WAB - Regional Route G: Kirchberg/Wechsel - Mönichkirchner Schwaig

Description

This hike offers an atmospheric crossing of the wooded Kampsteiner Schwaig, the highest point of this hike on the Wechsel. Here you have a wonderful panoramic view. Particularly impressive is the rustic mountain farming cultural landscape, radiating perfect harmony. Along the way, you pass through St. Corona – the well-known pilgrimage and mountain village – as well as Mariensee, which is perceived as a kind of lumberjack colony. The destination is Mönichkirchner Schwaig, where the chairlift top station is located and which serves as a kind of base camp for the further conquest of Hochwechsel halfway up the mountain.

Starting point of the tour

Municipal office Kirchberg / Wechsel

Destination point of the tour

Mönichkirchner Schwaig chairlift top station

Route description WAB - Regional Route G: Kirchberg/Wechsel - Mönichkirchner Schwaig

The Regional Route G starts in the town center of Kirchberg/Wechsel. The first meters lead eastwards on the main road to the Gasthof St. Wolfgang, shortly thereafter we turn right over the Feistritz bridge. Alternatively, from the starting point, you can also go southwards to the Feistritz and thus reach the path next to the river to the mentioned bridge. We follow the road and turn right at house number 78 towards Molzbachhof. At the entrance to Molzbachhof, we pass directly, pass an old waterwheel and hike gently uphill to the Sachsenbrunn Gymnasium. At the parking lot, we keep right and follow the hiking trail towards St. Corona. We climb a forest path, walk along the edge of a row of trees to a farm road and turn left onto the street.

The section in Kirchberg am Wechsel between Wieden and St. Corona is closed from July 2021 until further notice. An alternative route is via the street in front of the chapel to the right, then follow the street to the left to St. Corona until you meet the signposted route again at the church in St. Corona.

Past a chapel and a farm, we come to a fork in the road. Here we turn right onto the uphill hiking trail to St. Corona. Shortly after the cemetery, we reach the center of St. Corona.

We turn right towards the church, turn left here onto Bergstraße and shortly afterwards keep left. A few minutes later, we leave the asphalt road sharply right to the top station of the summer toboggan run. We now follow the path uphill through the forest, partly accompanied by the toboggan run. After the top station, we pass the guesthouse-pension Orthof and turn right after the children's playground onto the Ant Trail. We hike the former ski slope uphill to the panorama pond, walk past the adventure playground, and continue following the hiking trail towards Kampsteiner Schwaig. Past the Markus rescue house and the Almrausch hut, we follow the forest road mostly slightly uphill towards Antrittsstein and Kampsteiner Schwaig. At the Schwaig, we walk past to a fork in the path and follow the green-marked path downhill towards Mariensee. Shady forest paths lead us several times crossing a forest road downhill to three crosses. From here, we look towards Mönichkirchner Schwaig, but we still have an ascent and descent ahead of us.

After the three crosses, we continue a short distance on the farm road southeast and turn right onto the pasture after a few meters. We now walk down the pasture, orient ourselves on the small tree island in the middle of the pasture by walking right past it, and then relatively straight downhill in the fall line. We pass through a turnstile and walk down the next pasture, continue left at the end of the pasture along the cart path and pass through a pasture gate. Here we turn directly onto the access road to Hof Leitenbauer and follow the path around the farm. A green-marked hiking trail welcomes us and leads us down to the road at Mariensee. We walk down the street through Mariensee and turn right before the guesthouse Reiterer over the Großer Pestingbach. At the next fork, we keep right and turn right at the upcoming farm onto the cart path into the forest. We now follow the hiking trail steadily uphill, partly through dense forest, to a gravel road. This leads us further uphill with views of the valley to a hairpin bend, where we continue straight along the meadow path. Only a few moments later, we turn sharply right, climb uphill, and turn left onto the hiking trail to Mönichkirchner Schwaig. We pass under cables of a lift system, walk past a farm, and meet a fork in the path again. For the way to Mönichkirchner Schwaig, we take the left initially flat path. Later we briefly walk through a water ditch and climb to the top station at Mönichkirchner Schwaig. Here the Regional Route T ends.

Overnight accommodation is available at Alpenhotel Enzian. From here, you can follow the path on the Wiener Alpenbogen to Hochwechsel or walk downhill in the opposite direction to Mönichkirchen and a bus stop. Knee-friendly descents to Mönichkirchen are possible by cable car or scooter.