Starting point of the tour
Seitenstetten
Destination point of the tour
Sonntagberg
Route description Via Trinitatis + 5. Etappe: Seitenstetten - Sonntagberg
We begin Stage 5 of the Via Trinitatis + once again at the abbey portal. We take the staircase on the right side of the “Klosterberg” toward “Amstettner Straße” and follow it to the Seitenstetten branch church of “St. Veit,” which is already visible.
For the next 1.5 km, we take a leisurely walk along a floodplain path through the “Fröschlau,” frequently following the “Treffling” stream, until we reach the intersection at the “Schippermühle.” Here we turn right, past the large sawmill, and take the switchback up to the farm above. We follow the road for just under 1 km, where we meet the Biberbach chapel trail “Haidschachen.” This newly created network of trails takes us to some of Biberbach’s hidden gems. After passing the “Kapellenbildstock Prastrum,” we turn right toward the “Leithen” poultry farm. There, a path on the left leads along field edges to the crossing of the “Blümelsbergergraben” and a farmstead, which we bypass on the south side. Continuing along field edges, we come to the “Wegkreuz Großhub.” Here, we turn right onto the L 6206 until we reach the intersection at “Thalbauern.” There, the Kapellenweg branches off to the left onto a dirt road, and after crossing the “Biberbach,” we follow the left-hand edge of the forest until we reach the town entrance. Passing by residential houses, we reach the town center and the parish church of St. Stephen. Several restaurants and cafes are available for a break.
Our pilgrimage then continues along the main road through town at the eastern exit of the cemetery. We share the route with the “Oismühlweg 382” and, turning first left and then slightly right, reach the “Biberbacher Adventure Forest Playground.” From here, the route leads to the right through a wooded area, past a pond, to “Helpersdorf.” After crossing the intersecting road straight ahead, we take the loop around the houses on the right and then turn left downhill, crossing the “Illmersbach” and the meadow ahead of us. After about 100 m straight ahead, we’ll see the ascent through the small wooded grove and follow a dirt road to “Stupfreith” Street. Turning right, this road takes us about 100 m further to a field boundary on the left. Continuing along forest and meadow paths, we reach the “Kreuz Kicking” on the Biberbach chapel trail “Kromos.” Here, we leave the “Oismühlweg” to the left and, shortly afterward, turn right at the intersection onto the gravel path that takes us to the “Trauner” municipal road. Together with the “Stiftsblick Bicycle Route,” the road then leads us to the imposing “Schoderhof.” At this square farmstead—typical of this area—we stay on the bicycle route and, after passing the “Moarhaus,” turn slightly left toward the forest. Once we reach the ridge, we come to the “Schneerosenweg” on the left, which takes us directly into the municipal area of Kematen/Ybbs. As we follow this path, “our Sonntagberg” greets us again and again on the right. This nature trail, which is especially popular in the spring, accompanies us until just before the “Kreuzstöcklberg.” There, the trail leads us slightly to the right to the wayside shrine, where the “legendary turning stone” awaits us. We continue our route on the north side, walking alongside the road for about 100 meters downhill, then cross the road to rejoin the “Schneerosenweg.” We follow this path to where it meets the municipal road and then turn right onto a gravel path toward “Kalsing.” Upon reaching the village center, we turn right and, at the very next left-hand fork, turn downhill toward the dirt road. This path takes us directly to “Heide 3. Straße,” where we continue downhill to the right toward the roundabout on Federal Highway 121. Here, we cross the wide bridge over the Ybbs River and, in the municipality of Allhartsberg, join “Naturbadweg 236,” which branches off to the right. Following an idyllic route along the Ybbs, we climb the slope at the end of the natural swimming area and follow the dirt road of “Weg 236” through “Angerholz” to Allhartsberg. Here, we visit the parish church of St. Catherine and may treat ourselves to a break at the inviting “Allhartsbergerhof” before setting off on the final leg of the hike.
We begin the ascent to our pilgrimage destination on the Sonntagberg along the local road from Allhartsberg to the volunteer fire department’s armory, where we encounter a monumental statue of St. Florian. Here we turn right onto “Mühlenweg 240” and head downhill until we cross the Ödelbach. There, we leave this path and turn right; after a short stretch through a meadow, we take “Mostviertelblickweg 239” (markings are reversed!) up a field and dirt path toward the houses of Maierhofen. There, we follow the road through the village and, continuing uphill past two farmhouses and around a hairpin bend at the start of the forest trail, reach the “Mostviertelblick.” The trail then leads us through the young beech forest up to the ridge of the “Panorama Höhenstraße.”
As we’ve already done in Stage 1, we take the WWW 08 “Eisenwurzenweg” back to our pilgrimage destination, the Basilica on Sonntagberg. Unlike in Stage 1, this trail takes us along the high-altitude path past the second Sonntagberg radio relay station, “Herzogberg.” Passing through the “Forest of the Senses” and by the mountain cemetery, we return to the south side of the basilica via the “Cultural Hiking Trail.”
We have now reached the destination of our pilgrimage. Grateful for the experience that has accompanied us from the very beginning: “Whoever walks under the protection of the Most High…” Via Trinitatis—a “Path of the Trinity”—that has brought us closer to the concepts of setting out, walking, being on the journey, arriving, and simply being, which are attributed to the Sonntagberg: “Closer to Heaven.” A sign on the house that welcomes us again at the Pilgerstüberl, but which we also encountered at the start of our pilgrimage. May this be YOUR experience of these past days.
