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If you want to explore Styria, you have to combin excursions into the hills and vineyards (Styria is the second-biggest Weinbauregion in Austria) with a bit of history and visits to one of the province′s seven spas. If you want to do proper sightseeing, stop by the small market towns of Eisenerz and Leoben for a walk and then move on to Graz.
Styria also has the National Park Gesause, beautiful wine lands and shares some castles of the "Road of Castles" with the Burgenland. There are several monasteries worth a visit, most importantly Stift Admont. Bad Radkersburg, Leibnitz, Weiz, Furstenfeld and Ehrenhausen are real outposts of the province.
The church of pilgrimage in Mariazell is well known in Central Europa. Other significant villages and towns include Hartberg, Bruck an der Mur, Deutschlandsberg, Voitsberg, Knittelfeld, Oberzeiring and Oberwolz. Styria also has a share of the Salzkammergut.
Graz
With a population of 291,574 inhabitants (as of 2009), it is the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna and the capital of the federal state of Styria.
When the Habsburgs concentrated their fight against protestants around 1600, the formally widely protestant Graz became a centre of their interest. This led to the erection of several impressive, Catholic buildings: a University was founded, a Catholic mausoleum built and the Minoritenkirche Church was meant to show the dominance of Catholic believe. Graz went back to Catholicism (like the rest of Austria), and was altered once again in Baroque times (again, like the rest of Austria).
You will easily spot the "Uhrturm" (clocktower) on the Schlossberg from 1712. This spot offers great views on Graz and allows you to anticipate the large number of people living in the second-biggest city of Graz (around 230,000). Schloss Eggenberg Castle is a local gem of secular baroque architecture. Other significant buildings are the Landhaus and the Zeughaus fortress with Europe′s most extensive collection of early modern (mostly 16th century) armour.
Similar to Vienna and Salzburg, the Imperial Austria left a very visible mark with active building: The "New University" (Karl-Franzens-University), the Rathaus city hall and the opera house were built. Most recently, an art centre was built and an ultra-modern synagogue.
Graz has a long tradition as a student city: its six universities have more than 44,000 students. Graz's "Old Town" is one of the best-preserved city centres in Central Europe. In 1999, it was added to the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites. Graz was sole Cultural Capital of Europe for 2003.
Thermal Spas of Styria (Steiermark)
By any means, Styria wins the spa ranking: There′s a total of 7 spas in the province, and the region is internationally known for its springs and the wellness tourism that has developed around them: The so-called Steirisches Thermenland (Styrian Spa Region).
The "Therme Loipersdorf" is probably the most famous spa of Austria and quite enormous in size: about 12,000 square metres indoor areas and 1,500 square metres of outdoor resting zones, extensive pool landscapes and a huge water slide make this a popular holiday resort for families and elderly alike. The "Heiltherme" spa in Bad Waltersdorf has a particularly high concentration of minerals and therefore, is allowed to call itself a "Heiltherme" (healing spa). It provides therapies and treatments, but also 4,000 square metres of pools and ponds with the usual wellness treats.
The "Parktherme" in Bad Radkersburg, the "Therme Bad Blumau" (designed by the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser) in Bad Blumau, the "Therme NOVA" in Koflach, the "Kurtherme" in Bad Gleichenberg and the "H2O Therme" (targets families with children and teenagers) in Sebersdorf near Bad Waltersdorf are the other spas competing in architecture, toys and treatments. If you want to spend a significant part of your vacation in spas, Styria is where you have to go.
Stift Admont
Stift Admont is the most famous monastery of Styria and is the oldest abbey of the county. It was founded through Archbishop Eberhard of Salzburg in 1074 and in parts funded by St. Hemma of Gurk. Eberhard was a political heavyweight of his days and friends with other politically active bishops Altmann and Adalbero, the founders of the monasteries of Gottweig and Lambach. During the power struggle between emperor and pope, Eberhard was banned from Salzburg for several years by pro-emperor nobility, of which Admont was only marginally affected.
The Benedictine abbey became a reformist centre after 1115, transcending the ideas of monastic life shaped by Cluny-Hirsau. Its influence on the cultural and spiritual life of monasteries at this time was significant. After 1120, a Benedictine nunnery, a school, a scriptorium and a hospital were founded. Abbot Heinrich II made the monastery a hotspot for culture and politics and served as an advisor to the Habsburg rulers.
The boom period of Admont lasted until the late 14th century. Times went difficult with the general decay of monasteries in Austria and the spread of reformation. In 1525, Admont was sacked and looted by plundering farmers. Over the course of the 17th century, the monastery recovered and most of the current buildings were either drastically refurbished or re-built in the mid-18th century in elaborate Baroque. This style was maintained in the re-construction that followed a major fire in 1865.
Today, visitors enjoy the beautiful church of Admont, the surrounding gardens and the museums of the abbey. Most importantly, however, is the famous library with extensive Baroque ornaments from 1776. It contains a stunning 130,000 volumes, more than 1100 manuscripts and a rich collection of medieval paintings. The adjacent museums of art (Kunsthistorisches Museum) and natural history (Naturhistorisches Museum, with Austria′s biggest insect collection) are more than just regionally important.
Mariazell, Austria′s main Church of Pilgrimage
North of the pretty Hochberg Mountains, on Styria′s border to Lower Austria, you will find Austria′s most important church of pilgrimage: Mariazell. The village of Mariazell itself is very pretty by its own rights, but the approximate 200,000 pilgrims come mostly for the large basilica dominating the settlement.
The history of religious activities in this place goes back to 1157, when monks of the Benedictine Abbey of Lambach built a missionary base here. At some point in the following decades, a statue of the Virgin Mary with little Jesus became increasingly famous for its healing powers and pilgrims started to flock into Mariazell. At first this was at small numbers, but things changed dramatically after 1377. In this year, the King of Hungary won a battle against the usual suspects, the Turkish Army, and considered the aid of the Virgin Mary of Mariazell a crucial factor in his victory. From then on, Mariazell was tremendously popular among Catholics particularly Hungarians.
Even today, Mariazell is not an Austrian church of pilgrimage, but rather a Central European one, attracting pilgrims from Hungary, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia alongside with Austrians. Summer weekends are particularly busy and so are - obviously - holidays of the Virgin Mary. This applies in particular to August the 15th, September the 8th and December the 8th.
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