Building in a World Heritage site is a topical issue. Historic settlement areas often present difficult challenges for municipalities and owners. With the help of the Wachau Zones, development plans are elaborated which simplify dealing with historic buildings in line with World Heritage requirements.

Preparations for the joint advertising of several municipalities together with Göttweig Abbey for the Provincial Exhibition in 2023 were already on the way when the one-year delay to the event was announced. The opportunity should now be taken to restructure this initiative. The central topic – “Music” – is intended to connect the participating municipalities and reinforce the sense of regional identity. The large collection of musical publications in Göttweig Abbey offers the possibility to do some academical research on the region’s music and allow it to flow into the initiative.

In a time when churches are being used less and less as places of worship, adapting them into places of culture and retreat is becoming increasingly important. To mark the 300th anniversary of the painter "Kremser Schmidt", his paintings in Wösendorf parish church were lavishly restored. In order to be able to protect the paintings better for future generations and to make their contents easier to see, a new LED lighting system should be installed.

The Haunoldstein beautification and village renewal association is dedicated to the history of the Bründlkapelle. To mark the 100th anniversary of the chapel and the local spring, the story of its creation and importance is to be elaborated together with local historian Dr Gerhard Flossmann.

In recent years, a number of initiatives have established themselves in the region in late autumn and winter which have had a very positive impact on the development of tourism and thus on extending the season. Apart from the long-distance hiking trail “World Heritage Trail Wachau”, which can be easily hiked even in the colder months thanks to the mild climate, numerous cultural initiatives, such as “ELIT” (European literature days), “Wachau in Echtzeit” (Wachau in Real Time - curated by Ursula Strauss) as well as many Advent markets and culinary events have become established. The implementation of the mobility concept (bus connections) means that all municipalities in the region can now also be easily reached without a car.

The municipalities of Mautern, Bergern, Furth, Rossatz-Arnsdorf and Schönbühel-Aggsbach will be intensifying their collaboration over the coming years and focusing on the common positioning of the south bank. Under the direction of Martin Vogg, who was previously responsible for the project Wachau 2010 plus, existing offers should be combined with new ones and wrapped up into bookable packages, starting with the two locations of Maria Langegg and the Aggsbach Charterhouse.