Beautiful view: Alpannonia Austrian-Hungarian route, Fischbach-Kőszeg

Itinerary:

• Stage 1: Fischbach - Rosegger mountain hut on the Alpannonia marked route (22.3 km)
• Stage 2: Rosegger mountain hut - Feistritz saddle on the Alpannonia marked route (13 km)
• Stage 3: Feistritz saddle - Mönichkirchen on the Alpannonia marked route (18.3 km)
• Stage 4: Mönichkirchen - Höhwirt inn on the Alpannonia marked route (18.1 km)
• Stage 5: Höhwirt inn - Bernstein on the Alpannonia marked route (12.7 km)
• Stage 6: Bernstein - Geschreibenstein Passhöhe on the Alpannonia marked route (23.6 km)
• Stage 7: Geschreibenstein Passhöhe - Kőszeg on the Alpannonia marked route (16.3 km)

Detailed description of the route:

Stage 1

The route starts from Fischbach main square, near the war memorial, with a significant ascent. The first interesting point is the Teufelstein, also known as the Devil's Rock. Reaching the 3-4 meter high stone formation requires a detour from the Alpannonia trail, but it's worth the one hour.

The Teufelstein (1499 m) consists of three harder rocks, around which the soil has eroded over time, making it stand out prominently. According to legend, the devil himself threw the large rocks on top of each other to build a tower reaching heaven, but the tower collapsed in the rush, and the devil remained where he was. You can climb on the rock, and the view from it is beautiful.

From the Devil's Rock, a longer descent leads to the valley and the settlement of Alpl. Alpl is the birthplace of Peter Rosegger (1843–1918), a well-respected Styrian folk writer, poet, and nature walker in Austria. His birthplace, the former Waldschule (Forest School), is now a museum that can be visited during the route. (For those who want to read his works, a book was published in Hungarian in 2005, translated by Dezső Tandori, titled "Christmas Night.") The mountain hut we stay in at the end of the day’s stage is named after him. From Alpl, a continuous but not steep ascent takes you to the Hauereck mountain hut.

Slowly, we reach the mountain ridge at 1500 meters, where cows graze peacefully on the grassy alpine meadows under the solemnly turning wind turbines of the Steinriegel Wind Park. The view from the ridge is spectacular in all directions. To the north lie the plateaus of Hohe Veitsch, Schneealpe, Rax, and Schneeberg, all above 2000 meters, while to the south rises the hilly East Styrian Joglland, where the tour started. From the ridge, we can already see from afar the Rosegger mountain hut standing on Pretul mountain.

Stage 2

The second stage, with its 13 kilometers, is considered a rest day, although here we reach the highest point of the tour, the Stuhleck (1782 m). This stage also features one of the Alpannonia’s two beautiful and long panoramic ridges, between Pretul (our starting point) and Stuhleck. The five-kilometer panoramic section is quite popular, with only a few parts of Alpannonia where so many hikers and mountain bikers can be seen.

The panoramic trail is a wide, grassy ridge with dual use as pasture and wind farm. Herds of cows graze peacefully on the pasture and stare curiously at the hikers passing by. The animals are usually fenced off, but sometimes you may have to pass within one or two meters of them.

The first spectacular point is at the Pretul summit (1656 m), on a nice peak called the Peter-Bergner-Warte. The observation tower commemorates the first guardian of the Rosegger mountain hut, who was killed by a robber on June 24, 1904, for a small amount of money in the house. From the tower, the view west is almost unobstructed toward Veitsch, Ötscher, Schneealpe, Rax, and Schneeberg, while to the east you can clearly see the most beautiful part of the next day's hiking stage, the Hochwechsel ridge. Continuing past the wind turbines, we reach the Stuhleck summit (1782 m) after an approximately five-kilometer gentle climb.

A path winds down steeply from the hut (about 400 meters vertical drop) to Pfaffensattel (Priest Saddle), from where the climbing resumes past the forested Kleiner Pfaff (1539 m) and rocky Grosser Pfaff (1555 m), crossing the grassy Harterkogel ridge up to the final stop, the paved parking lot at Feistritz saddle.

Stage 3

The next day, we start with an ascent from the saddle through true Alpine pine forests along a wide, comfortable forest road toward the Wechsel ridge. On the way up in the pleasant shade, the tall pine trees emit a lovely scent. After exiting the forest, another wide alpine pasture called "schwaig" by the Austrians follows. The term schwaig not only means a grassy meadow but also refers to a complete summer farmstead with a mountain hut.

The first farm we encounter, the Kranichberger Schwaig, is more of a hospitality venue during the season than a cattle farm: the owner serves lemonade, radler, and beer in the barn, and various delicious country foods can be enjoyed at the outdoor log tables. Chickens cluck on grass between the benches, while cows graze behind the fence. From the schwaig, the landscape opens northward, approaching the barren ridge and summit. Upon reaching the summit plateau, the panorama broadens in all directions. On the flat mountain top, a hut, summit cross, and pointed chapel share the spot. At the Wetterkoglerhaus mountain hut, food, drinks, and accommodation await visitors. From the 1742-meter peak, you have a good view of almost the entire Alpannonia route: from Teufelstein through Stuhleck, the parts towards Hungary, and even as far as Írott-kő.

From the Hochwechsel, a relatively wide 3-kilometer ridge leads to the mountain's other, somewhat lower peak, Niederwechsel. This ridge is probably the most beautiful section of Alpannonia: peaceful, natural, and with splendid panorama. Niederwechsel can be considered the edge of the high Alps; from here eastwards, only the rolling hills of Bucklige Welt, the Kőszeg Mountains, and beyond them the Pannonian Plain stretch out.

Downhill, approaching Mönichkirchen, life picks up again: the grassy slopes used as ski runs in winter also buzz in summer. Ski lifts transport, for instance, scooters that you can ride down the serpentine into the village to the stage's endpoint.

Stage 4

The next day starts from Mönichkirchen and continues in a different landscape. The Austrians call this area Bucklige Welt, meaning "Hunchback Region." This area of a thousand hills somewhat resembles the Hungarian Cserehát or Zala Hills, with the difference that these hills can exceed 900 meters altitude, as the whole region lies about 500 meters higher.

Mountain paths and pine forests disappear, replaced by agricultural dirt roads and lightly trafficked asphalt roads – plus the hills and mounds. The panorama from the higher, gently rising hills is excellent over the surroundings, with Hochwechsel and Stuhleck bidding farewell in the distance. The route crosses three small settlements, but the streets of Schlag, Pichl, and Hoisen are generally deserted.

Near Pichl, a nice building stands next to the village: the Neo-Baroque Ziegersberg Castle, built in 1896. Unfortunately, entrance is not allowed, as the castle is privately owned and used by the family as a summer residence and the estate's management headquarters. The official daily route ends at the roadside Höhwirt inn.

Stage 5

The fifth day begins from Höhwirt, and after a short climb, you reach the 896-meter peak, crowned by the wooden Hutwisch lookout tower, which serves as a cap for the region. At the top of the tower, alongside the Himalayas and Mont Blanc, Hungary and Lake Balaton are also marked separately. From here, we walk on forest paths and meadows to the villages of Habich and Kalteneck, crossing the provincial border between them.

Burgenland immediately welcomes us with an interesting lookout: the Kuglóf hill, named after a ring-shaped cake, offers nice views of the region. From here, you can also see the strip of Lake Fertő and the mountains of Slovenia. After Kuglóf, a smaller hill called Steinstückl follows, which has a small romantic bench on its summit clearing. Then we slowly flow into the town of Bernstein, our destination for the day. From the descent leading to the town, you can see quite close the Burg, that is the Bernstein Castle. An 1800s fortress once owned by the Almásy family (previously the Batthyánys), today operates as a hotel. The somewhat crumbling castle is authentic in every brick (okay, except the luxury bathrooms), mixing patinated aristocratic elegance with a hippie ruin pub atmosphere.

Stage 6

On the next touring day, leaving Bernstein, we walk on the town's edge past the Naturschwimmbad, a small natural lake transformed into a bathing site. Even if for no other reason, you should definitely bring a swimsuit for Alpannonia. After the lake, a shady forest path winds for a while, racing alongside a forest brook. Around 3-4 kilometers from the town, a small sign next to the route reads: Energy Garden. This is a special little trail with stations where hikers believing in earth chakras or lizard man gas stations can absorb energy at larger serpentine stones.

The middle mountain region and its forests increasingly resemble the well-known Bükk or Mátra areas at home, though we still encounter a few nice pinewoods. The first settlement along the way is Goberling (Góborfalva), then the wooded mountainous terrain softens to a hilly area of meadows and arable land. The next village, Unterkohlstätten (Alsószénégető), is just touched by the route. It is good to know that after the Bründl sign, about 20-30 meters away, there is a natural well from which fine spring water softly trickles. The next stop is the nearby Oberkohlstätten (Felsőszénégető).

The road starts climbing from the village, beginning the Günser Gebirge, the Kőszegi Mountains extending into Austria. After a long ascent, we headed towards the top. A nice viewpoint was created in front of the first trees of the forest, where, looking back, we can bid farewell to the hills of Burgenland and the Hunchback Region, and the mountains behind them. On the last Austrian peak, Grosser Hirschenstein (862 m), we almost walk the entire ridge to Geschreibenstein Passhöhe parking lot, the endpoint for the day.

Stage 7

On the last day, we only walk about one and a half kilometers on Austrian territory before reaching Írott-kő (called Geschreibenstein in Austria). From the parking lot to the border, a comfortable gravel forest road leads along the ridge. On the summit of Írott-kő stands the stone lookout built in 1913, which is exactly bisected by the (Treaty of Trianon, 1922) border marked by a border stone in the middle of the building. After World War II, the lookout was fenced off to the Austrian side, accessible only from there, but since the regime change, it has been freely accessible again.

At Írott-kő, Alpannonia meets Hungary’s longest hiking trail, the National Blue Trail, which has its endpoint here. Thus, those who complete the Blue Trail to Írott-kő can continue on Alpannonia, discovering new adventures, landscapes, and challenges. Up to the recently refurbished Styrian houses (4-5 kilometers), the Blue Trail and Alpannonia run side by side in Hungary, but from there, Alpannonia follows the Z-marked trail all the way to the Kőszeg endpoint. Along the 14-kilometer Hungarian section, the path resembles what is known on the Austrian side of the Kőszeg Mountains, with slightly fewer pines, more beeches, and clearings. The probably most beautiful point of the Hungarian part is the Zeiger saddle: there is a resting place on a nice clearing with a rain shelter and a bacon-roasting spot, but a high-voltage power line disturbs the picture. At the Óház lookout, Alpannonia and the Blue Trail briefly meet again.

The 609-meter-high Óház hill saw Kőszeg’s first castle built in the 13th century, called the Upper Castle or Old Castle. In the 14th century, with the founding of the Lower Castle (Jurisics Castle), the Upper Castle gradually lost significance. In place of the ruins, a stone lookout tower was built in 1896, later rebuilt in 1996 on the foundations of the residential tower uncovered during excavations beginning in 1991. Before reaching the final goal, one still has to pass through Szabóhegy, the city's garden cottage area, and walk through the streets of Kőszeg to the center, where at the Tourinform and Írottkő Nature Park offices, you can exchange the fully stamped map for the Alpannonia badge.