Hiking route Stage 25 From Glacier to Wine South Route Ehrenhausen - Leibnitz - Touren-Impression #1 | © Steiermark Tourismus/Harry Schiffer Hiking route Stage 25 From Glacier to Wine South Route Ehrenhausen - Leibnitz - Touren-Impression #1 | © Steiermark Tourismus/Harry Schiffer

Stage 25 From Glacier to Wine South Route Ehrenhausen - Leibnitz

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The conclusion on the southern route of the hiking trail "From Glacier to Wine" is a rather leisurely but all the more beautiful stage that takes us from Ehrenhausen to the wine capital of the South Styria Nature Park, to Leibnitz.
The Genussregal in Vogau near Ehrenhausen can also be called the culinary treasury of southern Styria. On an area of more than 1700 m2, in addition to 2,500 regional wines and delicacies, an exhibition of wine and culinary delights awaits us, which is unparalleled due to its interactive presentations. In addition to regional specialties to taste, we also learn interesting, curious and amazing things about food and drink as well as the country and its people.

Characteristics

Skill
Fitness
Experience
Scenery

Best season

January
February
March
December

The tour in numbers

easy
Level of difficulty
12,6 km
Route
4:00 h
Time
310 hm
Uphill
300 hm
Downhill
388 m
Highest point
257 m
Lowest point

Map & downloads

More information

Detaillierte Informationen zur Anreise finden Sie hier.

We leave the romantic village of Ehrenhausen, the starting point of the South Styrian Wine Route, in a northwesterly direction via Weinleitenstraße and Ladlerweg to soon reach Retznei, a small village between Ehrenhausen and Leibnitz, through a short stretch of forest and past fields. As an archaeological site, the area of Retznei has been known among archaeologists since the end of the 19th century and is a popular meeting place. However, our path does not lead into the center of the small village, but we hike around the village on the southwestern edge of the village to get past a quarry to the Buschenschank Zweytick.

After this slight ascent, the trail leads us slightly downhill to Aflenz an der Sulm. The Roman quarry Aflenz is the oldest, today still active mine in Austria. This quarry is also often referred to as the Roman Cave Aflenz, because in the area settled by the Celts, a Roman settlement was founded around 15 BC, which was elevated to a city by the Roman Emperor Vespasian in 70 AD. The city was named Flavia Solva at that time, which today represents the city of Wagna. For the construction of the amphitheater in Rome, stone blocks made of Aflenz sand-lime bricks were used. From Aflenz we continue past the Aflenzer Kogel, which is on the left, to the Rettenberg with its beautiful vineyards and Buschenschänken (wine taverns) such as that of the family who run a wine farm here. Here we keep to the right to get to the Seggauberg, where, in addition to an impressive and exciting temple museum, the beautiful castle with an equally beautiful wine cellar and hotel awaits us. Before that, however, we pass by the Hirschmugl winery, which has made a name for itself especially with its organic wine and has received numerous awards.

At the Frauenberg Temple Museum, which can be found about 1 km after the Hirschmugl Winery, we have also reached the highest point of this last stage on the southern route of the hiking trail "From Glacier to Wine". In 2 exhibition rooms and a spacious open-air area, we learn exciting things about the 6,500-year history of Frauenberg in this museum. A few hundred meters later we would reach Seggau Castle, but before that we turn right. Today the castle, which after the 2nd World War no longer functioned as a purely agricultural estate and had become unprofitable, houses a modern congress, conference and seminar center, a hotel, a 300-year-old wine cellar with tasting facilities and a castle tavern. The wine cellar is particularly impressive: the enormous interior dimensions of 75 m long, 8 m wide and 8.5 m high reflect the importance of viticulture for the castle. The wine cellar contains 36 oak barrels with a total capacity of about 150,000 liters. The cellar has not been used for pressing since 1992, but serves as a show cellar and is mainly used for wine tastings, celebrations and events. The underground annex, built in 1983, houses a wine store where Seggau wines and other regional specialties are offered for sale.

On the back side of the castle we first go downhill and soon turn right into the forest, which brings us to the river Sulm. We cross the bridge and hike the last kilometer to the town of Leibnitz with its beautiful main square. The historic town with its numerous cafes and restaurants as well as shopping and cultural opportunities invites you to stroll and linger. A special feature are the "Genussplätze" in and around Leibnitz: these have a typical South Styrian flair, touch with naturalness or move with their nature and history. The places, some of which are barrier-free, are marked with artfully designed boards made of wood or stainless steel. Five hiking trails connect the 20 places of enjoyment, which for us still represent a beautiful conclusion to our journey from the eternal ice of the Dachstein glacier to the wine country of southern Styria.

In the Thermen- & Vulkanland region of Styria, Eastern Styria and Southern and Western Styria, the GenussCard opens the door to over 200 excursion destinations when you stay overnight in one of the approximately 100 GenussCard partner establishments. Countless of these GenussCard excursion destinations, ranging from culinary manufactories to bathing lakes and museums, are located directly on the hiking route "From Glacier to Wine".

Accessible by train and bus.

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

On the outskirts of Ehrenhausen there are numerous parking spaces available for hikers.

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.

Gallery

What the weather will be like

Leibnitz (273m)

Morning
sunny
7°C
5%
5 km/h
Noon
slightly cloudy
18°C
0%
20 km/h
Night
slightly cloudy
16°C
0%
15 km/h
Dry and partly sunny throughout the day, with cloudy periods from time to time.
Morning
sunny
11°C
0%
5 km/h
Noon
very sunny
23°C
0%
15 km/h
Night
sunny
19°C
5%
10 km/h
Rather sunny weather during the day with clouds mainly in the morning and towards the evening
31.03.2024
sunny
10°C 23°C
01.04.2024
cloudy
10°C 24°C
02.04.2024
sunny
7°C 18°C

Nearby accommodation options

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