Stage 12 From Glacier to Wine South Route St. Lambrecht - Neumarkt

We start in the center of the village directly at the imposing Benedictine Abbey of St. Lambrecht and after a short, still quite flat stretch out of the village, hike steadily uphill through the Abbey forest over the Pfaffentritt, which was used as a connecting path by the "priests" of the region centuries ago, towards Grebenzen. After about 4 km we keep to the right at a crossroads to reach the Dreiwiesenhütte (Tel. +43 3585 2411) at the foot of the summit of the Grebenzen. Next to the Zirbitzkogel, the Grebenzen is the most beautiful panoramic mountain in the Zirbitzkogel-Grebenzen Nature Park.

At the Dreiweisenhütte our stage of the hiking route "From Glacier to Wine" makes a sharp turn to the north and brings us after just under 2 km on the now always slightly downhill path to the pilgrimage church Maria Schönanger with the Schönangerhütte located in the immediate vicinity (Tel. +43 664 5393093). The present church building was erected in 1828 on the site of a chapel built in 1736. The pilgrimage church, currently the youngest branch church of the Benedictine monastery of St. Lambrecht, is pastored by its own pilgrimage chaplain. Here the path makes another sharp turn - this time to the right in an easterly direction - and now leads us downhill through the Kammerwald forest to Zeutschach, where a special feature awaits us: the Zeutschacher Ursprungsquelle, which is also a "NaturLese-Platz" on the Via Natura. The Zeutschach spring of origin is a typical karst phenomenon and records a flow rate of 90 - 120 liters per second. The pure, oxygen-rich water favors interesting plant growth. Thus, the hairy-leaved buttercup blooms under water, while the water crowfoot raises its white flowers above the water surface. If it were not lined by a birch tree and a few benches as well as the "NaturLese-Platz", one would simply stumble into the magical place while hiking across the meadow, so inconspicuous and at the same time impressive is this power spot in the Zirbitzkogel-Grebenzen Nature Park.

The last section of today's stage takes us along the Via Natura to the Grasluppteichen, a beautiful place to linger before entering the Graggerschlucht. First, however, a short section through wooded areas awaits us, where we also meet Zecki`s Hütte (Tel. +43 664 75054977, note opening hours!), a cozy hut at the Graggerschlucht not far from the Kaskadenfall. At the end of the stage, we will cross the wild and romantic gorge to reach Europe's first bionic island, where we will learn about the transfer of natural phenomena to technology. Last but not least, the trail leads us to St. Marein near Neumarkt, our destination for today's stage in the heart of the Zirbitzkogel-Grebenzen Nature Park. By the way, the next stage leads us to the Zirbitzkogel, the highest point of the nature park.

Soft mobility is very important in the Nature Park Zirbitzkogel-Grebenzen. Thus, with the "Naturally Mobile Offer" Nature Park electric cars, electric bikes and the Nature Park hiking bus are available.

Tip: In the spring of 2018, in the course of a casting, a jury and the readers of a major Austrian daily newspaper chose Martina Traisch from the Ennstal and Manfred Polansky from the Mürztal 2 "super hikers" who hiked the north and south route in the summer. You can read about their experiences and adventures at www.steiermark.com/superwanderer: From ideal photo spots to hidden wine cellars in mountain huts. Do you want to follow in the footsteps of Martina and Manfred and also become a "super hiker"? It's very easy: Register at www.steiermark.com/superwanderer and then post your experiences, videos and comments along the hiking route "From Glacier to Wine" - regardless of whether you hike the entire route or just one section. Every 5 stages also beckons a small reward!

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

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.

Gratis Pocket Card Wanderroute "Vom Gletscher zum Wein" finden Sie auf www.steiermark.com

Kompass WK222 Sölktäler, Rottenmanner Tauern, Ennstal, Murau, Naturpark Grebenzen www.kompass.at

Freytag & Berndt WK211 Naturpark Zirbitzkogel ·Grebenzen · Murau · Sölkpass www.freytagberndt.at

Rother Wanderführer "Vom Gletscher zum Wein": auf 160 Seiten mit 80 Farbabbildungen 60 Höhenprofile, 60 Wanderkärtchen im Maßstab 1:75.000, zwei Übersichtskarten, GPS-Tracks zum Download, Format 11,5 x 16,5 cm, kartoniert mit Polytex-Laminierung, ISBN 978-3-7633-4550-2, www.rother.de