Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Some 13km east of Lockenhaus is the tiny village of
Klostermarienberg
, home to a now-
defunct monastery housing what must be the only dog museum in Europe, the
Europäisches
Hundemuseum
(
www.kulturimkloster.at
; Klostermarienberg; admission €5; 2-5pm Sun May-Aug)
. The odd
collection of dog paraphernalia includes paintings, statues and intriguing photos of dogs
dressed for war during WWI and WWII, complete with gas masks. Take a few minutes to
visit the monastery's crypt, a chamber containing archaeological finds dating from the
13th and 14th centuries.
Bernstein
, 15km west of Lockenhaus, is dominated by the impressive
Burg Bernstein
(Bern-
stein Castle; 03354-63 82;
www.burgbernstein.at
; Schlossweg 1; s €110-170, d €166-196; late Apr-mid-Oct;
)
. Thirteen of the castle's rooms, all tastefully decorated with period furniture, are now
used as a hotel where guests can stay in opulent surroundings. The castle foundations
date from 1199, creating the historic setting for a delightful retreat from the stress of
modern-day living. In the town centre is a small
Felsenmuseum
( 03354-6620;
www.felsenmuseum.at
;
Hauptplatz 5; admission €6; 9am-6pm daily Mar-Oct, to 5pm Nov & Dec, closed Jan &
Feb)
, which focuses on the gemstone serpentine and local mining (this was first mined in
the town in the mid-19th century).
If your body needs some TLC, stop in at the spa town of
Bad Tatzmannsdorf
, 15km south
of Bernstein. Aside from taking the waters at the
Burgenland Therme
( 03353-89 90;
www.burgenlandtherme.at
;
Am Thermenplatz 1; day card adult/child €21.50/14; 9am-10pm Mon-Thu & Sun, to
12.30am Fri, to 11pm Sat)
, you can visit the
Südburgenländisches Freilichtmuseum
(
www.freilichtmuseum-
badtatzmannsdorf.at
;
Josef Hölzel-Allee; admission €1; 9am-6pm)
, a small but rewarding open-air
museum filled with thatched buildings from 19th-century Burgenland. The local
tourist of-
fice
( 03353-70 15;
www.bad.tatzmannsdorf.at
;
Joseph-Haydn-Platz 3; 8am-5.30pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-2.30pm
Sat, 9.30-11.30am Sun, closed Sun Nov-Mar)
helps with accommodation.
Getting There & Away
You're better off with your own transport in this region as bus connections can be thin.
Three direct weekday buses connect Lockenhaus and Eisenstadt (€14, 1½ hours). On
weekdays hourly and on Saturday two-hourly direct buses go north from Oberwart
(where there's a train station) to Bad Tatzmannsdorf (€2.50, five minutes); from Ober-
wart to Bernstein (€5, 30 minutes, every one to three hours) or Lockenhaus (€6.80, one
hour, twice each weekday) is also manageable.
