Bad Leonfelden offers a variety of discoveries: At the European Watershed, you can trace the courses of two rivers, while a town walk and the Salt Road offer different perspectives on history. At Sternstein, viewpoints, hiking trails and archaeological traces add to the range of things to explore.
Watershed and River Courses
The European Watershed is a round granite slab that was once used as a well basin. It illustrates the geological divide through two watercourses: the Rodl flows into the Danube and on to the Black Sea; the Granitzbach drains into the Vltava, then the Elbe and finally the North Sea. The watershed thus marks two different drainage directions.
Routes Between Town History and the Border
The Salt Road is a hiking trail from Bad Leonfelden via the European Watershed and the Rading border crossing to Hohenfurth. The Swedish Redoubt is a relic from the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th century and lies on the border with Czechia. It can be reached via the old Salt Road trade route from Bad Leonfelden to Hohenfurth.
The town walk offers a different perspective: This circular route, with 20 stops, conveys the character and history of the spa town of Bad Leonfelden. It begins at the Stadtplatz Bad Leonfelden bus stop by the Hole CityStore and ends at Stadtplatz Bad Leonfelden. While the Salt Road passes through the Rading border crossing and continues to Hohenfurth, the town walk focuses on the spa town.
Sternstein: Views, Hiking and Winter Sports
The Sternstein observation tower stands on 1,125-metre-high Sternstein and opened on 20 October 1899. Climb to the top of the tower for panoramic views across the MĂĽhlviertel. The 1,000-metre Platzl, a viewpoint, is also located along the Sternstein circular trail. You can therefore choose between climbing the tower for panoramic views and visiting a viewpoint along the circular trail.
Sternstein has a dedicated ascent route for ski tourers and piste skiers. Winter operations and route conditions vary seasonally; check both before you travel.
Moorland Forest and Archaeological Traces
The Moorwald adventure trail in Bad Leonfelden offers playful insights into forest and moorland habitats and the moorland forest ecosystem. Its theme is therefore the habitats and how they are connected. Structural remains and production waste from medieval and early modern glassworks have also been excavated at Sternstein in Bad Leonfelden. The archaeological glass furnace excavation site can be reached via the Via-Leone hiking trail and is near the Sternstein circular trail.
Historic Markers and Craftsmanship
The Iron Hand is a stone column 2 m high and 25 cm wide. On market days, it indicated the royally chartered right to hold annual fairs, known as “Stapelrecht” (“staple right”), while also drawing attention to the “enhanced” jurisdiction in force at the time. The interpretation that the column probably marked a fork in the road on the old Salt Road remains a possible explanation.
The Upper Austrian School Museum is housed in a former school building, built in 1577 as “DOMUS DISCIPLINAE” and used as a school until 1850. The visitor programme includes a “Historic School Lesson” featuring a “schoolmaster” dressed in period clothing. Handblaudruck Wagner is one of the last two hand block-printing workshops in Austria. A large collection of pattern models is displayed there; visitors are received in the workshop by prior telephone appointment.
Tours at the Lebzeltarium are available only by prior arrangement and for groups of at least five people. If you are planning a tour, check the booking requirements and date in advance.
Discover more destinations: Schenkenfelden, Gallneukirchen, Ottensheim, Sonnberg Im Mühlkreis, Haibach Im Mühlkreis, Goldwörth, Mursberg, Feldkirchen An Der Donau.
For the overview of the wider region: Urfahr-Umgebung.
