Small Historic Towns in Austria
Historic old towns, culture, and regional craftsmanship
Introduction
The 16 Kleine Historische Städte – Austria’s small historic towns – lie across five federal provinces. They include Judenburg in Styria, Bad Ischl in Upper Austria and Hallein in the SalzburgerLand. What they have in common: town charter status, no more than 45,000 inhabitants, a coherent historic townscape and a large number of listed buildings.
Five themed routes link Austria’s small historic towns. In Schärding, baroque townhouses define the streetscape; in Steyr, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo buildings line the historic main square. Baden, a spa town, is known for its early nineteenth-century Biedermeier architecture.
Guided walks open up the towns’ history, craft workshops offer an insight into traditional skills, and weekly, food and farmers’ markets show town life as it is today. Cultural events reveal further sides to these small historic towns.
Meet the small historic towns
5 routes along the Small Historic Towns
16 small historic old towns in Austria
Cycling and motorcycling tours through Austria’s small towns
Austria’s small historic towns can also be reached by bike or motorbike. Various routes follow rivers and lakes, pass through historic town centres and cross the Austrian mountains.
Cycling: several of the historic towns lie on well-known cycle routes. On the Tauern Cycle Path these include Mittersill, Hallein, Braunau and Schärding. EuroVelo 9 passes through Hainburg an der Donau, Baden, Hartberg, Fürstenfeld and Bad Radkersburg, among others. Another route runs through the Salzkammergut, with stops at Radstadt, Bad Ischl and Gmunden.
Motorcycling: the Austria Classic Tour covers around 3,500 kilometres and takes in all nine federal provinces. It can also be ridden in single-day or weekend stages. Some of the small historic towns have accommodation geared to motorcyclists, with their own parking.
Events
Historic buildings in new use
Continuing to use historic buildings can help keep them standing – as a museum, a venue or a cultural centre, for example. Several buildings in the small historic towns show how listed status and present-day use can work together.
The Innerberger Stadel in Steyr was once a grain store and now houses the town museum. The Salzhof in Freistadt, a former salt warehouse, has been converted into a cultural and events venue. The Lehár Villa in Bad Ischl has reopened as a museum after extensive restoration.