Semmering Things to Do

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Semmering has long been an alpine resort, famed for its clean air.
Many Viennese come there, to skiing in the winter, or to walking in the summer.
Overlooking Semmering to the south is the Hirschenkogel (1340m), where a modern cable car whisks walkers or skiers up to the top.

This is a glorious trail that runs from Gloggnitz to Semmering, never far from the train tracks themselves. You get a upclose look at the tracks and a good impression of the difficulty that must have been overcome in building this line back in the early 1850's. The historical value of the site is recognized with the status of a UNESCO Heritage site. Remember the forests you walk through were all stripped at one time to provide wood for the line. Old pictures at some of the stations show barren hillsides which are now once more cloaked with forests.

The train station at Payerbach has many photos displayed of the last Hapsburg emperor, Karl, his wife, Zita, and their children. A couple of km from the train station was the grand old house that the family loved to stay in before he became emperor in 1916. It was at this house, he recieved word of the death of the old emperor, Franz Josef.

A good walking map can take you to several nice off trail stopping points for food as well. The trail extends for many kilometers, but can be shortened by hopping on and off passing passenger trains on the busy line from Wien to southern Austria and Italy.

The Rax is a huge raised limestone mountain ringed on the south side by 1000 meter cliffs. Atop, there are many miles of trails with several mountain huts in which one can stay or get food/drink from. Most of the woods on top of the plateau is krummholz - lowlying, bushy-looking trees. Gemsbok thrive. The area has many visitors on the weekend, so choose a quiet weekday for the best experience.