose grapes makes the wines that are on sale at Jedenspeigen castle) and along the cycle path that runs between the two villages.
• The full circular route of 13 km shown in the map below is essentially flat, apart from a short 50m climb on the approach to Jedenspeigen. All the paths are easy. There are various refreshment options in Dürnkrut village.

Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.com site. This can be used for online navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file

Directions

• A good option for starting the full route is to park or take the train to Dürnkrut station (which has direct connections with Vienna) and walk from there
• Withy the exception of the section along the cycle path, this route is on unmarked footpaths, so is best followed on a good map – including the mapy.com phone application, which works perfectly well also in Austria!