A hiking trail can open up a landscape while also following a historical trace. The Cultura Trail Römerweg starts at Eichgraben-Altlengbach station and leads to burial mounds dating from the 1st century AD. In Traismauer, the Hungerturm is another landmark from the past: it dates from the 4th or 5th century AD. The places around Sankt Pölten offer different ways to explore history and nature, rather than limiting you to just one way of getting around.
Hikes of Different Lengths
The Eichgrabner Höhenwanderweg is a 27 km high-altitude circular hiking trail with twelve feeder paths. It runs through the Vienna Woods Biosphere Reserve and leads to viewpoints. Its length and additional paths give you concrete points of reference when planning your hike. For a shorter route, compare it with the Eheweg in Obritzberg-Rust: at 3.5 km long, it combines a walking and hiking trail with seven themed stations. These stations offer a different focus from the viewpoints along the high-altitude trail.
Dunkelstein also shows how strongly the landscape and altitude shape what you can discover: at 625 m above sea level, it is the highest point in the southern Dunkelsteinerwald. A longer tour is the Dunkelsteinerwald loop, which is 160 km long in total and runs in nine stages. Described as easy, stage DUR 8 leads from Inning to Hafnerbach via Sierninger Berg, continuing to Haunoldstein and Groß Sierning.
Forest, Water, and Trails
The Keltischer Baumkreisweg Pyhra leads to all 22 trees in the tree circle. Its landscape encompasses fields, meadows, and small woods; the trail also follows the Perschling. Along this route, the trees provide a specific thematic focus alongside the varied landscape.
The features described in Purkersdorf Nature Park include extensive beech forests, a large animal enclosure, and three wildlife enclosures. Around Wienerwaldsee, there are well-marked, well-maintained paths used by recreational athletes and walkers. The lake itself is in a water protection area where swimming is prohibited. If you visit Wienerwaldsee, you can therefore plan to use the paths for walking or recreational sports, but not for swimming.
For another outdoor experience, Purkersdorf Climbing Park offers seven courses of varying difficulty. They run between 2 and 14 m above the ground; operations are weather-dependent. The details about the courses and their height give you a clear idea of what is on offer, while the weather affects whether the park can operate.
Historical Traces and Cultural Stops
Traismauer combines a striking landscape with history: the town lies on plains formed by the Danube and Traisen rivers and flanked by vineyards. The Hungerturm dates from the 4th or 5th century AD. The Kulturweg der sprechenden Römer offers a different way to explore the area, with five stations. The landscape, the structure, and the themed trail each offer their own focus.
Maria-Anzbach is home to three very different discoveries: the pilgrimage church of Maria Barmherzigkeit is an old fortified church dating from the 15th century. The late Gothic Schönbeck Mill generated the first electricity for the town in the early 20th century. And Buchbergwarte is more than 22 meters tall. Together, these places tell stories of religious architecture, early electricity generation, and a tall observation tower.
The Wienerwaldmuseum Eichgraben is housed in the Fuhrwerkerhaus and displays collections on geology, archaeology, folk culture, and crafts. Sanatorium Purkersdorf was built in 1904 and 1905 in the Vienna Secession style. In Markersdorf, the parish church of St. Martin dates from 1670; it was built over an earlier Romanesque structure. At the Osterburg ruins, some very old walls of the medieval fortified castle remain on a steep slope along the banks of the Pielach.
The Hecke themed trail in Wolfsgraben offers another way to explore regional topics. It introduces local tree and shrub species through fairy tales, rhymes, poems, and stories. The trail connects nature topics with literary forms, while the Keltischer Baumkreisweg in Pyhra takes its bearings from the 22 trees.
Local Dining
In Inzersdorf-Getzersdorf, wine taverns, wineries, and restaurants are open year-round. As individual businesses may change, it is a good idea to check their opening hours before planning a specific visit. Restaurant Castello serves food and drink at Goldegg Castle; check whether the restaurant is open before visiting.
Discover more destinations: Sankt Pölten, Kasten Bei Böheimkirchen, Altlengbach, Laaben, Oberhofen, Loich, Warth, Viehofen, Neustift-Innermanzing, Frankenfels, Maria Anzbach, Kapelln, Herzogenburg, Wald, Linden, Hofstetten, Lauterbach, Nußdorf Ob Der Traisen, Neusiedl, Traismauer, Inzersdorf Ob Der Traisen, Zagging, Statzendorf, Ambach, Unterwölbling, Ober-Grafendorf, Wilhelmsburg, Neidling, Stössing, Herzogenburg, Gemeinde Karlstetten, Brunnrotte, Wimpassing an der Pielach, Gemeinde Markersdorf-Haindorf, Unterdambach, Rabenstein an der Pielach, Oberwölbling, Kirchberg an der Pielach, Stollberg, Grünsbach, Oed, Neulengbach
To the regional travel overview: Lower Austria.
