Styria

Styria (German: Steiermark) is a state of Austria.

Cities

Other destinations

Understand

Styria was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire and later a crown-land of Austria-Hungary. During those times Styria also included parts of Slovenia. It borders Carinthia, Salzburg, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Burgenland, and Slovenia.

The province can be split into three main regions.

  • Upper Styria lies to the north of the Mur-Muerz valley.
  • Eastern Styria lies to the east of the Mur and to the south of the Mur-Muerz valley.
  • Western Styria lies to the west of the Mur and to the south of the Mur-Muerz valley.
  • Lower Styria referred to the ancient Slovenian parts of Styria, however today most Austrians use it to refer to eastern and western Styria at once.

The capital is Graz.

Talk

Styria speaks Austro-Bavarian along with the rest of Austria, however you will find that most people also speak German, including just about all residents of Graz. Most people also have a functional command of English, and in the southern parts Slovene is also spoken by many, and this is not limited to the strong Slovene minority residing there.

Get in

By plane

Styria has its own international airport (Graz Thalerhof, GRZ IATA) in the south of Graz. There are daily connections from Frankfurt (FRA IATA), Munich (MUC IATA) and Vienna (MUC IATA). Several flights a week arrive from Stuttgart (STR IATA), London Stansted (STN IATA), Düsseldorf (DUS IATA)

By train

Major train routes pass into Styria from all neighbouring provinces and countries. There is an hourly Inter-City connection from Vienna and Carinthia and regular Inter/Euro-City connections from Linz, Salzburg, Ljubljana and Maribor

By bus

Postbus is operating a route from Klagenfurt to Graz which is significantly faster than the train.

Eurolines operates a few international destinations from Graz.

Otherwise it will be difficult to find a long distance bus leaving to Styria.

By car

Motorways A2 from Vienna to Carinthia and A9 from Linz to the Slovenian border cross at Graz. There is also a major route available from Salzburg (Ennstalbundestraße).

By bike

There is an excellent bicycle route available next to the river Mur. It starts in Salzburg and ends at the border to Slovenia, at Spielfeld you can cross the border to Slovenia and from there use the bicycle route 1 to get to Maribor.

There is also a possibility to get to Styria using the Drau bicycle route from Tyrol and Carinthia, either via Maribor or via another bicycle route at the very south of the Styria/Carinthia border that crosses over to the Mur bicycle route.

By foot

The European hiking route "Fernwanderweg" E4 starts in Andalusia, Spain, crosses through Styria and ends in Crete.

The Austrian hiking routes "Weitwanderweg" 01, 02, 03, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09 cross through Styria as well.

Get around

By train or bus

There is a vast network of public bus and train services. You will be able to reach nearly every town of the province, although sometimes the connections and operating hours may not be perfect.

The whole public transport is part of a single network called "Verbundlinie". They offer a pretty good route planner on their homepage .

If you want to enquire offline concerning your transportation needs you can contact their information bureau at Jakoministraße 1 in Graz, next to the Jakominiplatz. Phone: +43 316 820606 Fax: +43 316 820606-82.

See

Styria has a well developed tourism infrastructure with many things to see and do:

  • Murauer Bier. The Murauer Brewery has a permanent brewing museum (just turn up on Tuesdays and Thursdays). The tour includes the museum, brew house, a video presentation and a free Murauer beer or lemonade in any of their bars in the town. Price: €3
  • Judenburg Sternenturm. In the town of Judenburg there is a (locally) famous planetarium. The town also has a town tower which can be climbed offering views of the entire area. Even though the town is very industrial, it is worth the visit.
  • Burg Riegersberg. This wonderfully preserved medieval castle (in the town of the same name) is privately owned by the ruling family of Liechtenstein. Entry is cheap, although photographers will have to buy a permit to use their cameras. The castle can be reached by walking up the original access path that winds its way through the castle's defensive gates. For those who don't wish to walk there is a cable car which ascends the other side of the hill.
  • Zotter Chocolate. Also near Riegersberg is the Zotter chocolate factory. They make all their chocolate in an ethical and organic manner. The tour of the factory allows you to taste all of their varieties of chocolate (around 150).

Do
  • Grand Prix / Formula One motor-racing is held on the Red Bull Circuit in Spielberg, 25 km west of Leoben. The next is 28-30 June 2024.
  • MotoGP motorbike racing also takes place at the Red Bull Circuit in Spielberg annually.
  • The "Schlaming Night Race" , one of the most popular ski slalom races is held on the Schladming Planai each year around end of January.
  • "Aufsteiern", a very popular festival to celebrate Styrian lifestyle and culture takes place in the historic city center of Graz mid of September.
  • AirPower. One of Europe's largest airshows takes place every three years at the military airport in Zeltweg. (updated Oct 2023)

Drink

Styria is famous for its white wine. If you get a chance be sure to stop at a wine yard ("Buschenschank") near the border to Slovenia. There you'll also get great food - order a "Brettljause", but not if you're vegetarian, or fond of small portions, because what you'll receive is a circular wooden tray stacked high with an enormous range of cold meats, and perhaps garnished with horseradish shavings (Kren).

Go next
  • Vienna - hourly train connections by Intercity Trains ("Railjet") on route Graz-Bruck/Mur-Mürzzuschlag-Wr.Neustadt
  • Carinthia - Intercity trains run every two hours on the Vienna-Bruck/Mur-Leoben-Unzmarkt line. From Graz Main Station an Intercity Bus service operated by the Austrian Railways runs via the A2 motorway and the "Pack" (mountain pass) to Klagenfurt. There is no direct railway connection between Graz an Klagenfurt. This will change in 2025 with the opening of the Koralmbahn high-speed rail line.
  • Maribor - 60 km south of Graz right beyond the Austrian-Slovenian border the second largest city of Slovenia is located.
  • Kvarner and Istria - around 4 hours by car the Croatian coast offers great landscape and clear blue water.
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