The Semmering-Waldheimat-Veitsch region

From a UNESCO World Heritage site to Peter Rosegger

Located one hour from Vienna and Graz, directly on the UNESCO World Heritage Semmering Railway, the Styrian side of the Semmering offers an outdoor paradise. The Stuhleck and Brunnalm – Hohe Veitsch ski areas offer fun for every winter and alpine sports enthusiast. Everything from smaller lifts for those new to skiing to more difficult runs for experts.

You’ll find special challenges here – take a snowshoe tour, race down the mountain on a sledge and leave tracks while cross-country skiing. A high-ropes course in the forest, indoor climbing gym and extensive hiking trails over gentle hills and steep forests await you. Mountain bikers will find numerous marked routes throughout the Pretul wind farm and Waldheimat region. Summer and winter alike, the region offers plenty of natural wonders and cultural treasures; it’s the kind of place that makes your soul feel free.

Our region has also played a major role in the lives of many famous personalities. One of them is Peter Rosegger, for example, whose ‘Waldbauernbub’ stories are closely intertwined with the people and nature of the Alpl region. The local poet coined the term ‘Waldheimat’ – an untranslatable German term that describes a longing for the forests of home: even today, you can get a glimpse of what life here was like in the past. In the Rosegger birth house, the Waldschule (historic open-air school) on the Alpl and in the country house in Krieglach, there’s lots to learn about the history and life of this region. The construction of the Semmering Railway (beginning in 1848) was certainly a decisive historical event. This is how its builder, engineer Carl Ritter von Ghega, achieved world fame. Embark on a journey ‘over the mountains’ in the SÜDBAHN Museum Mürzzuschlag, from Vienna to Trieste, then and now.

We should also mention Johannes Brahms, who spent his holidays in some of our regions (at what is now the Brahms Museum) and composed pieces here, as well as Toni Schruf. The latter was an instrumental driving force behind tourism at the time and is considered a skiing pioneer, leading the way as initiator of the 1st International Ski Race in Central Europe (1893) – you can find out more about this at the FIS Winter Sports Museum.

But for now, let’s return to the present and talk about a very special hiking experience offered in our region: pilgrimage trails! In Styria, the Mariazellerweg (Mariazell Pilgrimage Trail) leads through the area of Semmering-Waldheimat-Veitsch. No matter whether you’re hiking the entire route as a pilgrim or just visiting parts of it as an interested guest, there’s plenty to discover along the path, such as a large wooden pilgrim’s cross in Veitsch that is big enough to go inside. With all the activities you’re getting up to, don’t forget your culinary delights. Cooks in Styria generally like to spoil their guests with lots of typical Upper Styrian treats.

Customs, traditional and contemporary events and exhibitions are also part of the line-up of the year-round calendar of events. Every year there are also different speciality focus areas – just ask the tourist office!