

Forest to forest hike in Rosegger's Waldheimat on the Alpl
Peter Rosegger's forest school on the Alpl serves as the central starting point. The 6.6 kilometre circular trail leads over 240 metres in altitude through the Styrian farm forest. Three information boards and eleven stations provide information about the forest and its diverse and important roles in times of global warming.
In 2019, the Styrian Forest Association, in cooperation with the Federal Research Centre for Forests, established the first forest-to-forest hiking trail in Styria here in the Waldheimat. Along the path from the forest school to the Rosegger birthplace, to the Rossegger vlg. Schmiedhofer, to the GH Schlagobersbauer, the managed forest is described in all its facets. ‘On the one hand, we want to show that forest management is not necessarily a problem for our changing climate, but can even be part of the solution,’ says Peter Rosegger, the only full-time farmer on the Alpl and owner of a farm holiday business.
Characteristics
Best season
The tour in numbers
Map & downloads
More information
Coming from Vienna:
Take the Semmering motorway S6 at Krieglach. At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit in the direction of Alpl. Follow the L71 to the Alpl and turn right at the signpost to the forest school.
Coming from Graz:
Take the S6 Semmering motorway and exit at Krieglach. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit in the direction of Alpl. Follow the L71 onto the Alpl and turn right at the signpost for the forest school.
The 6.6 kilometre circular trail starts at Peter Rosegger's forest school on the Alpl. Follow the path south towards the birthplace and turn right after the bridge. The first two stations are on the path to the birthplace (Kluppeneggerhof). Past the birthplace, follow the path along the edge of the forest in a southerly direction, past station 3. Follow the path to stations 4 and 5 before crossing a large meadow to reach the Rossegger vlg. Schmiedhofer farm with its large fallow deer enclosure. At Schmiedhofer you pass station 6 and follow the road out of the valley, past stations 7 and 8. After about 1 kilometre before the bridge at Freßnitzbach, turn right and follow a forest path (station 9) to Gasthof Schlagobersbauer. Continue along the road and turn left before the bend. Along a somewhat steeper path you reach station 10 and then return to the starting point, the forest school.
You can stop off at the Gasthof Schlagobersbauer. A Rosegger cake with coffee is recommended here.
Behind Peter Rosegger's forest school on the ‘Kapellenriegel’ you will find a compact summary of the themed trail on a total of three information boards.
At 12.00 noon, the bells of the Alpler Heldenkapelle chapel ring out. It was erected in memory of the sons of the homeland who fell in the two world wars.
By train to Krieglach, by taxi to the Alpl. timetable information is available at www.verbundlinie.at or www.oebb.at
The Krieglach taxi services:
Sigi's Taxi T: +43 3855 2481
Taxi Allmer T: +43 3855 2213
Free parking is available in the area of the Waldschule or at the driveway to the Geburtshaus.
The Waldheimat am Alpl is a centre of attraction for schools, recreational athletes and many people seeking relaxation. Gentle hills invite you to hike, and numerous places to stop for refreshments also attract cosy connoisseurs into nature. Recently, you can also learn a lot about the climate-friendly forest on a two-hour round tour. The Styrian Forest Association, together with the Federal Forest Research Centre (BFW) and the forest owners of the region, in particular the Styrian Forestry Award winner Peter Rossegger, has created an informative circular hiking trail.