Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
younger set hits the ski pistes. There's no real centre to the resort: it's mostly ranged
along Hochstrasse, which forms an arc behind the train station.
SEMMERING PASS BY TRAIN
For its time, it was an incredible feat of engineering and it took more than 20,000 workers' years to complete.
Even today, it never fails to impress with its switchbacks, 15 tunnels and 16 viaducts. This is the
Semmering-
bahn
(Semmering Railway;
www.semmeringbahn.at
), a 42km stretch of track that begins at Gloggnitz and rises
455m to its highest point of 896m at Semmering Bahnhof.
Completed in 1854 by Karl Ritter von Ghega, the Semmering line was Europe's first alpine railway; due to its
engineering genius, it gained Unesco World Heritage status in 1998. It passes through some impressive scenery
of precipitous cliffs and forested hills en route; the most scenic section is the 30-minute stretch between Sem-
mering and Payerbach.
From Vienna, most express services heading to Graz stop at Mürzzuschlag, from where you take a regional
train to Semmering (€21.50, 1¾ hours).
Activities
Hiking
Towering over Semmering to the south is the
Hirschenkogel
('Zauberberg'; 1340m), where
a modern cable car whisks walkers (one way/return €10/14) or skiers to the top. The tour-
ist office and Infostelle have maps and brochures on walks.
Two fairly easy trails follow the scenic route of the Semmeringbahn, starting behind
the train station. One follows the line for 17km to Mürzzuschlag in Styria, where fre-
quent trains chug you back to Semmering, and a second leads to Breitenstein and Klamm
(Lower Austria), 9.5km and 15km respectively from the start. At Klamm the trail divides
and one route leads to Payerbach (21km from the start) and another to Gloggnitz (23km
from the start).
Skiing
The tourist office can provide information on ski schools. A winter skiing day pass for
the Hirschenkogel cable car costs €31.50. Regional skiing day passes are also available
for €34.50.
Cycling
If the hills don't kill you, they'll make you stronger. The tourist office rents bicycles (per
24 hours €10).
