Marian Pilgrimage Path 7th stage: Maria Gail - Feistritz/Gail

Right at the beginning of the stage, the path leads from the pilgrimage church to the Gail, along whose southern bank you walk on the dam crest to Turdanitsch. Here you cross the river to the north, immediately turn left after the bridge, and now follow the cycle path on the northern bank of the Gail, which is mostly gravel, to the Gail bridge near Unterschütt (Maria Gail - Gail bridge near Unterschütt: 11 km). At the cyclists' meeting point, you cross the bridge and go south through Erlendorf to Riegersdorf. At the Riegersdorf chapel, keep left and follow the road east to the Wurzenpass federal road. You cross it, are now in Radendorf, and walk about 400 m straight ahead before turning right. Ten minutes later, you reach the pilgrimage church Maria Siebenbrünn (Gail bridge near Unterschütt - Maria Siebenbrünn: 3 km). If the church is unexpectedly not open, the key is available in the house right next door. The seven springs that emerge below the church are considered healing. The water flows off to the north of the church via a wooden trough, and you can fill and take bottles here without any problems. Supplied in this way with very special drinking water, you now walk west again, cross the Wurzenpass road for the second time that day, and follow the signposts to Arnoldstein alternately over meadows and through forest to Lind (Maria Siebenbrünn - Lind: 3.5 km). In Lind, you pilgrimage past the branch church and the cemetery to the west and turn right at the second fork towards Pöckau. Shortly afterwards, you cross the federal road via an underpass and from here follow the cycle and footpath to the left, that is west, to Arnoldstein.

At the beginning of the town, turn left again into Kreuzkapellenweg, which finally leads you to the market square and the parish church of Arnoldstein (Lind - Arnoldstein town center: 4 km). Past the monastery ruins of Arnoldstein (a visit to the monastery ruins is definitely recommended!), you immediately choose the monastery path to the left and walk via this and the cemetery avenue to Seltschacher Straße, from which you turn right into Römerweg after another 200 m. You then reach Schrotturmstraße and go right to Fuggerstraße and along this, through the underpass, and then uphill to the pilgrimage church of St. Mary, which has been visible to you all the time. Built in a dominant position on a rock cone, you enjoy a wonderful panoramic view from the little Marian church. From the church hill, you then go back the same way, immediately keep right after the underpass, and follow the cycle and footpath west over the Gailitzbach. Just after the bridge, you turn right again and go through another underpass. The path now runs left about 100 m parallel to the federal road before following the signs to Stossau/Hohenthurn to the right, passing under the railway and walking uphill along the road. At the end of the village of Stossau, you cross the motorway, then keep left and walk on a gravel road for about an hour to Hohenthurn, initially through forest and then with a clear view of the panorama of the Dobratsch massif to the right and the Carnic Alps to the left (Arnoldstein - Hohenthurn: 5 km). The next village is Draschitz, from where you can already see the Göriach church tower. The road leads downhill slightly, and so you walk briskly down to the federal road, turn right at the wayside shrine, take the left fork after 500 m, and walk uphill a bit (the church key is available at the Pippan family at house Göriach No. 30 right on the road) to the Göriach parish and Marian church (Hohenthurn - Göriach: 3.5 km). From here, you follow the road and take the right fork at the next junction towards Achomitz, which you reach in a quarter of an hour, now going downhill again. In the middle of the village - noticeable is the newly paved village street! - you turn left onto Kirchenweg, which goes past a small chapel and over the Feistritzbach trench directly to the parish church of Feistritz a. d. Gail. From the church, which stands elevated on a rock, it is only a few minutes down to the village where the stage ends (Göriach - Feistritz a. d. Gail: 2.5 km) and accommodation can be found at the Gasthof Alte Post on the village square.