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holiday packages

Your holiday in the Vienna Woods

Diversity and experience at the gates of Vienna

Family or golf holidays, hiking days or excursions by bike ... only 25 minutes from the gates of Vienna you can expect variety at the highest level.

Enjoy the charm of our region and the many possibilities for a holiday in a class of its own.

Welcome to the Vienna Woods

The Wienerwald is one of the most beautiful local recreation areas in the world just outside the gates of a big city. For the Viennese, the Vienna Woods have been a refuge of the highest order for centuries. The wide and connected forest areas, the streams, meadows and clearings invite you to linger - no wonder that the Vienna Woods have served as a source of inspiration for so many artists.

The Wienerwald has saved both importance and charm into modern times, and offers variety, relaxation and a variety of sporting, cultural and culinary experiences.

The Wienerwald has many faces - it is divided into the following sub-regions:
  • northern Vienna Woods
  • Western Vienna Woods (this is where the hotel Das Steinberger is located)
  • thermal region
  • Helenental and
  • the Trieste Valley
Each sub-region impresses with its unmistakable characteristics - the western Vienna Woods, for example, has the largest and most dense stock of trees - you will also find a piece of primeval forest here.

Thanks to its diversity, the Wienerwald has become a popular holiday destination. Hiking, cycling, golf, eating & drinking, art & culture - the possibilities are endless. No matter what age group - whether young or old - the Vienna Woods has it.

The Vienna Woods have a lot to offer

Only a few big cities next to Vienna can count themselves lucky to have such an intact natural paradise as the Vienna Woods in front of their gates. A special attraction of this region consists of the unique combination of energy-giving nature and the multifaceted offers of the federal capital, which can be reached in just 25 minutes. Due to the ideal location of the Steinberger Hotels you can:
  • experience the unique flair of Vienna with ease
  • enjoy the varied cultural and entertainment offer to the fullest and
  • plunge into the colorful or dignified nightlife.

On the history of the Vienna Woods

The Romans already used the Vienna Woods. They called the area "mons cetium". The main part of today's Wienerwald was given to the Babenbergs in the 11th century and served as a hunting ground for the sovereign. The first Latin name "silva Viennensis" is mentioned in a document in 1332. The German form of the name "Wiener Waldt" is found for the first time in 1368. For a long time, the forest was primarily important as a supplier of firewood and as a supplier of construction and work wood and charcoal for the up-and-coming city of Vienna.

In the 17th century the demand for coal wood increased. As a result, "toll stations" were set up on the streets of the Wienerwald to prevent wood theft.

With industrialization in the 18th and 19th centuries, the need for wood continued to rise. Particular attention was paid to careful forest management and afforestation of deforested areas (general princely forest ordinance of 1785). From 1811 to 1857 the Vienna Woods were under uniform planning and management. This resulted in a significant improvement in the condition of the forest.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Vienna Woods became a popular destination. In the second half of the 19th century, the imperial court released large parts of the Vienna Woods to felling companies for logging in order to fill the coffers. Only after a media campaign lasting several years was Josef Schöffel, Mayor of Mödling, able to stop the beatings.

The serviceberry

Serviceberries are picked by hand and with the help of very long ladders, a laborious and dangerous harvesting task. The Elbeerbrand is therefore one of the most precious and exclusive distillates. The fruits are also processed into liqueurs, jams and other specialties. The valuable wood is also processed. The service tree was classified as Austria's first Slow Food Presidio product.

Pleasurable and festive things to do with the service tree

Service tree specialties such as service tree chocolate, service tree cream honey, sweet service tree slices, service tree camembert, service tree blossom syrup and service tree liqueur can be bought in the region from the farm. Delicacies from and with checker berries can be found on the menus at Landgasthof Schwarzwallner in Michelbach and at the seminar hotel Laabnerhof in Brand-Laaben. Service tree menus are regularly offered in both restaurants. In the Geppl inn in Fahrafeld near Böheimkirchen, a Elsbeer room has even been set up.
The service tree is celebrated every year at the beginning of May on "Service tree day".

The Elbeere Wienerwald region

The wild service tree can be found where the Mostviertel merges into the Vienna Woods. The service berries - reddish-brown fruits with a marzipan aroma - grow on tall trees that stand alone in the meadows and are often more than a hundred years old. Here in the ElsbeerReich is one of the largest spatial concentrations of solitary service trees in Central Europe. The use of the service tree has been a tradition here for around 200 years.

In 2007, the Wienerwald communities of Asperhofen, Brand-Laaben, Eichgraben, Kirchstetten, Maria Anzbach and Neulengbach merged with the Mostviertel communities of Böheimkirchen, Kasten, Michelbach, Pyhra and Stössing to form one region. The unique selling point Elsbeere was taken into account in the region name Elsbeere Wienerwald.

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