Voitsberg: Historic Paths, Art and Excursion Destinations
Accommodation in Voitsberg
Voitsberg brings together medieval traces, Baroque interiors, modern art and paths through a varied landscape within a compact area. If you are planning a trip with cultural impressions, walks and special excursion destinations, you will find several clearly distinct points of interest here. The town can be explored through individual buildings as well as historic paths and museums.
Historic traces in the townscape
St. Joseph’s Church was built as a monastery church between 1690 and 1708. Its Baroque and Rococo interior furnishings provide a clear art-historical accent. The former Jewish quarter of Voitsberg offers a different perspective on the past: in the Middle Ages and until around 1493, it had its own synagogue. Together, these two themes show that the history of the town is not limited to a single era.
The Romhaus was renovated in 1536 in the Late Gothic style, with a gate and arcaded walkway. The history of the Obervoitsberg castle ruins reaches back even further. They originated from a castle built in 1164 on the orders of the Styrian ruler Ottokar IV on land belonging to St. Lambrecht Abbey. The first documented mention of its name dates from 1183. The ruins therefore offer an especially long historical perspective that can be easily combined with a walk through the town.
Art and museums with their own character
The Arik Brauer Town Hall houses a permanent gallery featuring works by local artists. In addition, around 120 m² of hand-painted tiles shape the building. Prof. Arik Brauer arranged them in mosaic form on the exterior walls; they depict proverbs. Arik Brauer also designed the façade of the Voitsberg Town Hall in 2002, translating sayings into visual language. At this town hall, you can therefore encounter both a gallery and a large-scale artistic façade design.
The Hans Deutscher Memorial was created in the 1950s by artists from the Graz Secession. At the Franz Weiß Museum, you can see numerous woodcuts, reverse-glass paintings, early works and unique glass pieces by the versatile artist across two floors. The Kern Buam Museum consists of wooden parts from two old farmhouses, each of which was more than 300 years old. The museums therefore focus on different aspects: the work of a single artist, historic building components and a memorial connected with the Graz Secession.
Walking routes, parks and mining history
A hiking trail leads from the Obervoitsberg castle ruins along the eastern wing of the former town fortifications into the town centre. You can walk around the castle ruins at any time; the ruins themselves are open and accessible only during events. This distinction is important when planning your visit: the trail and the walk around the site offer outdoor activity, while access to the ruins is tied to events.
The former mining site of the Zangtal Energy Experience Park also combines landscape, technology and culture. It is gradually being transformed into a landscape park focusing on mining, an art trail, energy and nature. One special feature there is the old “Leopold” bucket-wheel excavator. Greißenegg Castle, in turn, is surrounded by a park and the recreational area around Grafenteich lake. The excursion destinations therefore differ considerably: in Zangtal, the focus is on the transformation of a mining site, while at Greißenegg Castle it is on the combination of the castle, park and Grafenteich lake.
Sightseeing and planning your day
The historic town tour through Voitsberg is not marked. It is intended as a suggestion for visiting all 35 stops by the shortest route. You should therefore understand it as a guide for planning your own order, not as a marked route. This is particularly suitable for a stay in which you want to combine several buildings, art sites and historic places in the town.
Guided tours at the Franz Weiß Museum are available only for groups and by request. Visits and guided tours at Alt-Kainach Castle are possible from the beginning of May to the end of October by telephone appointment, between 08:00 and 18:00. These different arrangements affect your daily planning: the museum offers guided tours for groups upon request, while Alt-Kainach Castle requires a clearly defined time window and a telephone appointment.
For a break, Café-Restaurant Piber is a good option. It is open from Wednesday to Monday from 9:00 to 17:30; the kitchen is open from 11:00 to 16:00. Anyone combining several stops in one day can use this to separate museum and castle visiting hours from an independent dining break.
Further places to help you plan
If you would like to organize your travel plans beyond Voitsberg, you can also choose Hirschegg-Piber-Sonnseite, Maria Lankowitz, Köflach, Hirschegg-Rein and Edelschrott as additional destinations.
For the overarching travel overview: Styria.
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