In Ramingstein, Finstergrün Castle, ore trails and the historic ironworking tradition in Kendlbruck reveal different sides of the town. If you want to choose between architectural history, technical monuments and tours for your trip, you’ll find several distinct points of interest. The starting point also matters: one ore trail begins right in town, another at the Kendlbruck adventure playground, while the Mur Cycle Path leads to Ramingstein from several starting points.
FinstergrĂĽn Castle and Ironworking
South of Ramingstein, Finstergrün Castle stands on a steeply rising rocky outcrop at an elevation of 1,080 metres. An approximately one-hour tour takes you through the old castle from the age of knights, the later count’s castle of the Szápáry family, and today’s castle for children and young people. The tour therefore covers a sequence of building and use phases rather than focusing on a single historical period. For planning your time, you can allow about an hour for it as a standalone activity.
The Kendlbruck smelting plant is among the most valuable monuments of Alpine ironworking. It comprises a 20-metre-high blast furnace and two hearths in a forge. These structures put ironworking centre stage and offer a different focus from the castle’s architectural and usage history.
Ore Trails and Cycle Route
The “Kendlbruck” ore trail starts at the Kendlbruck adventure playground and passes a replica of an old ore-crushing mill as well as the historic “Hochofen Kendlbruck” smelting works. The “Altenberg” ore trail starts right in Ramingstein. Another ore trail passes Finstergrün Castle and continues to tunnels and spoil heaps in the mining area.
If you want to focus your visit, the Kendlbruck route, with its replica ore-crushing mill and blast furnace, centres on iron processing; the Altenberg ore trail offers a direct starting point in Ramingstein. An ore trail by the castle, tunnels and spoil heaps leads instead to the traces of the mining area. This lets you distinguish the trails by their stated stops and starting points without suggesting they share a route.
Ramingstein is nestled in the Lungau Nockberge Biosphere Reserve. The Mur Cycle Path descends from the SticklerhĂĽtte or the village centre of Muhr via St. Michael, St. Margarethen, Unternberg and Tamsweg to Ramingstein. The two stated starting points and the shared destination give the cycle tour a different structure from the ore trails, which start in Ramingstein and Kendlbruck. When choosing between the cycle route and the ore trails that begin locally, you can therefore compare their respective starting points and the routes described.
Getting Here and Cultural Events
The demand-responsive Lungau Shuttle is also relevant for getting here: it serves Ramingstein on, among other routes, line TW 302 to Madling station and line TW 304 to Ramingstein-Thomatal station. As the shuttle operates on demand, check the current timetable before travelling and see which of the two lines suits your plans.
Ramingstein’s current cultural programme includes the Kendlbruck Prangtag and the harvest festival. If you want to plan your trip around one of these celebrations, check the dates of each event in advance.
Discover more destinations: Mariapfarr, Lessach, Hinterweisspriach, WeiĂźpriach, Sankt Michael Im Lungau, Sankt Margarethen Im Lungau, St. Martin, Tweng.
See the main travel overview: Tamsweg.
