Description
The hike begins in St. Pölten, the provincial capital of Lower Austria. The pilgrimage starts at Maria Lourdes Church (in the north of St. Pölten - just a few steps away from the main railway station). From there, the route leads through the imperial and city forest via the Alpenbahnhof-Kaiserwald and continues along the railroad hiking trail to Ebersdorf, Ober-Grafendorf and then to Dietmannsdorf.
The hike continues to the village church in Weinburg and the Lourdes forest chapel. Shortly afterwards, the trail joins the Pielachtal circular hiking trail no. 652, which continues to the parish church of Grünau in the market town of Hofstetten-Grünau.
Below the Hofstetten-Grünau cemetery, you meet the Pielachtal cycle path, which you follow to Mainburg. Hiking trail 4/1 takes you through the Lustwald forest to Rabenstein with the baptistery of Cardinal Franz König.
Via Steinklamm you then follow the Kardinal König memorial trail to Warth. From here, follow the Pielachtal cycle path through Kirchberg an der Pielach to the end of the cycle path in Dobersnigg. From here, turn left onto the country road to Loich.
From Loich, continue in a southerly direction, following the Ödgegend estate road to the right and continuing via Perneben, from where the path leads down to Schwarzenbach an der Pielach. Hiking trail 7/6 takes you on a gradual ascent to the wooden church.
The trail then continues uphill to the Weißes Kreuz at 1030m. This is followed by a descent to the Reidl lifts and then a short, steep climb to the stage destination of Annaberg, the first "holy mountain". You reach the local pilgrimage church via the mountain path.
From Annaberg, follow hiking route 06B/06 up to the Sabel, on to Fadental and the Hubertussee lake with the romantic Bruder Klaus church. The route then continues to the Walster and up to the Habertheuersattel (1015m). The rest of the route leads pilgrims to the Sebastiani Rosary Trail, which is followed directly to the basilica in Mariazell.
Alternatively, on this last stage from Annaberg you can also follow the Via Sacra via Joachimsberg, Josefsberg and Mitterbach or reach Mariazell from the Habertheuersattel via the Bürgeralpe.
The Mariazell Railway has been running on a narrow track from St. Pölten to Mariazell for over 100 years. It was once built to make it easier for pilgrims to reach the important Styrian place of pilgrimage. To this day, the Mariazell Railway is a means of local transportation, a hiking and pilgrimage railroad, and routes on the pilgrimage route can be conveniently shortened thanks to its close proximity. In addition, the Mariazell Railway enables an environmentally friendly return journey from Mariazell to the starting point of the pilgrimage.
Starting point of the tour
St. Pölten
Destination point of the tour
Mariazell
Directions
By train:
Westbahn line (via Salzburg or via Vienna to St. Pölten) Travel times: Vienna–St. Pölten: 0:25 hrs. Linz–St. Pölten: 1 hr. Salzburg–St. Pölten: 2:10 hrs. Passau–St. Pölten: 2:10 hrs. Munich–St. Pölten: 3:45 hrs.
By car from Salzburg and Vienna:
A1 West Autobahn From Vienna/Schwechat Airport: A4 East Autobahn – S1 Vienna Outer Ring Expressway – A21 Outer Ring Autobahn – A1
By car from Passau and Regensburg:
A8 Innkreis Highway – A1 From Switzerland: Arlberg Tunnel – A12 Inntal Highway – Innsbruck, Salzburg – A1 From
By car from Italy or Slovenia:
Option 1: A2 Südautobahn (via Villach and Graz to Vienna) – A1 (or A2 – A21 Outer Ring Expressway – A1)
Option 2: via the Brenner Pass to Innsbruck, Salzburg – A1
Parking
Parking in the parking garages:
City parking at St. Pölten Central Station
Rathausplatz Garage on Rossmarkt
Heßstraße/Julius Raab Promenade Underground Parking Garage
Leiner Garage at Rossmarkt
Promenaden Garage on Bräuhausgasse
Zentrum Klostergasse Parking Garage
APCOA Underground Parking Garage, Eybnerstraße 2-4
Tor zum Landhaus Garage, Rennbahnstraße 26
Landesklinikum Parking Garage, Mühlweg
Landhaus & Kulturbezirk Parking Garage
Hotel Metropol Parking Garage, Dr. Karl Renner Promenade
Neues Forum Parking Garage, Dr. Karl Renner Promenade
Parking Garage at Herzogenburger Straße 10
Park & Ride:
Parkpromenade St. Pölten Central Station
Hermann Winger Gasse/Goldegger Straße—about 5 minutes from the central station.
Mühlweg/Dr. Höfinger-Gasse
Pottenbrunn Bahnstraße
Traisenpark Dr. A. Schärf-Str./Herzogenburger Str.
Porschestraße ÖBB stop
St. Pölten is easily accessible by public transportation.
For the return trip, we recommend taking the Mariazellerbahn from Mariazell to St. Pölten.
Author's tip
Points of interest along the route:
Maria Lourdes Church, St. Pölten
Parish Church of Ober-Grafendorf
Lourdes Forest Chapel, Weinburg
Parish Church of Hofstetten-Grünau
Baptismal Church of Cardinal König, Rabenstein an der Pielach
Towerless St. Andrew’s Church, Kirchberg an der Pielach
Dobersnigg Chapel, Loich
Parish Church of Loich
Wooden Church, Schwarzenbach an der Pielach
White Cross, Annaberg
Annaberg Pilgrimage Church
Brother Klaus Church in Walstern
Mariazell Basilica
Useful Information Along the Pilgrimage Route
And what if your water supply runs low, your hiking boots are too tight, or your knee is giving you trouble?
Here you’ll find a collection of helpful tips designed to make your pilgrimage a little more comfortable: www.mostviertel.at/nuetzliches-pielachtaler-pilgerweg
