Murau offers several different perspectives on the town and its culture: the Gothic parish church on Castle Hill, renovated façades around the main square, museums with a range of focuses, and a tour through the world of Murau beer. There is also a signposted walk through the Old Town and experiences on the Murtal Railway. During your stay, you can choose whether you are especially interested in architectural history, the townscape, beer or railways.
Parish Church on Castle Hill
The parish church of St. Matthew stands on an artificially widened terrace halfway up the southern slope of Castle Hill. You can reach it from the south via a masonry staircase. Construction began in 1284 above the town on the southern slope of Castle Hill. The church is one of Styria’s earliest and most interesting Gothic religious buildings.
The restoration history is also part of the story of the building. During interior restoration work from 1939 to 1947, numerous frescoes were uncovered. The exterior was renovated in 1971. Restoration of the church interior was completed in 1985, when the old Liechtenstein crypt beneath the northern transept was uncovered. The different dates mark several stages: the uncovering of frescoes, work on the exterior façade, and the later completion of the interior restoration.
Old Town and Town Walk
Around the main square and in the adjoining lanes, house façades in a variety of architectural styles shape the renovated Old Town. The Murau Town Walk offers a specific route through this historic urban area: it starts at the information pavilion, follows yellow signs through the Old Town, and passes historic town gates and buildings. The return route follows the Mur promenade. The yellow markers provide clear guidance for your walk through the Old Town.
Museums and River Landscape
The Murau Craft Museum preserves the cultural history of the town of Murau and the district, safeguarding cultural assets for future generations. Murau Castle’s castle museum, by contrast, focuses on life in the castle and the history of the family and the estate. The art gallery, kitchen, Knights’ Hall, Cat Hall, dungeon and chapel offer a range of insights. Important for planning: Visits are possible only as part of the tours on offer.
The Mur between Murau and Triebendorf offers a different perspective. In this stretch, the river features near-natural structures, including a gravel island.
Beer Culture and the Murtal Railway
The Brewery of the Senses experience tour presents the beer-making process from beginning to end and engages all five senses. It includes, among other things, audiovisual stations as well as stations focused on smell and hearing. The tour lasts just under two hours. At the end, a tasting of various Murau beer specialities in the beer cellar is included. This gives you a clearly stated time frame for planning your day, with the tasting already included.
On the Murtal Railway, one section of the amateur locomotive rides runs from Murau to St. Lorenzen. Specific departure dates may vary. On the “Next Stop: Childhood Dream” locomotive experience, participants can operate the controls, valves and whistle of a steam train under the supervision of experienced locomotive drivers. The two experiences offer different highlights: the amateur locomotive rides specify a route between two places, while the locomotive experience focuses on supervised operation of steam locomotive features. Specific departure dates may vary here too.
Discover more destinations: Mariahof, Sankt Marein Bei Neumarkt, Teufenbach, Katsch an der Mur, Falkendorf, Kaindorf-Süd, Peterdorf, Winklern bei Oberwölz.
Back to the main travel overview: Murau.
