Hausstein Kapelle

Welcome to the Hausstein Chapel in St. Nikola an der Donau.

Emperor Franz Josef made navigation safer by eliminating the dangers posed by the Danube Whirl through the blasting of the Hausstein rock island between 1853 and 1866.
The inscription carved into the stone tablet above the chapel tells this story.

The Iron Cross comes from the Hausstein islet.

On the morning of September 20, 1858, Emperor Franz Josef of Austria, accompanied by his wife Sisi and the royal household, boarded his new Danube yacht, the “Adler,” for the first time. The water level had risen slightly, the weather was fine, and the Emperor was in good spirits; he inspected his ship, had all the details explained to him, and showed great interest in the ship’s crew.

The voyage proceeded without incident as far as Grein. After passing through the Struden stretch near Hausstein, the ship struck bottom and took a heavy blow. Upon closer inspection, it was determined that the rear section of the ship was taking on a great deal of water, so it was decided to ground the ship opposite St. Nikola, near the “Seiler im Sand,” on the sandbar that still exists today.

The accident may have been the reason why, in the same year, efforts to regulate the rapids and whirlpools were accelerated.

The inscription carved into the stone slab above the chapel recounts this:

Emperor Franz Josef
freed shipping from the dangers of the Danube whirlpool
by blasting the Hausstein rock island
1853–1866