Carp from the Waldviertel – served according to traditional and new recipes

Deutsche Version

Participants in the carp cookery course with Gaby Thaller and Michaela Altmann. Photo: Elisabeth Moll, 2025

On January 2^nd a cookery course was held at Wurmhof Thaller in Oberhof. The eight participants prepared delicacies such as potato dumplings with carp caviar, carp on a bed of millet and carp lasagne - all under the expert guidance of hostess Gaby Thaller and carp princess Michaela Altmann.

The history of pond farming in the Waldviertel is closely linked to the work of the Cistercian monks in Zwettl and was researched in more detail in the project “Cisterscapes connecting Europe”. Abbey archivist Andreas Gamerith gave at the beginning of this cookery course fascinating insights into the dietary regulations, life and economy of the monks at the monastery Zwettl. For example, the Cisterscapes project - which was awarded the European Heritage Label - revealed that the ponds in the Waldviertel are around 100 years older than the Bohemian ponds and were created as early as the middle of the 12th century.

In order to make this knowledge accessible to a greater public, Zwettl Abbey and the town of Zwettl, together with the Cistercian sites of Vyšší Brod and Žd'ár nad Sázavour, launched the project ‘ATCZ00007 CISTERSCAPES VB-Zw-ZnS’ in 2023, which is funded by the Interreg Austria-Czech Republic programme with a total budget of € 4,436,524.31.

Andreas Gamerith introduces the “Umritt” and talks about the history of the ponds in the Waldviertel. Photo: Elisabeth Moll, 2025