Hiking: BergZeitReise

On foot through Hochsteiermark

No matter which direction you approach the Hochschwab from, the routes to the summit are all eventful and varied.

(Bild: Steiermark Tourismus/Tom Lamm ikarus.cc)

It is said that hiking is the best way to get to know a country. Along the "BergZeitReise" long-distance hiking trail, you can discover the north-easternmost region of Styria step by step in 15 stages. A journey with plenty of nature, culture and culinary delights - over proud mountain peaks, through deep green forests, along historic paths to villages steeped in tradition and valleys full of stories.

You don't have to travel far to get around or create something to discover something new. For a long time, hiking was seen as an old people's hobby. This dusty image is now passé. People are longing to take a break and slow down from everyday life. And the local mountain world has numerous nature experiences to offer.

From cultural hikes and pilgrimage trails to crossing the Alps - everything is possible. All you have to do is set off. Hikers discover landscapes and cultural areas step by step. The Hochsteiermark Tourist Board thought the same thing and asked hiking expert, mountain rescuer and nature park manager Andreas Steininger to create a new edition of the "BergZeitReise" long-distance hiking trail.

Sunrise on the Hochschwab summit.

(Bild: Steiermark Tourismus/Tom Lamm ikarus.cc)

An overnight stay in the atmospheric Schiestlhaus on the Hochschwab is a special experience after a long tour.

(Bild: D. Zwickl)

The highest point of the Rax is the Heukuppe at 2007 meters, which lies entirely in the province of Styria

(Bild: Andreas Steininger)

A journey of 15 stages, 290 kilometers and 14,000 meters of altitude, leading through the cultural and historical past and high above the imposing mountains of north-eastern Styria. Along the multi-day tours, some of the most famous mountain peaks are climbed - such as the Hochschwab with its 2277 meters, the Heukuppe on the Rax, Stuhleck or the mystical Teufelstein on the Fischbacher Alpe.

Incidentally, the "legendary" six-metre-high natural monument takes its name from a wager that the devil once proposed to the Lord God in order to return to heaven. During the resurrection celebration, he was to build a rock tower that had to reach all the way to heaven. Lucifer worked so frantically that his support frame for the heavy rocks broke. His time was running out and he had to return to hell. The three stones that he had already piled on top of each other on the Fischbacher Alpe were left behind on the summit - since then the mountain has been called the Devil's Stone. This is just one of the imaginative stories from Hochsteiermark.

Devil's Stone: According to legend, the devil not only gave the mountain its name, but is also said to have had a hand in its construction.

(Bild: Gemeinde Fischbach/Kathrin Karelly)

Travel information

• General information: steiermark.com
• Hochsteiermark adventure region: hochsteiermark.at Herzog-Ernst-Gasse 2, 8600 Bruck an der Mur, 03862/550 20, e-mail: [e-mail]
• Hiking along the "BergZeitReise" trail
  Start & finish: Bruck an der Mur, 15 daily stages plus 15 daily tour tips. Best time of year: May to October. Information and hiking guide: Bergzeitreise.at
• Sustainable journey: the entire region is well connected to the public transport network. oebb.at & RegioBus

On stage seven from Neuberg an der Mürz to the Lurgbauerhütte alpine dairy, the 1903-metre-high Windberg (the name says it all) offers a magnificent view of the entire "BergZeitReise". Afterwards, a technically demanding tour (stage 8) leads along the Styrian side of Vienna's local mountains to the Waxriegelhaus across the Rax plateau, crossing the highest point in the Mürzer Oberland Nature Park, the Heukuppe.

From Mürzzuschlag (stage 10), follow the railroad hiking trail to the first ski summit in the Alps, the Stuhleck, and the Roseggerhaus. Alpl and Krieglach are the "classic" places to track him down: Peter Rosegger, the "forest farmer's boy" from Styria, who only barely learned to read and write and yet became a celebrated poet.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

From the most beautiful place in Austria, to the classic pilgrimage site Mariazell, UNESCO World Heritage station Mürzzuschlag, across the Styrian Gamsgebirge to the gourmet kitchen on the Pogusch - the "BergZeitReise" is designed as a circular hiking trail (see graphic) and is signposted in both directions. You can, but don't have to do it all at once. Andreas Steininger has also included 15 day tour tips for the Rax, Waldheimat, Hochschwab and Mürztal mountains in his new hiking guide.