Kirchberg Castle | © TV Oststeiermark | Hartbergerland Kirchberg Castle | © TV Oststeiermark | Hartbergerland

3-Castles Hike incl. Stairway to Heaven

Open

The 22 kilometer long, varied circular hiking trail leads through the history of the Formbacherland with the wonderfully preserved castles of Reitenau, Kirchberg and Aichberg.

This hike is a 22 kilometer long signposted circular trail, which, starting from Grafendorf, leads us to all 3 castles in the region (Reitenau, Kirchberg and Aichberg). Signboards with texts and illustrations along the way point us to special places and to the history.

A special feature is the Hammerbründl in Seibersdorf with excellent drinking water to fill up the water reserves and also the adventure and water park at the water body "Kleine Lungitz" near Aichberg Castle - a very varied tour with field, forest, meadow and gorge paths and streams.

 

Refreshment stops along the route are the Kirchenwirt Gasthaus Koller in Grafendorf, Hösl's Dorfstub'n in Stambach 21 (about a 10-minute walk from Reitenau Castle), the "Villa" in Seibersdorf and the Eichbergerhof in Eichberg.

Characteristics

Skill
Fitness
Experience
Scenery

Best season

The tour in numbers

medium
Level of difficulty
21,8 km
Route
6:15 h
Time
440 hm
Uphill
440 hm
Downhill
583 m
Highest point
378 m
Lowest point

Map & downloads

More information

Grafendorf can be reached via the A2 exit Hartberg and further via the B50 and B54.

You can find detailed information about the journey here.

Start of the approx. 20 km long, signposted tour is the main square in Grafendorf. (or Park & Ride parking lot at the traffic circle on the B54, near the fire department).

- heading south we pass the bus company Gruber to the fire department and past the ADEG market Kogler to Seibersdorf,

- In Seibersdorf we turn right along Reitenaustraße and then left at Hammerwaldbründl to Stambach. Here we come to a Bründl and to the station "Water - Source of Life",

- along the Stambach, over wooden bridges and past resting places, we reach the station "Fememord",

- and continue until we reach the Reitenaustaße at the Waldpension Mara and cross it,

- here we turn right along the road to Grafendorf, and then we turn left at the information board "Land at the border",

- here we follow the Marbach along the information board "Schloss Reitenau" until we reach a staircase, which we climb.

- at the top there is the information board "The repopulation" and we go through meadows and woods to the station "Roman barrows",

- we follow this path. Here you can still see the contours of the tumuli in the forest. We then come to the information board "Roman Period Gravestones",

- Viewpoint: magnificent view of Grafendorf. We continue to the information board "Roman period manors" with a view of the fish pond and in the background we recognize the Kirchberg castle,

- now we pass the fish pond and a peacock volary to the information board "Prehistory and early history" and further into the forest, where we cross the Hartberger Safen,

- Further on we come to the information board "Dangerous round around the Ringkogel" before we cross fields and reach the dirt road which we follow uphill,

- at the information board "Die Sage vom Masenberg" we enter the forest and cross a ditch over a wooden bridge,

- At the edge of the forest you will find the information board "Geological structure". Across a meadow we reach a resting place and the information board "The village of Count Eckbert",

- at the water reservoir we have a great view of Grafendorf

- now we follow the path to Kirchberg Castle where the information board "Castle Kirchberg am Walde" informs us about the history of the castle and the information board "Agricultural and Forestry College" tells us about the school housed in the castle,

- after Kirchberg Castle we come to the information board with the title "The Styrian Farmers' Heaven VI", on the right the forest path called "Himmelsstiege". Over bridges and stairs we cross the Kirchbergbach and climb, past the information board "Der steirische Bauernhimmel V", to Reibersdorf where we come to the information board "Der Steirische Bauernhimmel IV",

- in Reibersdorf there is another information board "Der Koart'nspüler",

- we now cross the railroad tracks and immediately turn right onto the path along the tracks,

- we go along the path. After a left turn we are on the hill between Lungitztal and Lafnitztal and here we can see trenches that remain from the end of World War 2,

- at the White Cross turn right down into the Lungitz Valley, we follow a gravel road to the connecting road Grafendorf train station to Lafnitz,

- go under the B54 and turn right at a crossroads, cross the Lungitzbach on a bridge and go up across the meadow to the railroad line,

- we follow the railroad line and about 500 m later we cross the Lungitzstraße and follow the path to the Hubertuskapelle,

- from the Hubertus chapel we go under the power line and already see Grafendorf. Past a pasture, under the Wechselbundesstraße through, past the former cold storage house we get back to the center of Grafendorf.

This circular route can also be done in several stages. (see "Along the 3 castles hiking trail part 1" and "Along the 3 castles hiking trail part 2).

e.g. Grafendorf train station - trail 13 to the White Cross and the Formbacherlandweg back to the Grafendorf train station.

With the BusBahnBim app of Verbundlinie, timetable information has never been easier: all connections by bus, train and streetcar in Austria can be queried by entering locations and/or addresses, stops or important points. The app is available as a free app for smartphones (Android, iOS) - on Google Play and in the App Store.

More information:

Tourism Association Eastern Styria

Hartberg office

Alleegasse 6

8230 Hartberg

+43 3332 603300

www.oststeiermark.com 

 

The Styria Tours App, available for free on Google Play and in the App Store (Android, iOS), offers detailed first-hand information: short facts (length, duration, difficulty, ascent and descent in altitude meters, ratings), map, route descriptions, altimeter, compass, summit finder, navigation along the tour. In addition, you can create your personal favorites list of favorite tours and points, save tours and destinations offline, play on social media channels and more.

 

Wikipedia Grafendorf

Wikipedia Reitenau Castle

Wikipedia Kirchberg Castle

Wikipedia Aichberg Castle

Gallery

What the weather will be like

Grafendorf bei Hartberg (382m)

Morning
6°C
10%
5 km/h
Noon
15°C
5%
10 km/h
Night
10°C
50%
5 km/h
Rather cloudy in the morning, then sunny spells will develop gradually.
Morning
5°C
20%
5 km/h
Noon
12°C
45%
10 km/h
Night
7°C
55%
15 km/h
The day will be dry, but mostly cloudy with occasional sunny spells.
03.04.2023
0°C 8°C
04.04.2023
-2°C 6°C
05.04.2023
-3°C 8°C
GenussCard Steiermark | © Thermen- und Vulkanland Steiermark, Harald Eisenberger

Nearby accommodation options

Continue to search

You may also be interested in

Recommended tours

Accessible by public transport
Aichberg Castle | © TV Oststeiermark | Hartbergerland
Rohrbach an der Lafnitz easy Open
Route 10,4 km
Duration 2:50 h

Along the 3 castles hiking trail (part 2)

Accessible by public transport
View from the Hausberg sunny side | (c) Bernhard Bergmann  | © TV Oststeiermark | Hartbergerland
Oststeiermark medium Open
Route 9,9 km
Duration 2:50 h

From the "Villa Rustica" to the Hausberg sunny side

Accessible by public transport
Hubertus Chapel in Grafendorf Entrance | Nicole Friesenbichler, TV Hartbergerland | © TV Oststeiermark | Hartbergerland
Oststeiermark easy Open
Route 13,6 km
Duration 3:40 h

Along the 3 castles hiking trail (part 1)

Stone | Nicole Friesenbichler | © TV Oststeiermark | Hartbergerland
Oststeiermark easy Open
Route 5,7 km
Duration 2:00 h

Small Beistein hike in Grafendorf (G3)

2020_GERA_Hiking_Trail_Eichberg circular trail | WEGES | © TV Oststeiermark | Hartbergerland
Rohrbach an der Lafnitz medium Open
Route 10,1 km
Duration 3:30 h

G.E.R.A Park circuit

Accessible by public transport
Pöllauberg Pilgrimage Church © TV Hartbergerland, zVg | © TV Oststeiermark | Hartbergerland
Oststeiermark medium Open
Route 12,0 km
Duration 3:45 h

On the trail of the pilgrims

Accessible by public transport
Stilleben in der Oststeiermark | Bernhard Bergmann | © TV Bad Waltersdorf/Bernhard Bergmann
Oststeiermark easy Open
Route 18,0 km
Duration 5:30 h

Stage 28 From Glacier to Wine North Route Hartberg - Bad Waltersdorf