"Wetterkreuz-Roas" in St. Peter

Sturdy footwear is recommended

Our starting point is the Alpengasthaus zum Wechselblick of the Pölzlbauer family, which has unfortunately closed in the meantime. The first kilometer to the Hermannsquelle (the water of this spring is considered particularly soft) is covered on the lightly trafficked narrow asphalt road that partly runs through the forest and mainly serves as a local road.

Then you continue along the road up to the first three weather crosses, which stand on the left in a right curve. In earlier times, the farmers used to gather here in spring and autumn to first ask for a good harvest and then give thanks in autumn. If it wasn’t a good year, they prayed for a good harvest for the next year.

We return to the road and walk a little further to the next left curve; here we walk straight ahead into the forest on a forest road. When this road turns left for the first time, we continue straight into the forest. Here you can also hear the rushing creek. Finally, we reach the so-called "Hahnhütte", a hunting lodge. This was built by hunters who wanted to observe the capercaillies, as for this endeavor one had to be on site already at 4 a.m. Here we are already at an altitude of 1,236 meters above sea level.

Several options

Here you now have three options: Either follow the left forest path towards Kampsteiner Schwaig or take the yellow marking that leads back steeply downhill straight to the starting point. However, we leave the Hahnhütte to the left and turn right after the pile of wood onto a forest path overgrown with grass, which eventually joins another forest path. Here we turn right downhill. At the next left curve we reach an alpine meadow, bordered by a dry stone wall. We follow this to the right past a cattle barn up to the "Jula-Keuschn". Here a midwife named Julia used to live who helped women in the region during births. This 150-year-old hut, partly built of stone, is privately owned and overall a wonderfully idyllic place of strength and rest. Here too there are various options to continue hiking. Either you go past the hut and then turn left onto the forest road, which leads back to the Hermannsquelle. Or you walk back towards the forest road and soon encounter a yellow signpost that leads back to the Alpengasthaus. But we hike all the way back along the forest road alongside the stone wall, turn right downhill, and follow the path to the forest chapel, which even has its own bell tower. The lower part was built using natural log construction, the upper part formerly served as the "Droatkasten". The shingles come from South Tyrol. The chapel benches come from the village church in St. Peter, the altar is made of stone, and the old sacristy door of the church in St. Peter was used as the gate. From here we turn left onto the meadow and follow the edge of the meadow, pass the forest house with the green roof until we reach a marked hollow path that takes us to the Hatzlhof and soon after to three more weather crosses. From here we follow the road to the right back to our starting point.

The route is almost continuously suitable for all-terrain strollers. 

Parking available at the former Alpengasthaus zum Wechselblick

Motorway A2 to Edlitz-Aspang exit and continue on B54 towards Aspangberg-St. Peter am Wechsel

Place to stop in St. Peter: Gasthof-Pension Bergland or Peterwirt (+43 2642 7270)