Discover Gaming: Culture, Nature and Leisure

Gaming offers a variety of options for a stay: historic sites, museums, nature trails, cycling and leisure activities. If you are looking for a hotel in Gaming, these interests can help guide your plans. The destinations also differ in whether a visit involves an approximate walking time or is subject to seasonal restrictions.

Charterhouse, museums and historic sites

Gaming Charterhouse was consecrated in 1342 and secularised in 1782. The Charterhouse Museum presents the history of the monastery and the Carthusian monks; the Charterhouse church is built in the Gothic style. Gaming’s Baroque Marian column has also stood at its current location since 1720. Together, these places offer an insight into different chapters of local history and architecture.

The Trübenbach Lumberjack Museum focuses on forestry work around the Ötscher. Numerous illustrations and original tools show the arduous work of lumberjacks, their way of life and everyday family life. Another exhibition focuses on timber rafting on the Erlauf. You can also visit the former one-room school in Trübenbach: children of forest farmers and lumberjacks were taught there until the 1960s.

The Grabner Hammer offers a particular connection to the iron industry. Alongside the Carthusian forge in Langau, it is the only surviving blacksmith’s hammer building from the heyday of the iron industry in the municipality of Gaming. On the Gaming circular hiking trail, you pass 14 Baroque Stations of the Cross at Calvary Hill. This also lets you combine a walk with a glimpse of religious architectural history.

Nature, waterfalls and a cave

The municipality of Gaming is one of the five municipalities across which Ötscher-Tormäuer Nature Park extends. The Geological Trail offers insights into the geology of the Ötscherland region at observation points 1 to 6. If you are planning to visit waterfalls, you will find different walking-time estimates: from the Eibenboden entrance to the nature park, it takes about an hour to reach Trefflingfall. There, the Trefflingbach plunges up to 120 metres into the Erlauf. As trail conditions can change, check them before setting out.

Schleierfall is on the Fallbach, about four kilometres south of Gaming, and is 20 metres high. Nearby, the Carthusian Trail starts at the Polzbergmühle car park with a short, somewhat steeper climb, followed by a leisurely hike of about 30 minutes to the waterfall. The approximate time and the described climb can help you compare this route with the approach to Trefflingfall.

For a different excursion, a tour of about 45 minutes takes you through the 575-metre-long and 54-metre-deep Ötscher stalactite cave. Highlights include stalactites thousands of years old, sinter formations, an underground lake and the Fairy Tale Hall. Visits are seasonal; check the dates for your travel period before you go.

Cycling and seasonal travel

The 70-kilometre Erlauftal Cycle Path leads to Gaming, where its flat section ends at the Charterhouse. The long-distance Erlauftal Cycle Path and the Kleine Erlauftal Cycle Path pass through the market town.

Seasonal conditions are also important when travelling to excursions. The Ötscherland Express runs along the mountain section of the Ybbstal Railway past the Charterhouse and operates seasonally; check the operating days before your trip. On summer weekends in July and August, hikes around Trefflingfall are accessible by public transport on the Nature Park hiking bus. The Mariazell Railway can be combined with hikes around Trefflingfall for car-free excursions; transport connections vary by season.

Swimming, beer and the market

Ötscherland Freibad Gaming has a 68-metre-long water slide. Visitors can use the beach volleyball court, mini-golf course and table tennis facilities free of charge; there is also a bocce court in front of the pool. The mini-golf course has twelve holes and is next to the outdoor pool and tennis centre. These activities offer different options for a stay beyond museum and nature excursions.

At Bruckner’s Beer World, the beer tour runs year-round from Wednesday to Sunday at 11 am and 3 pm. Groups are accepted at any time by prior arrangement; the tour is accessible. As times can change, check the schedule before travelling. Gaming Charterhouse beer is brewed in accordance with the German Purity Law and without chemical additives.

The Farmers’ Specialities Market takes place in Gaming’s town hall arcades every other Saturday morning from 08:30 to 11:00. As market times can change, check the schedule before your visit. This lets you plan around a specific market morning without confusing it with seasonal excursions or tour times.

Discover more destinations: Lackenhof, Göstling An Der Ybbs, Lunz Am See, Sankt Anton An Der Jessnitz.

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