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    Austrian Theme Routes

    Roads used to be for the sole purpose of getting from A to B. Today, one can experience all sorts of interesting and delightful things while “on the road” on one of Austria’s theme routes.

    1. The Styrian Wine Route

    Admittedly, the Styrian wine route has long ceased to be an insider’s tip, but there is a good reason for this. The charm of southern Styria, combined with the region’s outstanding wines and the hearty local fare, is something that truly must be seen and, especially, tasted. The region south of capital city Graz has even been called Austria's "Tuscany," thanks to the sun-soaked hills that cover its terrain. Stop in at one of the wine taverns along the wine route to sample the local varieties and the delicious regional cuisine!

    No less pleasurable is a trip along the wine roads of Burgenland, where - in contrast to their Styrian counterparts - the red wines are predominant.

    2. Styrian Castle Route

    Anyone who prefers to bask in the atmosphere of past centuries should consider one of the many theme routes devoted to Austria’s colourful history. Along the Styrian Castle Route, for example, there are 15 castles and palaces from various periods, strung together like pearls on a necklace. One fortress that has resisted invaders is the 850-year-old Riegersburg, which looms up from the edge of a 482-metre-high (1,581-foot-high), steeply sloped, volcanic cone. It is like something right out of a fairy tale. Today a lift takes visitors up to what was once known as the “strongest fortress in the Christian world”, and the castle gates are open to everyone. Other highlights along the route include Deutschlandsberg Castle, Castle Kapfenstein, and Castle Herberstein.

    3. Royal Road Along the Danube

     

    The Habsburgs’ nearly 600-year domination of Europe had less to do with magic than with political skill. Today, one can retrace the Imperial family’s footsteps on the “Route of Emperors and Kings”. This old “royal road” from Frankfurt am Main to Budapest leads through the former heartland of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and along the Danube, passing the Baroque palaces, monasteries, and splendid residences of what were once mighty cultural and dynastic capitals. Travellers on this route make some surprising discoveries along the way. Only very few people know, for instance, that the Habsburgs had no fewer than sixteen magnificent Imperial rooms installed at the Augustinian Monastery of St. Florian, ensuring that the Imperial family had a comfortable place to lay their heads during their journeys. And although Austria’s oldest city, Enns, is not nearly as well known as the imposing Benedictine Abbey at Melk, visitors are invariably enchanted by the Medieval charm of its historic centre.

    4. Wood and Cheese Trails

    But not only Austria’s rulers have left their mark on this country. Many Austrian theme routes are devoted to the traditional arts and crafts of the local people. Thus on the Wood Road, in the thickly-wooded Murau area of Styria, one learns about the significance of regional wood as a building and manufacturing material and as an energy supplier, as well as its use in the making of musical instruments and in the visual arts. And Vorarlberg’s Bregenzerwald Cheese Road links Alpine dairies, farms, restaurants, and cheese shops, telling the story of the centuries-old tradition of cheese-making. Whether one is interested in arts and crafts, the country’s history, its culinary delights, or all of these things, it is a good idea to allow plenty of time when exploring Austria’s theme routes. After all, sometimes an entire world can lie between A and B.

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