From Gleisdorf to the Hollerberg
Gleisdorf is the starting point of the East Styrian Roman Wine Route in the heart of Eastern Styria. There was already a large Celtic-Roman settlement on the same site in the first centuries AD. The findings from over 200 burial sites (including inscription stones, ceramics and coins) exhibited in the local museum bear witness to this. Starting in the centre of the town, the wine route leads to the vineyard and vantage point of Gleisdorf: the Hohenberg.
Up and down the hill it goes via Prebensdorfberg to Pischelsdorf, a former Roman settlement. The wine jug, which became the emblem of the East Styrian Roman Wine Route, is exhibited there in the local museum of local history, the Färberturm.
The route continues along the Kulm to Hollerberg and Siegersdorf near Herberstein, where numerous wine taverns and wine farms entice visitors. The best wines from the varieties Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc), Welschriesling, Morillon and Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) are pressed here with great dedication. Fine Sauvignon or fruity Scheurebe enrich the variety and the young winegrowers also cultivate red wine in the classic and international style with great success.
From the Hoferberg via the Ring to Buch-St. Magdalena
From Siegersdorf near Herberstein to the Hoferberg, a wine educational trail has been laid out that sheds light on the history of viticulture and provides interesting information about different grape varieties. Along the way you pass the two churches of the Holy Sepulchre and the Crucifixion Group, which are well worth a visit.
The Roman traces of viticulture are concentrated in St. Johann bei Herberstein, where the second largest collection of gravestones from the Roman period in Eastern Styria can be found. You can also admire the magnificent Herberstein Garden Palace from the 13th century, which is surrounded by the Herberstein Zoo. Stubenberg am See, the next town on the wine route, is dominated by Lake Stubenberg and Stubenberg Castle. The latter - like the nearby Schielleiten Castle - has been converted into a hotel and cultural centre. To discover all these sights, a circular hiking trail is a good idea. A visit to the schnapps nature trail provides a different kind of enjoyment, and from the tree to the bottle design, you can get to know everything that makes a good "home-brewed" schnapps.
Beyond the Rabenwald massif lies the Pöllauer Tal Nature Park, which offers its visitors breathtaking scenery as well as facilities such as barbecue facilities, nature trails and lookout points. Gnarled pear trees characterise the landscape here and over forty old and rare fruit varieties are still cultivated on so-called meadow orchards, including the Pöllau speciality "Hirschbirne". The market town of Pöllau is dominated by two very special churches: The pilgrimage church of Pöllauberg, with its dominant position, is considered one of the most important High Gothic church buildings in the country, and the Pöllau parish church of St. Veit am Markt is known as the "Styrian St. Peter's Cathedral".
On the onward journey, beautiful Gothic churches await the knowledgeable visitor in St. Anna and St. Stefan. A different kind of experience is a visit to the Frauenhöhle, a man-made passage system that was probably built as an escape cave.
The Ringkogel near Hartberg owes its name to the ring wall of Celtic origin. The Romans already planted vines on the slopes of the panoramic mountain with the striking lookout point and left the Villa Rustica in Löffelbach as proof of their presence. Incidentally, the people of Löffelbach boast that the widely known Schilcher was first cultivated here.
In Hartberg, the finds of the entire area are documented in the town museum. The adjacent city park is guarded by a Roman lion and marks the beginning of the culture trail that leads through the entire old town and makes 2000 years of history "tangible" along the way. Well-preserved Roman graves were unearthed during the construction of the motorway near St. Johann in der Haide. A burial chamber was reconstructed at the service area, the original finds are on display in the municipal office.
If you continue along the wine road, you will find the Loretto Chapel with its black Madonna hidden in the forest near Altenberg. The road follows the ridge as far as Buch-St. Magdalena am Lemberg, from where the view stretches over Burgenland far into Hungary
From Buch-St. Magdalena to Bad Waltersdorf
The third and final section of the East Styrian Roman Wine Route begins on the ridge where Roman roads already ran two thousand years ago. The settlements along the route can also boast many centuries of history. From Sebersdorfberg you have a first view of Sebersdorf, where an old wooden fire station converted into a studio invites you to visit.
The neighbouring village of Neustift is dominated by the medieval fortified castle of Obermayerhofen. Today it is the noble residence of the Kottulinsky family and is run as a romantic and wedding hotel with a unique ambience. Before the driveway to the Berner, on the left, there is a relict of the former large complex of Untermayerhofen Castle, a Meierhof wing. The coat of arms attached here indicates the completion of the castle with the year 1581. The Bernerhaus, a lookout from the previous century, greets visitors from the hilltop in Far Eastern style.
The spa district of Bad Waltersdorf begins with the Wagerbergberg and the Sonntagsberg, on the southern slopes of which thermal spa hotels bask in the sun and whose vineyards are already mentioned in medieval documents. The Wine Road and now also the Thermal Road leads past the bathing and therapy facilities of the Bad Waltersdorf spa, the H2O adventure spa and the Bad Blumau spa designed by Friedrich Hundertwasser and uses the route of a former Roman road. Along the way you can also marvel at the church of St. Margaret, which was mentioned as the original parish in 1170, the most important collection of Roman stones in Eastern Styria and an open-air museum. For nature lovers, a detour to Großhart is worthwhile, where a bird sanctuary has been created around the nature pond. Since 2006, the Kneipp movement tower at the beginning of Auffen-Großhart has symbolised respect for nature.
The East Styrian Roman Wine Route ends in the spa town of Bad Waltersdorf, a former Roman settlement centre and traffic junction. In the Roman Museum near the parish church, works of funerary art from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD are on display.
This is where the journey along the East Styrian Roman Wine Route comes to an end, but we are sure that you will be amazed by familiar sights and discover new things again on your next visit.
See you soon!