WAB - Stage 5: Kirchschlag - Bad Schönau

Description

The inhabitants of the Bucklige Welt showed themselves to be especially stubborn and brave when their homeland was threatened by warriors from the Ottoman Empire, the Kuruc. The last bullet holes in the gate of the fortified church in Bad Schönau bear witness to the fiercely contested area and the brave Bucklige Welt. The fortified churches were often the only protection against the invading Kuruc; at the viewing point at the Kirchschlag castle ruins, one feels transported back to this turbulent past. Also, the Turks’ well and Kuruc holes recall this time.

Starting point of the tour

Kirchschlag, Kaiser Franz Joseph Monument

Destination point of the tour

Bad Schönau, Tourist Information

Route description WAB - Stage 5: Kirchschlag - Bad Schönau

The 5th stage starts at the information board for the Wiener Alpenbogen at the Kaiser Franz Joseph Monument next to the Hotel Post in Kirchschlag. We ascend the sidewalk to the castle ruins and enter them. After an exploratory walk, we leave the ruins through the main gate over a wooden bridge and see before us the mighty tower with the viewing platform at the top. We go down the gravel road to a small parking lot and continue half-left on the forest nature trail. Passing a giant sequoia, we turn right at a rest area onto a cart track. We hike steeply uphill in the ditch, then it becomes somewhat gentler and the hiking trail branches off to the right onto a narrow footpath. The narrow forest path leads relatively flat to a junction, the Wiener Alpenbogen continues uphill on the gravel road along the forest edge. We walk past a farm on the right and reach the Sechterleiten hill and a transmission mast. At the road, we turn right and follow the roadside downhill for a few minutes to a forest road. We follow this to the left towards Bad Schönau and shortly after turn left again. We steadily descend the forest road to the country road, cross a footbridge, and walk a few meters along the country road. Shortly before the Kirchschlag town sign, we cross the road and continue on the red-marked Seiserstraße. A few meters later, we turn left and hike steeply uphill on the field path. After a farmstead, we descend slightly on a farm road to Maierhöfen and into the village. At house number 11, we turn left and follow the markings slightly uphill to the chapel. Here we turn left and follow the cart track half-right to the hill. A beautiful panoramic path leads us gently downhill past the forest edge to a saddle, where we turn right towards Bad Schönau. After a short detour to the fortified church, we hike downhill towards the center and turn into Kurhausstraße opposite the Hotel Geier. The tourist information office is on the right.