Mowing an Alpine Meadow in Eastern Styria | © TV Oststeiermark | Bernhard Bergmann Mowing an Alpine Meadow in Eastern Styria | © TV Oststeiermark | Bernhard Bergmann

nature park almenland

Nature is everywhere. Can it be far away? Can it be very close? It depends on our mood, on our behavior. If you are reading these lines, you show interest in nature and want to know something about the Almenland Nature Park in the garden of Austria. With us you can really easily get very close to nature and enjoy your vacation there.

Nature very close

National park does not mean nature park: Nature parks are cultivated landscapes created by humans. While a national park’s core area is no longer used for agriculture or forestry, but is intended to become a wilderness, maintaining a nature park requires human effort.

In 2006, the Almenland was awarded the title of "Nature Park" for its low mountain pastures. 125 alpine pastures together make up the largest low alpine pasture area in Central Europe.
The goal of every nature park is to preserve the diversity of the cultivated landscape through natural use. Valuable habitats and the large diversity of species and biotopes would disappear, were it not for our farmers who maintain the alpine pastures and meadows day after day, preventing the growth of forests. Our farmers are assisted by some 3,500 head of cattle, horses and sheep who enjoy the summer freshness of the alpine pastures. Their tireless jaws keep grasslands open, preventing them from turning into forests.

More than 125 alpine pastures

The Almenland Nature Park 40 km north of Graz is Europe’s largest contiguous low alpine grazing area, extending from the Rabenwald in the east via the Teichalm and Sommeralm to the Bärenschützklamm in the west. The region encompasses 125 alpine pastures, 6 communities and 2 districts, and nearly 13,000 inhabitants on an area of 428 km². It is an area of small mountain farms defined largely by agriculture, forestry and tourism.

Almlandschaft mit Hütte
Alpine landscape in eastern Styria | © Oststeiermark | cmvisuals
Aussicht auf die Almen im Naturpark Almenland | © Oststeiermark Tourismus, Bernhard Bergmann
Landscape panorama in the Almenland | © TV Oststeiermark | Bernhard Bergmann
Flower meadow in the Almenland in Eastern Styria | © TV Oststeiermark | Christine Pollhammer

Our treasures

...are jewels of nature, scenic attractions and places of power that have sprung from the interactions of nature and people over the course of centuries!
 
Depending on the season, the hiking trails lead along lush meadows with crocuses or dandelions, a wide variety of flowering orchids in the spring, willow gentian in the summer and bright red mountain ash berries in the autumn. The numerous cave systems in and around the Almenland are also impressive. 

Explore these many natural treasures in the Almenland Nature Park in the company of our nature guides.
 

Sometimes this & sometimes that

 

Everyone knows by now: 125 interconnected individual alpine pastures make up one of the largest European alpine pasture areas. Explore the Almenland Nature Park together with our nature educators.

Blumenmeer Moorlehrpfad Teichalm | © Oststeiermark Tourismus, Bernhard Bergmann
To the experience

There’s a cure for that

Immerse yourself in a world of herbal power with graduate herbal educationalist Sven as you discover a diversity of currently around 50 different wild and cultivated herbs, learning how the “little green friends” can help improve our well-being and how our actions impact the diversity of species as well as climate change.

To the experience

Forest retreat

Dive in. Breathe deeply. Forest immersion.
Forest immersion means diving into the healing atmosphere of the woods. All it takes is a bit of curiosity and the desire to totally relax. 

To the experience

Experiences in the Nature Park

Nature in and of itself is truly a treasure trove of experiences. Just have a seat and listen to the sounds of nature. But sometimes, it’s good to have someone to draw our attention to that. Here in the nature park, we have many such people, from the beekeeper Karl Kreiner to Michaela Pfennich the medicinal herb educator in the Waldpark on the Teichalm, the Oswald/Schaffer family with their speciality vinegars or Michael Graf of the Edelbrennerei Graf, who has dedicated himself entirely to the mountain ash berry.  

Discover the Nature Park

You will find countless operations committed to the conservation of the natural environment in the nature park. They range from nature park hosts to excursion destinations to speciality nature park partners!