Winter hike in Seckau

This winter hike in Seckau takes us to the Schachenkirche church hidden in the forest.

With a winter hike in the municipality of Seckau, you can combine several sensual and enjoyable moments. There are numerous local recreational and circular hiking trails in the municipality, so you can also extend this winter hike a little. As some sections of the tour are in the forest, we recommend doing the hike in the late morning or around midday so that you can enjoy the warmth of the winter sun. During the hike, we come to the first resting place, the Schachenkirche, which is also known as the Schutzengelkirche and is somewhat hidden in the forest. The Schachenkirche was built in the 18th century and is now a branch church of the parish of Seckau, as are the churches on the Hochalm and Tremmelberg. We recommend the 2nd resting place, the St. Christopher's Cross, near Seckau Abbey, on the large meadow in front of the abbey. There are several benches along the way where you can make yourself comfortable and enjoy the view as well as the Seckau gingerbread, for example.

Characteristics

Skill

Fitness

Best season

January

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

The tour in numbers

5,6 km

Route

1:30 h

Time

130 hm

Uphill

130 hm

Downhill

847 m

Highest point

Map & downloads

Download GPX data

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More information

Take the expressway exit (S36) St. Lorenzen/Feistritz near Knittelfeld, continue on the Bundesstrasse 78 to Kobenz. At the traffic circle, turn towards Seckau (L517) and follow the main road for approx. 7 km.

Winter hiking by car - a few things you should be aware of!

Good winter tires are an absolute MUST!
Ice scraper, snow broom, de-icer for the door locks and a small shovel are part of the basic equipment.
Put snow chains and a tow rope in the car, even if you are not good with them yourself. There are always helpful and knowledgeable hikers on the mountain!
Clear all snow and ice from the car, especially the roof.
When parking, make sure that you also leave space for other drivers.
Always park in such a way that the rest of the road remains clear for cars, timber trucks and snow clearing vehicles.
Find out about the snow situation on the access road or parking facilities before setting off. (Hüttenwirt, webcams)

We walk from the starting point in the direction of Marktplatz Seckau (1), 843 m, past the front of the monastery and then past the elementary school. Immediately afterwards, the hiking trail leads slightly to the right away from the road. We come to a barrier, keep right and now stay on the forest road, which leads slightly downhill through the forest. We pass a pond, meadows and a stream before reaching an asphalt road. Here we keep to the right and follow the road slightly downhill, crossing the stream again and then immediately turning left. We continue parallel to the stream until we reach the road, which we follow to the left for approx. 350. On the right-hand side we see a signpost to the Schachenkirche church. Now we walk comfortably uphill following the gravel road, see the turn-off to the right to the church and immediately reach the Schachenkirche (2), 741 m. Note: The church is marked as Maria Schach on the official map. The hiking trail continues to the right, initially almost flat, past the deer feeding station and further slightly uphill along the edge of the forest. We follow the forest road and soon reach the populated area of Neuhofen. At the first crossroads, we keep right and come to a square with several streets. For orientation, we follow the regional cycle signposts in the direction of cycle junction no. 77. The route continues gently uphill, passing the Neuhofen village sign. Now we follow the asphalt road and soon see the center of Seckau in front of us. Before we reach our starting point again, however, we turn right across the meadow. Immediately after the wooden hut we see a meadow path, which we follow to the Christophorus cross (3), 801 m. Then continue along the edge of the meadow and along the abbey wall. It is now only a few minutes to the starting point of the hike.

Before your hike, visit the Regner confectionery and buy a pack of the gingerbread house mix for the road.

www.lebkuchen-regner.at/lebkuchen

Travel by ÖBB to Knittelfeld. Regional bus 844 runs from Knittelfeld station to Seckau.

The exact departure times can be found at www.verbundlinie.at

Large parking lot Jufa Seckau

More information at www.murtal.at Freytag & Berndt (2017): Seetaler Alpen, Seckauer Alpen, Judenburg, Knittelfeld. WK 212 Wander-, Rad-, Freizeitkarte; 1 : 50 000 C. und M. Hlatky, (2017): Murtal – Rund um Spielberg – Seetaler Alpen und Seckauer Alpen. Kral Verlag, S. 160