Austria Travel 2009: A Driving
Tour of Upper Styria including Mariazell
My first three days in Austria had already been
action-packed, full of hiking excursions and culinary
delights. My next adventure was going to be a full-day
driving tour with my friend Gary, who had also grown
up in Austria, but, like me, had emigrated to Canada
more than 40 years ago.
Gary’s native region is Upper Styria, a mountainous
and heavily wooded part of my Austrian home province.
He came to pick me up in his rental car in my home
town of Weiz and we drove past the rolling hills
of Eastern Styria through the picturesque villages
of Anger and Birkfeld. Driving further up into the
mountainous country to stop at the mountain pass
of Alpl from where we had a gorgeous view of the
high mountain regions of Upper Styria.
Mountain panorama of Northern Styria
On our way down from the mountain pass we drove
down into the valley which hosts one of the region’s
most popular tourist destinations: Peter Rosegger’s
“Waldheimatschule”, a rural school building
that was attended by one of Austria’s most
famous poets of the 19th and early 20th century,
Peter Rosegger. He was almost awarded the Nobel
Prize in 1913 and to this day remains a popular
local hero.
The Waldheimatschule, Peter Rosegger's
school
Continuing on our way into the Mürz River
Valley we turned right onto the highway that connects
Upper Styria with Vienna and drove towards the Semmering,
a mountain pass at the border of Styria and Lower
Austria. This mountain is most famous for the Semmering
Railway that was completed in 1854 and connects
Gloggnitz in Lower Austria with the town of Mürzzuschlag
in Styria.
Beautiful church on the Semmering mountain
The Semmering Railway is in effect the first true
mountain railway in the world, and it took six years
to construct it. 14 tunnels and 16 viaducts, some
of them two stories high, and more than 100 curved
stone bridges overcome the challenging mountain
terrain, and to this day, railway enthusiasts choose
to travel on this still active route. The trains
have to deal with an altitude difference of 460
m and a steepness of up to 2.5%. The extreme turning
radii and gradients require special locomotives
that could handle the challenge. The uniqueness
of this mountain railroad was recognized with a
UNESCO World Heritage site designation in 1998.
Rustic wooden architecture on the Semmering
The construction of the railway made the entire
Semmering region a popular tourist destination.
Numerous large hotels and villas were built in the
second half of the 19th century, and even members
of the Austro-Hungarian nobility enjoyed the healthy
climate of this high-altitude spa town. Well-known
Austrian artists and writers of the era also spent
their vacations here.
The impressive Hotel Panhans
The most stunning example illustrating the heydays
of the Semmering Region is the Hotel Panhans, a
historic grand hotel dating back to 1888. After
an expansion in 1913, the Panhans was considered
one of the largest hotels in Europe with more than
400 rooms and offered luxurious amenities to its
high-calibre guests. Prior to the collapse of the
Austrian monarchy in 1918, celebrity guests included
writers, painters and architects such as Peter Altenberg,
Gerhard Hauptmann, Oskar Kokoschka, Arthur Schnitzler
and Stefan Zweig. After the first World War famous
guests included the likes of Josephine Baker, Jan
Kiepura, and Maria Jeritza.
Entrance to the swanky Hotel Panhans
Today, the region is also a popular winter sport
destination. World Cup ski races are held regularly
on the adjacent Hirschenkogel mountain. Bikepark
Semmering is a mountain biking park and the ski
lifts are available to off-road bikers from June
to October. The Semmering region is enjoying strong
tourism growth for both summer and winter tourism.
Beautiful house in Neuberg an der Mürz
Having explored this historic spa town we turned
around and drove back towards Mürzzuschlag.
From this local district town we headed north into
the Mürz River Valley, a deeply cut mountain
valley, where we stopped in the village of Neuberg
an der Mürz. This little town features a large
Cistercian abbey from 1327. The Erzherzog-Johann-Kreuz
(Archduke Johann Cross) has been adorning a rock
wall above the village since the 1880s.
The Erzherzog-Johann-Kreuz
We continued on our drive through this remote mountain
valley to the town of Mariazell, Austria’s
most important pilgrimage destination. Many miracles
have been attributed to the Virgin of Mariazell,
a carved wooden sculpture of the Virgin Mary that
was brought to this village in 1157. The church
was later lavishly expanded in the Baroque style
in 1644. Pilgrimages took place as early as in the
12th century, and today the Mariazell Basilica is
visited by almost a million pilgrims every year.
Pope John Paul II visited Mariazell in 1983 and
a pilgrimage with 25,000 participants from the former
Eastern Block countries took place in 1990 to celebrate
the fall of Communism.
The magnificent Basilica of Mariazell
The pretty town has a picturesque main square that
is surrounded by many historic buildings that today
house a variety of restaurants and hotels. Many
booths are selling religious trinkets and souvenirs.
The surrounding area with the Bürgeralpe mountain
is a popular ski area which features one of the
first cable cars ever built, dating back to 1928.
The main square of Mariazell
Heading further south we made our way towards the
massive Hochschwab mountain, which dominates the
area with its altitude of 2,277 metres. Dark clouds
were now moving in on the horizon and soon the rocky
limestone mountain was surrounded by an ominous
dark sky. Shortly after the sluicegates of heaven
opened up and we got caught in a downpour. We decided
it was time for lunch and sat down on the outdoor
patio of a restaurant which provided us with a great
view of this Alpine peak.
Dark clouds loom over the Hochschwab Mountain
Now hungry from our long excursion we had some
typically Austrian meals: a Fritattensuppe (pan-cake
strip soup), and a Wiener Schnitzel, the crispy
breaded filet of pork that has become one of the
hallmarks of Austrian cuisine. The restaurant’s
garden featured mouflons (wild mountain sheep) and
colourful ducks; this little zoo kept the tourists
entertained.
One of my favourite Austrian dishes: a Wiener
Schnitzel
After our hearty meal we continued our drive south
into the mountain town of Aflenz, a popular spa
town with about 1000 years of recorded history.
We stopped briefly for some Austrian pastry at a
local “Konditorei” (pastry shop) and
walked into the Gothic-era church. Our drive continued
further south to the town of Kapfenberg, a steel
manufacturing town with a pretty city centre with
a pedestrian zone.
Stone figure above the entrance to the parish church
of Aflenz
Just above the city on a hill is the Fortress of
Oberkapfenberg, a medieval castle that was first
mentioned in historical records in the 12th century.
The imposing thick-walled fortress underwent reconstructions
in the 16th century to incorporate Renaissance architectural
elements but started to fall into disrepair several
hundred years ago. Finally in the 1950s the old
fortress started to be rebuilt and was turned into
a hotel. The fortress restaurant was opened in 1994
and today also features a predatory bird demonstration
with eagles, vultures and falcons.
The medieval castle of Oberkapfenberg
A local historical club uses the fortress to preserve
history and knightly traditions in various performances.
Annually a Witch’s Night complete with a witches’
market, a witches’ fire and witches’
dance, clairvoyants and a fiery spectacle evokes
medieval times. Various concerts, an arts and crafts
market before Christmas and a Knights Festival keep
the Middle Ages alive. A knights’ meal gives
visitors a chance to experience medieval cuisine.
Guests can even rent historic clothing and sit down
in full medieval attire to enjoy the feast.
Stone steps leading to the castle's patio
We were unlucky though, because on Mondays the
fortress’s restaurant is closed and we could
not inspect this unique environment ourselves. The
door to the terrace on the west hand side was open
though, and we could enjoy a great view over the
Mürz River Valley.
It was now getting dark and we had to make our
way back to my home town. We chose to drive through
the Mur Valley, one of the most important valleys
in the Austrian town of Styria. Pretty towns like
Pernegg or Frohnleiten are adjoining the river valley
and make for popular destinations for local tourists.
Other important local sites include the Drachenhöhle
bei Mixnitz (the Dragon’s Cave), a place
where Paleolithic-age relics have been found. The
nearby Bärenschützklamm, a steep
rocky gorge featuring steep wooden ladders attached
to sheer rocks, is very popular with hikers.
Medieval art inside the castle fortress
North of the provincial capital of Graz we turned
left and drove back to my hometown and arrived just
shortly before another thunderstorm started pelting
the area with lemon-size hailstones. Exhausted from
my full day of explorations I crashed into bed to
rest up for another day of regional discoveries.
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