Stage 22 From Glacier to Wine North Route Pretul Rosegger Schutzhaus - Fischbach

From the Rosegger Schutzhaus (Tel. +43 3170 522) on the Pretul, we first hike along the ridge of the Fischbacher Alps with wonderful views toward the Veitsch and Hochschwab on the one hand, and the Joglland-Waldheimat region in eastern Styria on the other, toward Steinriegel, an alpine pasture that is home to one of the highest wind farms in Austria. The wind farm generates a total of 79 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, supplying around 33,800 households with clean power. In the face of these imposing structures, the trail leads us further downhill to the Hauereck with its small but fine refuge of the same name, which also offers overnight accommodation (Tel. +43 664 4420042). In winter, the Hauereck above the small village of St. Kathrein am Hauenstein is a popular ski area with a four-seater chairlift and drag or magic carpet lifts.

From Hauereck we continue on this stage of the hiking route "From Glacier to Wine" through shady deep green forests via the Kathreiner Alm and the Jägerhöhe to the Alpl, where we arrive directly at the forest school (Tel. +43 3855 8238) with the small but highly interesting hiking museum. After the visit, for which we should really take our time, we now hike uphill along a narrow path laid out in serpentines to the birthplace (Tel. +43 3855 8230) of the poet and writer. The importance of Peter Rosegger as a literary figure can be seen from the fact that in his time his books were the best-selling after those of Jules Verne. The grounds of the Klupeneggerhof not only invite you to visit the museum, but the location also makes you want to take a well-deserved rest with a magnificent view of the Fischbach Alps, which we have hiked through in the last hours and days on our Vom Gletscher zum Wein hiking route. Tip. In the Rother-Verlag hiking guide, the route is not described via the birthplace, but the shortcut leading across a road. Our tip: You really should have seen the birthplace when you are on the Alpl.

From Peter Rosegger's birthplace, we now hike further downhill on the 06 trail, which as the Mariazeller Weg leads in the opposite direction from the south of Austria to the well-known pilgrimage site of Mariazell, to the prominent trail junction at the Lendkreuz. This section is also known as the Christmettenweg. Peter Rosegger often went with his parents and siblings to his favorite church in St. Kathrein am Hauenstein - also for Christmas mass. The Christmettenweg, named after this annual walk to mass, is still walked together by many people at Christmas with torches. Note: If you want to shorten the stage, you would also have the possibility to go directly from the forest school to the Lendkreuz. In this case, the path leads along the road with little traffic past the Waldesruh Inn (Tel. +43 3855 8207) to the crossroads called Lendkreuz.

At the Lendkreuz, however, we keep to the right and continue hiking - now uphill again - along the 06 path in the direction of Fischbach / Teufelstein. After about 2.5 km we reach another crossroads, where we leave the 06 path and walk straight ahead along the downhill Alpsteig to the farm vlg. Ofenlurger farm. Finally, we walk along a municipal road with a beautiful view of Joglland to the beautifully situated village of Fischbach at the foot of the Teufelstein, a geological phenomenon as well as a mystical place of power. The next day: a journey further through the Fischbach Alps towards the Almenland Nature Park.

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

Wanderkarte BergZeitReise durch die Hochsteiermark finden Sie auf www.hochsteiermark.at

Kompass WK221 Grazer Bergland, Fischbacher Alpen, Joglland, Oststeirisches Raabtal, Wechsel www.kompass.at

Freytag & Berndt WK21 Fischbacher Alpen · Roseggers Waldheimat · Schneeberg · Mürzzuschlag 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

Wanderführer BergZeitReise des TRV Hochsteiermark www.hochsteiermark.at