Hotel Weitzer Graz
The region of Styria, Steiermark in German, is a very interesting tourist destination. Nicknamed the ‘green heart of Austria‘, it is a predominantly mountainous region, but it is full of surprises: forests and gentle hills alternate in a unique combination of nature and modernity, as can be experienced first-hand when visiting Graz, the region’s capital and internationally important creative centre.
Styria’s mountains include the Dachstein, the highest in the region, which narrowly misses 3000 metres in altitude, stopping at 2995. There is also a magnificent glacier here, which can be reached by cable car, and explored from the inside by visiting the Ice Palace, a cave in which miniature Styria has been reproduced.
But there is more to Styria than nature, and visitors will find art and culture at every turn. Starting with Admont Abbey, with the world’s largest monastic library, and continuing on to Mariazell Basilica, a well-known place of pilgrimage, and Stainz Castle, home to the Styrian hunting museum.
Finally, for lovers of the good life, there is everything and more in Styria, starting with the thermal baths, with no fewer than nine spa resorts, and then on to the wine-growing area where the hills are reminiscent of Tuscan landscapes and the wines produced are of excellent quality. Finally, try Josef Zotter’s chocolates, which blend tradition and innovation and have quickly become a world-famous brand.
Styria is a region in the south-east of Austria, whose southern border is shared entirely with Slovenia. Interestingly, Slovenia also has a region called Styria, which is the southern extension of the Austrian region. Sometimes, Slovenian Styria is also called Lower Styria.
In contrast, Austrian Styria is informally divided into Upper Styria (Obersteiermark), which includes the northern and north-eastern part of the region, Western Styria (Weststeiermark), which includes the districts west of Graz, and Eastern Styria (Oststeiermark), which includes the districts east of Graz.
Styria’s other borders are all with other Austrian regions, in particular Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Burgenland and Carinthia. Styria comprises one statutory city, i.e. the capital Graz, one town (Leoben) and 12 districts.
When visiting Styria, one can come across many things to see. Here are the most important ones, so that you don’t miss a single one during a tour of the region.
Start your visit to Styria from its capital city Graz. This fascinating city is the second largest in the country after Vienna, with a population of over 300,000 and a metropolitan area of over 600,000. Its historic centre, the Altstadt, is one of the best preserved in Central Europe, so much so that UNESCO included it on its World Heritage list in 1999.
The historic centre of Graz retains most of its tourist attractions. The most important landmarks of the city are the town hall (Rathaus), the castle hill, which can be reached by funicular railway Schlossbergbahn, from where you can admire wonderful views of the city, and the clock tower (Uhrturm), the symbol of Graz.
But a number of modern buildings and constructions in the city are also worth a visit, starting with the Kunsthaus, the museum of contemporary art, to the Murinsel, a small artificial island built on the river Mur, connected to the mainland by two walkways on both sides.
In 2010, UNESCO extended its recognition of Graz as a World Heritage Site to Eggenberg Palace, located on the western outskirts of the city. It is a splendid Baroque palace, with a truly incredible surrounding garden and a truly remarkable set of architectural features.
The palace is named after one of Styria’s most powerful families, the Eggenberg family, and is surrounded by walls, with a huge west-facing portal. Inside, the palace alternates between opulent rooms and art collections, such as the period coin collection and the Alte Galerie, which displays portraits and sculptures from the Middle Ages to the end of the 19th century.
Mount Dachstein is the highest peak in Styria and is a must-see destination. It can be reached comfortably by cable car, although there is no shortage of high mountain trails to reach it on foot; once at the top, in addition to contemplating the incredible panorama, there are a number of really interesting attractions.
Start with the suspension bridge, which is exciting to walk across, via the ‘stairway to nowhere’, with 14 steps with a transparent bottom where you feel as if you are flying. Take your time on the Dachstein Sky Walk viewing platform, from where you can admire all the surrounding mountains, and finally arrive at the Dachstein Glacier, where you can visit the Ice Palace, an underground cave where Styria has been carved into the ice.
The Bärenschützklamm is one of the longest gorges in Styria in Austria. It can be travelled on a 4.5-hour loop trail that crosses 164 wooden bridges and has as many as 2,500 steps. The Bärenschützklamm gorge has been declared a natural monument and can be visited during the summer.
Walking through the gorge over wooden bridges and steps, you can admire beautiful waterfalls and bizarre rock formations, as well as rare plants and animals. You then deviate over the Hochlantsch peak, where you can discover the Schüsserlbrunn wooden shrine, which can be reached via stairs. From the Hochlantsch, you then reach the Teichalm lake, where you can admire an extraordinarily gentle landscape, in stark contrast to the rugged environment of the Bärenschützklamm.
Last on the list, but certainly not the least important of things to see in Styria, is Riegersburg Castle. It is located in the east of the region, built on top of a volcanic rock to protect the area from invaders. You can reach it laboriously on foot, or comfortably using a modern glass elevator-funicular. Inside, you can admire the museum of the Leichtenstein family, who still own it today, and the curious Witches’ Museum, which showcases the persecution of women accused of witchcraft during the Middle Ages.
Known to be an impregnable fortress, so much so that some say it is “the strongest fortress in Christendom”, Riegersburg Castle is definitely one of Styria’s most interesting attractions. Visit it from afar so that you can photograph it in its entirety, sitting on the volcanic rock hill in all its splendour.
The Benedictine Abbey of Admont, founded in 1074, houses the world’s largest monastic library with a 70-metre long, 14-metre wide and 13-metre high hall containing over 200,000 volumes, including 1,400 medieval manuscripts and 530 incunabula from the 15th century. This late Baroque masterpiece, completed in 1776 by architect Josef Hueber, features frescoed ceilings by Bartolomeo Altomonte celebrating the arts and sciences through allegories of extraordinary artistic beauty.
The library, illuminated by 48 windows that create plays of natural light on the gilded spines of ancient volumes, is decorated with wooden statues by Josef Stammel representing the four last realities of man: Death, Judgement, Hell and Paradise. The Abbey Museum exhibits one of the richest collections of sacred art in Austria, with medieval liturgical vestments, Gothic goldwork and the famous 12th-century Admont Chalice decorated with champlevé enamels.
Bad Aussee, a small town with a population of 4,900 located in the geographical heart of Austria, is nicknamed the ‘secret capital of Austria’ due to its central location and is the cultural centre of the Styrian Salzkammergut, famous for its folk traditions, traditional costumes and carnival celebrations that have been held according to unchanged rituals for over 150 years. The town, surrounded by the peaks of the Dachstein and the Totes Gebirge, preserves a Habsburg historic centre with Art Nouveau villas and bourgeois palaces that testify to the prosperity due to the salt mines exploited for more than 1,000 years.
The Bad Aussee Museum documents the culture of the Salzkammergut through traditional costumes, popular musical instruments and reconstructions of 19th-century domestic settings, while the Archduke Johann House, now converted into a cultural centre, celebrates the figure of the archduke who contributed to the economic and cultural development of the region. The historic thermal baths of Bad Aussee, fed by sulphate- and chloride-rich springs bubbling at 36°C, offer curative treatments for respiratory and rheumatic ailments in spa buildings that retain Belle Époque elegance.
Murau is the centre of Styria’s brewing region and has one of the best-preserved medieval town centres in the region, dominated by the 13th century Murau Castle, which hosts summer concerts and cultural events. The town is famous for the Murauer brewery, founded in 1495 and still active, which produces traditional Styrian beers using local hops and barley grown in the surrounding valleys according to traditional methods handed down for over 500 years.
The 65-kilometre-long narrow-gauge Mur Railway (Murtalbahn) from Murau to Tamsweg in the Salzburger Land is one of the most picturesque historic railway lines in the Eastern Alps, crossing 34 bridges and tunnels carved into the rock as it follows the Mur river through fir forests and alpine meadows. The Brewery Museum documents Styrian brewing tradition through historical equipment, old barrels and guided tastings, while the old town preserves Gothic and Renaissance houses with characteristic inner courtyards and decorated loggias. During the summer, the Murau Beer Festival attracts visitors from all over Austria with food stands, folk music concerts and demonstrations of old crafts related to brewing.
Schladming is one of Austria’s most prestigious ski centres and a regular venue for the Alpine Skiing World Championships, thanks to the technical slopes of the Planai, which every January host the Schladming Night Slalom, one of the most spectacular races on the men’s World Cup circuit. The Schladming-Dachstein ski resort, with 123 kilometres of slopes served by 47 lifts, stretches over four mountains reaching up to the 2,700 metre high Dachstein glacier.
The Planai cable car, completely renovated in 2013, reaches the 1,894-metre peak in five minutes, offering summer access to hiking trails, mountain bike park and alpine coaster, a 1,365-metre-long rail track that descends through the forest with parabolic curves and spectacular jumps. During the winter, the floodlit Planai slope allows night skiing until 9.30 p.m., while the Olympic village built for the 2013 World Championships maintains top-class sports and accommodation facilities.
Mariazell is the most important pilgrimage site in Austria and one of the most revered Marian shrines in Central Europe, visited by more than one million pilgrims annually from Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The Basilica of the Nativity of Mary, founded in 1157 and rebuilt in the Baroque style in the 17th century, houses the Miraculous Madonna of Mariazell, a wooden Romanesque statue from the 12th century, 48 centimetres high, which according to tradition performs miracles and healings.
In the following map you can see the location of the main places of interest mentioned in this article.
Styria offers attractions in every season: spring and summer are ideal for outdoor activities, hiking and visits to wine regions, while autumn offers spectacular foliage in the forests and the grape harvest in the southern hills. Winter turns the region into a snowsports paradise, from the slopes of Schladming to snowshoeing in the Gesaeuse.
For a complete stay, check out our guide to where to stay in Austria to choose from historical hotels in Graz, alpine huts in the Dachstein, farmhouses in the wine regions and spa hotels in the thermal regions.
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