WAB - Stage 3: Thernberg - Wiesmath

Hiking route from Thernberg, Landgasthof Thaler to Wiesmath municipal office / Pfarrkirche St. Peter und Paul

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Elevation profile

20,16 km length

Tour dates
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Route: 20,16 km
  • Ascent: 781 egm
  • Descent: 490 egm
  • Duration: 6:00 h
  • Lowest point: 400 m
  • Highest point:851 m
Features
  • Österreichisches Wandergütesiegel
  • With refreshment stops

Details for: WAB - Stage 3: Thernberg - Wiesmath

Brief description

The 3rd stage of the Viennese Alps Way (WAB) starts in the historic village centre of Thernberg and takes in several hills up to the Kaltenberger Höhe. Just before Maria Schnee the landscape opens up and we get a view of the southern Bucklige Welt.

Description

The historic centre of the village of Thernberg has a distinctive atmosphere. The first part of the route is on a road with little traffic, and it always provides wonderful views back of the Thernberg ruins. Just before Maria Schnee the landscape opens up and we get a view of the Bucklige Welt: Meadows, fields, groves, and villages switch around whilst the terrain is extremely hilly and astonishes people with deep ditches. The Maria Schnee and St. Anna pilgrimage churches provide spiritual sustenance.

Starting point of the tour

Thernberg, Landgasthof Thaler

Destination point of the tour

Wiesmath municipal office / Pfarrkirche St. Peter und Paul

Route description WAB - Stage 3: Thernberg - Wiesmath

We start at Landgasthaus Thaler, go directly past it on the left. We then pass the church and Erzherzog-Johann-Platz on the right-hand side and hike the next 3.8 kilometres along the road uphill towards Wiesmath. Several minutes after passing through Eichberg we veer right at a left-hand bend, then go left into the trail to Kreuth. At the gravel store, ignore the branch marked out in green, whilst the Viennese Alps Way veers left onto a forest path a few metres further on. Upon crossing a paved road, we then reach a woodland path. A couple of minutes afterwards, we turn left at a crossroads and ascend up a hiking path to a forest road. We continue uphill along a forest road and leave the forest. At the first fork we veer onto a field path and hike along the edge of the forest to the Kaltenberger Höhe. We turn left at this point before reaching the village of Kaltenberg. After stopping for a bite to eat at Gasthof Maria Schnee (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays), we continue to the Maria Schnee Pilgrimage Church.

After going past the church, we turn left onto a marked path and go past some houses. Forest and meadow paths take us slightly downhill to a driveway, where we turn left onto a track and then ascend to the country road heading to Lichtenegg. After a few minutes we reach the village on the right-hand side of the country road. We head along Hauptstraße, keep left at the crossroads before the cemetery, and turn left onto Schulstraße before reaching the Feuerwehrhaus. When on the edge of the forest, turn left and follow the marked path downhill into the forest, keep right at a fork after a ditch with a stream alongside it, then ascend from the ditch over a meadow to the small settlement of Pesendorf. At the chapel we veer right and follow the road curving left until reaching a crossroads. We cross the road and continue downhill along the track. At the edge of a forest turn right onto a forest road, head downhill through the woods and continue to Stickelberg via meadow paths. After heading past the church at Stickelberg and the homely Gasthof Pension Stickelberg, we follow the road to the Hauptstraße in the direction of Hollergraben, and then hike left along Hauptstraße. After a bridge to Schlattenbach and after a chapel we turn right, away from the road, and carry on along meadow and forest paths to Hammelhof.  At this point, turn right onto a picturesque track, head past a Mostschank (fruit wine bar) and a chapel before continuing along Höhenstraße to the main road to Wiesmath. The municipal office can be found on the left-hand side.

Directions

If you are coming from Vienna on the A2, take the Seebenstein exit and then continue along the B54. Follow the signs to Thernberg. If you are coming from Graz on the A2, take the Grimmenstein exit and then continue along the B54. Follow the signs to Thernberg.

Parking

A public car park can be found opposite Landgasthof Thaler.

Take the 7866 regional bus, operated by VVNB, from Wiener Neustadt station to Thernberg.

More information can be found at www.oebb.at

More info/links

You may like to hike the adjoining routes:

WAB - Stage 2: Bad Erlach - Thernberg

WAB - Stage 4: Wiesmath - Kirchschlag

Viennese Alps in Lower Austria, www.wieneralpen.at, +43 / 2622 / 78960

Thermengemeinden tourist office, www.thermengemeinden.at, +43 / 2627 / 81362

Equipment

Always bring suitable maps. Always wear appropriate, sturdy footwear, bring sun and rain protection and water, as well as a little something to eat. Bring your mobile phone with you and save the mountain rescue emergency number: 140

Safety information

Your hiking experience in the Vienna Alps should be a thoroughly enjoyable and safe one. Therefore, please bear the following in mind:

 

Preparation

When choosing a route, make sure it corresponds to your experience and physical fitness level. Check the weather forecast before you set off. The weather can change surprisingly quickly in the mountains. Always take appropriate equipment with you (e.g. rain protection).

Check whether the cabins and snack stations you intend to visit along the way are open. Inform someone before you set off of your chosen route and when you plan to return.

Map recommendations

Freytag & Berndt WK 023

Author's tip

Both the Gasthof Maria Schnee and Gasthof zum Stickelberg are options for dining and for overnight accommodation. Note the opening times of the cosy Mostschank bars in Wiesmath.

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