Stage 20 From Glacier to Wine South Route Bad Schwanberg - Eibiswald

From Bad Schwanberg, right at the beginning of our stage of the hiking route "From Glacier to Wine", we go uphill to the beautifully situated Limberg Castle in the middle of a forest, which today accommodates youth and vacation camps. Limberg Castle was first mentioned in a document in 1244 as a castle with the name "Lindenperch". The structure that still exists today dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. On the valley side there is an outer castle with a central gate tower and two corner towers on the flanks, which are connected to the central building by galleries. The outer castle is connected with the main castle by defensive walls. In the past, there was a moat between them, which was spanned by a bridge. Today, however, the entrance leads through the forecourt directly into the castle, which consists of a quadrangular building with a rectangular courtyard including pillared arcades. Of the once magnificent rooms, the Knight's Hall, the "Painted Room" and a hall in the south wing are still preserved.

But now back to our way to Eibiswald. This leads us on the next kilometers steadily slightly uphill through a beautiful forest to the highest point of the hike at 608 m above sea level, and immediately after that to the Hochmasser inn, a stamp control point for all Mariazell pilgrims. Strengthened, the leisurely tour leads us ever so slightly downhill to the vineyards around the settlement of Oberkraß, where we also encounter Buschenschänken such as that of the Fürpaß family. From Oberkraß we go to Unterkraß, where we keep to the right to get to Vordersdorf. From here the path goes again slightly uphill over a small wooded hill, which brings us on the other side, past beautifully situated vineyards, farmhouses and family homes directly to Eibiswald. In addition to the ÖAV long-distance hiking museum, the beautiful old town houses or the Lechhaus, which also houses a small fine cultural center, there is also another tip: in the Domaines Kilger Hasewend in the center of Eibiswald we can not only stay overnight in the best way, but are also spoiled with regional specialties. This is how we imagine a conclusion to a wonderful hike before we head off on the next stage to the Südsteiermark Nature Park.

Accessible by train and bus.

Detailed information about arriving by ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) can be found at www.oebb.at or on the Verbundlinie Steiermark website www.busbahnbim.at

With Verbundlinie’s BusBahnBim route planner app, planning your journey has never been easier: simply enter towns and/or addresses, stop names or points of interest to check all bus, train and tram connections in Austria. The app is available free of charge for smartphones – on Google Play and in the App Store

Steiermark Tourismus

Tel. +43 316 4003

info@steiermark.com

www.steiermark.com/en

If you would like to hire a  tour operator, simply book with Steiermark Touristik, the official travel agency of Steiermark Tourismus:

Tel. +43 316 4003 450, 

www.steiermark-touristik.com

The Steiermark Touren app, available free of charge on Google Play and the App Store  (Android, iOS), offers detailed first-hand information: brief facts (length, duration, difficulty, ascent and descent/elevation gain, ratings), map, route descriptions, altimeter, compass, peak finder, navigation along the tour. You can also create your own personal lists of favourite tours and sites, store tours and destinations offline, use social media channels, and much more.

Gratis Pocket Card Wanderroute "Vom Gletscher zum Wein" finden Sie auf www.steiermark.com

Kompass WK224 Steirisches Weinland- Stainz, Sausal, Sulmtal, Leibnitz www.kompass.at

Freytag & Berndt WK411 Steirisches Weinland · Südwest Steiermark www.freytagberndt.at

Rother Wanderführer "Vom Gletscher zum Wein": auf 160 Seiten mit 80 Farbabbildungen 60 Höhenprofile, 60 Wanderkärtchen im Maßstab 1:75.000, zwei Übersichtskarten, GPS-Tracks zum Download, Format 11,5 x 16,5 cm, kartoniert mit Polytex-Laminierung, ISBN 978-3-7633-4550-2, www.rother.de