Styria Austria

Styria tourist information

Styria is the southernmost province, of which Graz is the capital, is also known as 'the green state' due to its beautiful wooded countryside. Here it is not unusual to still see local people wearing the Styrian gray and green hunting clothes and the Styrian version of the dirndl, most popular in Austria. Alt Aussee is the perfect place to stay. Bad Aussee, the larger centre, is lovely with its white-faced, dark timbered house with balconies covered with beautiful flowers. Life here is lived, and also ended, with a great deal of ceremony. Alt Aussee is a sight to see, with the glass and ebony, the plumes, and horses with their gleaming silver harnesses. If you can, take a room at a hotel with balconies overlooking the lake and whilst having breakfast watch the Dachstein glacier with the strange glints of morning light. Go canoeing on the lake and watch it you can almost taste the ice from the glacier. You should take a brine bath into which will have been dropped a few thimblefuls of strong pine oil for an exhilarating feeling. Near Aussee is Bad Ischl and the famous Salzkammergut lakes, easily reached from Salzburg.
Because of its sheltered position, southern Styria has richer vegetation growing at higher altitudes than is usual, giving the countryside its intimate, welcoming character. There are many glorious walks and places, in almost vertical hay-fields, beside mysterious pine-woods and near gurgling streams. In June and July delicious wild strawberries and raspberries grow among the flowers on the hill-sides. Roads into these southern mountains are numerous and usually
excellent, although sometimes they can be rough and steep, such as the 3-in-io gradient on the bus route to Glashiitten.
Despite isolated pockets of industrial development (iron, steel, and coal), Styria is ideal for touring. It has excellent roads and hotels, and prices often appreciably lower than in some other parts of Austria. Styrian food is excellent, and appreciably cheaper than in many other parts of Austria. Specialities include trout (prepared in many ways), game, and Steirische Brathuhn (spit-roasted chicken). Beer and Schnaps are both good; so are the wines, especially reds from Eibiswald and whites fromLeutschach, both near the Yugoslav frontier. Styrian wines are fuller and fruitier than most Austrian wines; the' whites should be well chilled.
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