Description
The Via Sacra, the "Holy Road", is the oldest and probably most popular pilgrimage route in Austria. The route is steeped in tradition and offers a wide range of places to stop for refreshments and overnight accommodation as well as guided hikes.
For over 800 years, ordinary believers as well as princes and emperors have made pilgrimages on the Via Sacra from Vienna to Mariazell, the most important place of pilgrimage in Central Europe. This long tradition has left behind a rich legacy of pilgrimage: From the southern outskirts of Vienna near the Spinnerin am Kreuz to Mariazell, the route is lined with wayside shrines, chapels and churches of art-historical significance. Spiritual stops include Heiligenkreuz Abbey, Klein-Mariazell Basilica, Lilienfeld Abbey and the Annaberg pilgrimage church on the first "Holy Mountain" in Ötscherland. Early on, inns specializing in pilgrims catered for the faithful. Today, certified Via Sacra hosts are the best places to stop off and stay overnight.
One advantage of this route is the "Mariazeller Autobus" (from Vienna/Südtiroler Platz via the A21 to Alland and further along the Via Sacra, from Lilienfeld also as an express route via the Westautobahn/St. Pölten).
This bus connection makes it possible to walk sections of the Via Sacra as day hikes. Timetable at www.postbus.at.
Starting point of the tour
Brunn am Gebirge
Destination point of the tour
Mariazell
Route description Via Sacra: complete route from Brunn am Gebirge to Mariazell
Stage 1: Kaumberg - Hainfeld - Rohrbach - St. Veit - Lilienfeld
The Araburg (with hostel) is reached within an hour from Kaumberg. On the Via Sacra pilgrimage route one transits to the Gölsental following on to Hainfeld and Rohrbach, after which along the Gölsen one hikes to St. Veit with its -Dom of Gölsentals- (6 hours from Kaumberg). Further travel continues on the very rewarding mountain route with two increases through Staff - Wiesenbach - Vordereben to Lilienfeld (3 ¼ hours). Accommodation is in Lilienfeld.
Stage 2: Lilienfeld - Schrambach - Freiland - Lehenrotte - Türnitz - Annaberg.
The route in the Traisental, through Schrambach - Freiland - Lehenrotte, is accomplished consistently on flat walking and cycle paths, from Freiland to Dickenau partially along the Bundesstraße 20. From Dickenau one reaches, through the Eibentaler Klamm (gorges) forest paths and promenades, which far away from the road lead to Türnitz (4½ hours). Through the -Langen Wald- of the Türnitzschlucht, with its Baroque Stations of the Cross and the Chapel Siebenbrünn, a path along the main road leads up to Annabild-Reit (completed 2008). From there one reaches via a shortcut the Anna-Wallfahrtskirche (pilgrimage church) situated on the "1st Holy Mountain," with its view of the Ötscher, and which now accompanies the original Pilgrimage route (3 ½ to 4 hours). Accommodation is in Annaberg.
