Via Natura Stage 6: People and Plants

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Welcome to the VIA NATURA - a long-distance hiking trail with a length of around 130 km.

From the Mariahof fortified church, where a person is confronted with a plant at the starting point, the path leads to the Steinschloss castle ruins, which, as a mighty fortress, provide an insight into ancient times and offer a wonderful view of the Murtal. We continue towards Perchau, where at the Wegrand Pharmacy the little secrets of “blooming health” are revealed through healing plants, with the focus always being on people in connection with plants.

Characteristics

Skill

Fitness

Best season

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

The tour in numbers

medium

Level of difficulty

16,6 km

Route

5:00 h

Time

656 hm

Uphill

614 hm

Downhill

1459 m

Highest point

Map & downloads

More information

By car from Germany
From Munich via the A8 towards Salzburg. From Salzburg on the A10 Tauernautobahn to St. Michael im Lungau. On the B 96 to Tamsweg, then on the B 95 to Predlitz. The B 97 leads via Stadl/Mur to Murau. There at the roundabout towards St. Lambrecht to Murauer train station and further towards St. Lambrecht. Via Laßnitz near Murau you reach St. Lambrecht, which is already in the nature park. Continue to Mariahof, cross the railway crossing, the fortified church can be seen on the left. Turn left to Hoferdorf to the fortified church.

Arrival from Eastern Austria/Hungary
At the motorway junction in St. Michael near Leoben, take the S 36 towards Klagenfurt. Past Knittelfeld and Judenburg to Scheifling. In Scheifling continue towards Klagenfurt to Neumarkt, via Unzmarkt and Perchau am Sattel you reach Neumarkt. Turn right there to Mariahof, then turn right to Hoferdorf to the fortified church.

Arrival from southern Austria/Italy
Via Klagenfurt on the S 37 past St. Veit/Glan, Treibach and Friesach. In Friesach continue towards Vienna, via Dürnstein and Wildbad to Neumarkt. After the town center turn left towards Mariahof, then turn right towards Hoferdorf to the fortified church.

The path begins at the mighty fortified church Mariahof, we walk through residential areas, meadow and forest paths past the Veidlofner, Schauer and Rotmeier farmsteads up to the Steinschloss castle ruins. We continue over the Steinberg to the summit of the Kreuzeck and over the Polizek-Alm to the Brunnerberg. At the Wenzel homestead we can learn a lot about the effects and healing powers of various plants in the herb garden, then we continue to Gotthardsdorf and finally along the cycle path next to the main road to the center of Perchau.

With the BusBahnBim app from the interconnected line, timetable information is easier than ever before: all bus, train and tram connections 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.

ÖBB www.oebb.at | Styria connection line www.busbahnbim.at

Public parking spaces are available directly at the Mariahof fortified church.

The ideal time for this tour is from April to October.