Viewpoint hike

The best place to start the hike is at Esterházy Palace in the centre of Eisenstadt. The path leads past the palace on the left, across Glorietteallee, along the fence of the palace park. After approx. 600 metres, you reach the Joseph Haydn Conservatory and walk past it on the left along Glorietteallee. From here, the path becomes a little steeper and takes you directly to the Eisenstadt Gloriette, a former hunting lodge of the Esterházys, which now houses a restaurant.From the car park at the Gloriette, take the right-hand path that leads into the high forest and follow the red and white markings. After a short stretch, you come to a clearing, the so-called Parapluiewiese, where the Raiffeisen jubilee observatory is located.

A wooden observation tower with several platforms on different levels had stood here since 1957, but had to be demolished for safety reasons. Just one year later, in 2012, a new viewing tower, also made of wood, was erected on the same site. The covered viewing platform can be reached via a staircase. Small windows on the intermediate platforms provide the first panoramic views, and three balconies have also been installed at different heights and in different directions.The top platform at a height of 12 metres rewards the ascent with wonderful views of Lake Neusiedl and across the Wulka Plain to Hungary.The Raiffeisenjubiläumswarte is suitable for the whole family due to its width and gently ascending steps.

The forest clearing on which this viewing tower stands is known in Eisenstadt as the ‘Parapluiewiese’. It is named after a historic pavilion - the Parapluie - which stood here in 1928 and was a popular excursion destination. Even today, the Parapluiewiese invites you to relax or have a picnic in the middle of the forest. An arboretum with trees and shrubs typical of the area provides information about the diverse flora of the Leitha Mountains.Walking time from Esterházy Castle approx. 45 minutes.

To reach the second viewing platform, the Buchkogelwarte, in Eisenstadt, follow the path from here further north, first reaching the ‘Weiße Dreifaltigkeit’ wayside shrine, then the Lanwatherkreuz and after a few metres you come to the long-distance hiking trail 02 (red-white-red/red-yellow), which you turn right onto in an easterly direction. Follow the long-distance hiking trail 02 to the Buckkogelwarte.Walking time Raiffeisen-Jubiläumswarte - Buchkogelwarte approx. 1.5 hours.On the second highest elevation of the Leitha Mountains, on the Buchkogel, stands the lookout of the same name. The first observation tower was built here in 1958 and the current steel structure was erected in 1993. The 12 metre high platform of the Buchkogel observation tower offers magnificent views from the Schneeberg to the Little Carpathians in Slovakia, from the Marchfeld to the Hungarian Plain and almost over the entire area of Lake Neusiedl.

From the control centre to Eisenstadt, return to long-distance hiking trail 02 (red-white-red/red-yellow), turn west towards Schöner Jäger, after approx. 300m turn left onto the red-marked path and follow it to Buchgrabenweg - ORF-Landesstudio. Pass the ORF studio and walk along Buchgrabenweg, which is lined with pretty detached houses, until you reach Ing. Hans Sylvester-Straße. Turn right into this street and walk towards the town centre. After a few metres you will see the entrance to the Eisenstadt barracks, an imposing building that was built in the 18th century under Empress Maria Theresa as a cadet school. A few metres further into the city, you will pass the Landhaus, which was built in the 1920s and has been the seat of the Burgenland provincial government ever since. On the other side of the road is the Bundesgymnasium Eisenstadt. After the Landhaus, turn left into Bürgerspitalgasse, walk along it to the Joseph Haydn monument and Joseph Haydn's former garden house, turn right into Ing. Julius Raab-Straße and walk along it, past the cultural centre, to the pedestrian zone/main street. A number of restaurants and cafés await you here in the centre of Eisenstadt, inviting you to take a break.