Eastern Styria and the Thermenland

This region is not so much about “wine, women and song” as it is “wine, fruit and water”. No wonder the people here love to luletz (yodel) so much.

Eastern Styria, also nicknamed Austria’s Garden, with its numerous fruit orchards and vineyards, is not only a feast for the eyes, but also very much for the palate. Along the Apple Road, you will be able to take delight in the beautiful countryside, as well as in what the fruit there is ultimately turned into: fine distilled spirits, vinegar and oil, and juices, to name but a few of the products. And we should not forget to mention, of course, the almost mystical Abakus, a special type of apple schnapps, carefully tended by the “apple men” with their own unique rituals. At the many small museums, the lifestyles of the olden days are documented, while in many places, in the “smoke kitchens”, traditional Styrian Sterz is prepared. Culture fans may wish to visit the Pöllauberg pilgrimage shrine (in Pöllauer Tal Nature Park) or the Kulm Celtic Village. In the Thermenland, home to the spa communities of Bad Radkersburg, Loipersdorf, Bad Waltersdorf and Bad Blumau, everything revolves around healing water, as well as its refined form, wine. As you will quickly discover as you travel the four wine roads, this is home to famous whites such as Welschriesling, Weissburgunder and Chardonnay. Enthroned high atop a rocky volcanic edifice is the imposing Riegersburg, whilst all the parts of Gsellmann’s World Machine, which you can visit in Edelsbach, are in constant motion. Styria truly is a region which appeals to all of your senses and sensibilities ...