Krems an der Donau (German pronunciation: [ˈkʁɛms ʔan deːɐ̯ ˈdoːnaʊ̯]) is a town with 25,271 inhabitants end 2022 in Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria. It is the fifth-largest city of Lower Austria and is approximately 70 kilometres (43 miles) west of Vienna. Krems is a city with its own statute (or Statutarstadt), and therefore it is both a municipality and a district.

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2020)

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Krems an der Donau
City
View of Krems
Flag Coat of arms
Krems an der Donau Location within Lower Austria Show map of Lower Austria Krems an der Donau Location within Austria Show map of Austria
Coordinates: 48°25′N 15°37′E
Country	Austria
State	Lower Austria
District	Statutory city
Town rights	1305
Government
• Mayor	Reinhard Resch (SPÖ)
Area [1]
• City	51.66 km2 (19.95 sq mi)
Elevation	203 m (666 ft)
Population  (2018-01-01)[2]
• City	24,610
• Density	465/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
• Urban	c. 50,000
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	3500, 3506 (Krems-Süd)
Area code	02732, 02739 (Krems-Süd)
License plate	KS
Website	www.krems.at

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Krems is located at the confluence of the Krems and Danube Rivers at the eastern end of Wachau valley, in the southern Waldviertel.

Krems borders the following municipalities: Stratzing, Langenlois, Rohrendorf bei Krems, Gedersdorf, Traismauer, Nußdorf ob der Traisen, Paudorf, Furth bei Göttweig, Mautern an der Donau, Dürnstein, and Senftenberg.

Krems was first mentioned in 995 in a certificate of Otto III,^[3] but settlement was apparent even before then. For example, a child's grave, over 27,000 years old, was found here. This is the oldest grave found in Austria.

During the 11th and 12th centuries, Chremis, as it was then called, was almost as large as Vienna.

At the end of the Thirty Years' War, Swedish troops captured Krems in 1645 during their invasion of Lower Austria. The city was recaptured by Imperial troops under Hans Christoph von Puchheim and Johann Wilhelm von Hunolstein on 5 May 1646.^[4]

Krems is the primary producer of Marillenschnaps, an apricot brandy. It is also the hometown of Martin Johann Schmidt, called "Kremserschmidt", the leading painter, draughtsman and etcher of the Austrian late Baroque.

The population (with principal residence status) in the agglomeration was about 50,000 at the end of 2010.

The city's main railway station is a junction of the Franz-Josefs Railway to Vienna, the Kremser Railway to St. Pölten, the Donauufer Railway to Spitz and the regional railway to Horn. It is at the intersection of the Stockerauer Speedway S5 and the Kremser Speedway S33, and is traversed by the Danube Road B3, the Retzer Road B35, the Kremser Road B37 and the Langenloiser Road B218. Krems is a junction of the Wieselbus bus lines, which provides radial connections between Sankt Pölten and the different regions of Lower Austria.

Main Roads

• Stockerauer Schnellstraße (S5) from Krems to Vienna
• Kremser Schnellstraße (S33) from Krems to St. Pölten
• Donau Straße (B3) from Krems to Linz
• Aggsteiner Straße (B33) from Krems to Melk
  • Aggsteiner Straße (B33a) from Krems to Mautern an der Donau
• Retzer Straße (B35) from Krems to Retz
• Kremser Straße (B37) from Krems to Rastenfeld
  • Kremser Straße (B37a) from Krems to Traismauer
• Langenloiser Straße (B218) from Krems to Langenlois

Railroad

• Franz-Josefs-Bahn from Krems to Vienna
• Kremser Bahn from Krems to St. Pölten
• Donauuferbahn from Krems to Spitz
• Kamptalbahn from Krems to Sigmundsherberg

Air traffic

• Gneixendorf airfield is a small general aviation airport.

• Ava (ca.1060–1127), poet, the first named female writer in the German language, she lived in Krems
• Margaret of Austria (1204–1266), German queen, (1225-1235) & Queen of Bohemia, (1253-1260).
• Johann Georg Schmidt (1685–1748), called the "Wiener Schmidt", an Austrian Baroque painter, he died in Krems
• Martin Johann Schmidt (1718–1801), called the "Kremser Schmidt", painter of the Austrian Rococo, he died in Krems
• Michael Wutky (1739–1822), an Austrian landscape painter in the Rococo style
• Ludwig Guttenbrunn (1750–1819), an Austrian artist of portraits and history painting.
• Vinzenz Eduard Milde (1777–1853), Dean of Krems and Archbishop of Vienna, pastor of Krems and teacher at the former Piarist Gymnasium Krems, (DE Wiki).^[7]
• Ludwig Ritter von Köchel (1800–1877), an Austrian musicologist, writer, composer, botanist and publisher.
• Franz Schneider (1812–1897), physician and chemist
• Eduard Melly, (DE Wiki) (1814-1854), art historian, politician and numismatist
• Johann Nordmann (1820–1887), journalist, travel writer and poet
• Wilhelm Gause (1853–1916), painter, he died in Krems
• Josef Maria Eder (1855–1944), photochemist and pioneer of Picture & Photography
• Julius Ernest Wilhelm Fučík (1872–1916) composer and conductor; military musician in Krems, 1891-1894
• Wilhelm Miklas (1872–1956), politician (CS) and the third President of the 1st Republic, 1928-1938
• Josef Meller, (DE Wiki) (1874–1968), university professor of ophthalmology
• Josef Bayer, (DE Wiki) (1882–1931), director of Natural History Museum, Vienna, helped find Venus of Willendorf
• Fritz Dworschak (1890–1974), an Austrian numismatist, art historian and museum director
• Rudolf Redlinghofer (1900–1940), Conscientious objector, Nazi victim, beheaded in 1940, now rehabilitated
• Peter B. Neubauer (1913–2008), child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst
• Wolfgang Kummer, (DE Wiki) (1935–2007), physicist
• Dagmar Braun Celeste (born 1941), an American counselor, author and former first lady of Ohio
• Ulrike Lunacek (born 1957), journalist and politician (Green)
• Robert Streibel, (born 1959), historian, writer and poet.

Krems is twinned with the following cities:

• Ribe, Denmark, since 1971
• Böblingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, since 1971
• Beaune, Côte-d'Or, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France, since 1973
• Passau, Bavaria, Germany, since 1974
• Kroměříž, Czech Republic, since 1994
• Grapevine, Texas, United States, since 1999