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TravelTips24 : Europe : Central Europe : Austria : Styria

Styria

Styria (German: Steiermark; [1]) is a state of Austria.

Regions

Cities

Other destinations

Culture and History

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 official language is german, however you will find a slovenian speaking minority at the border to 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 referr to eastern and western Styria at once.

The capital is Graz.

Talk

In Styria, as in many other Austrian areas, phrases originating from foreign languages such as "Ciao," "Tschüß", and "Servus" can be heard often.

Travel to Styria & Visa Requirements

Flights and airtickets to Styria

Styria has its own international airport located near Graz. With connections to many major airport hubs as well as other routes.

Just under 40 miles from Graz there is also an international airport available in Maribor,Slovenia It offers cheaper airport taxes.

By train

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

Buses to Styria

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

Eurolines operates a few international destinations from/to 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 alpin 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.

Tours & Getting around Styria

By train or bus

There exists a vast network of public bus an 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 [2].

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

Styria attractions and sightseeing

Styria city tours

Styria cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels & lodging

Splurge

Styria Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

Styria nightlife, bars, clubs & pubs

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".

Get out

This page was last edited at 23:28, on 27 August 2008 by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by Colin Jensen, Evan Prodromou and Rob Payne, Wikitravel user(s) Episteme, Plastic and Fido and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel.

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