Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
NORTHERN STYRIA
Heading north from Graz the landscape of Styria begins to change; gentle hills and flat
pastures are replaced by jagged mountains, virgin forests, deep valleys and cold, clear
mountain streams. This is also the region's industrial heartland, home to the Steirische Eis-
enstrasse (Styrian Iron Road), where for centuries iron mining was the backbone of the
economy. Two of its cultural highlights are the pilgrimage church of Mariazell and the ab-
bey of Admont.
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Mariazell
03882 / POP 1500
Mariazell, situated on the lower reaches of the eastern Alps, is one of Austria's icons. It
offers opportunities for hiking, mountain biking and skiing, but what makes Mariazell so
well known is its status as Austria's most important pilgrimage site. Its basilica, founded
in 1157, holds a sacred statue of the Virgin, and busloads of Austrians flock to the site on
weekends and on 15 August (Assumption) and 8 September (Mary's name day). The
mountain above town,
Bürgeralpe
(1270m), has a couple of restaurants and a small museum.
