Difference between revisions of "Styria"

Revision as of 23:26, 18 August 2010

Styria (German: Steiermark; [1]) is a state of Austria.

Cities

• Bad Aussee
• Bruck an der Mur
• Graz
• Grundlsee
• Hallstatt
• Hartberg
• Leoben
• Stainz

Other destinations

• Salzkammergut
• Thermenland

Understand

Styria was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire and later a crown-land of Austria-Hungary. During those times Styria also included parts of Slovenia. It borders Carinthia, Salzburg, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Burgenland, and Slovenia.

The official language is German, however you will find a slovenian speaking minority at the border to Slovenia.

The province can be split into three main regions.

• Upper Styria lies to the north of the Mur-Muerz valley.
• Eastern Styria lies to the east of the Mur and to the south of the Mur-Muerz valley.
• Western Styria lies to the west of the Mur and to the south of the Mur-Muerz valley.

• Lower Styria referred to the ancient slovenian parts of Styria, however today most Austrians use it to referr to eastern and western Styria at once.

The capital is Graz.

Get in

By plane

Styria has its own international airport located near Graz. With connections to many major airport hubs as well as other routes.

Just under 40 miles from Graz there is also an international airport available in Maribor,Slovenia It offers cheaper airport taxes.

By train

Major train routes pass into Styria from all neighbouring provinces and countries. There is an hourly Inter-City connection to Vienna and Carinthia as well as regular Inter/Euro-City connections to Linz, Salzburg and Maribor

By bus

Postbus is operating a route from Klagenfurt to Graz which is significantly faster than the train.

Eurolines operates a few international destinations from/to Graz.

Otherwise it will be difficult to find a long distance bus leaving to Styria.

By car

Motorways A2 from Vienna to Carinthia and A9 from Linz to the slovenian border cross at Graz. There is also a major route available from Salzburg (Ennstalbundestraße).

By bike

There is an excellent bicycle route available next to the river Mur. It starts in Salzburg and ends at the border to Slovenia, at Spielfeld you can cross the border to Slovenia and from there use the bicycle route 1 to get to Maribor.

There is also a possibility to get to Styria using the Drau bicycle route from Tyrol and Carinthia, either via Maribor or via another bicycle route at the very south of the Styria/Carinthia border that crosses over to the Mur bicycle route.

By foot

The european hiking route "Fernwanderweg" E4 alpin starts in Andalusia, Spain crosses through Styria and ends in Crete.

The Austrian hiking routes "Weitwanderweg" 01, 02, 03, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09 cross through Styria as well.

Get around

By train or bus

There exists a vast network of public bus an train services. You will be able to reach nearly every town of the province, although sometimes the connections and operating hours may not be perfect. The whole public transport is part of a single network called "Verbundlinie". They offer a pretty good route planner on their homepage [2].

If you want to enquire offline concerning your transportation needs you can contact their information bureau at Jakoministraße 1 in Graz, right next to the Jakominiplatz. Phone: +43 316 820606 Fax: +43 316 820606-82.

See

Do

Eat

Drink

Styria is famous for its white wine. If you get a chance be sure to stop at a wine yard ("Buschenschank") near the border to Slovenia. There you'll also get great food - order a "Brettljause", but not if you're vegetarian, or fond of small portions, because what you'll receive is a circular wooden tray stacked high with an enormous range of cold meats, and perhaps garnished with horseradish shavings (Kren).

Get out