City of Graz - Historic Centre and Schloss and Baden bei Wien starting at Eggenberg
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
354 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 36
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Eggenberg it runs 354 km to Eggenberg; allow about 4 h 36 of riding. The stops in between: Semmering Railway, Baden bei Wien and back through Semmering Railway. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,000 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. City of Graz - Historic Centre and Schloss
Graz has the best-preserved old town in Austria outside Salzburg and Vienna, and it is much less crowded than either. The historic centre, a UNESCO site since 1999, sits on the river Mur beneath the Schlossberg, a rocky hill with a clock tower on top, and the roofs of the old town are a sea of red tile punctuated by domes and spires. Add a modern touch, the glass and steel Murinsel, an artificial island in the river, and the Kunsthaus, a blue bubble nicknamed the friendly alien, and the city has a mix of old and new that works.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
City of Graz - Historic Centre and Schloss is where the day begins. Next is Semmering Railway.
2. Semmering Railway
Carl von Ghega's railway over the Semmering was a bold idea in the 1840s, when many engineers doubted that a conventional locomotive could haul a train over a mountain pass. Built between 1848 and 1854, the line climbs from Gloggnitz to the Semmering summit through fourteen tunnels and across sixteen viaducts, some with two tiers of stone arches, curving around the flanks of the mountains on ledges cut into the rock. It became the first mountain railway inscribed on the UNESCO list, in 1998, and it still carries trains between Vienna and the south, with the new Semmering Base Tunnel under construction beneath it to take over the heavy traffic.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Semmering Railway comes up about 108 km into the recorded legs. Next is Baden bei Wien.
3. Baden bei Wien
The Romans already knew about the hot sulphur springs at Baden, just south of Vienna, but it was in the early nineteenth century that the town became the summer playground of the Habsburg court. Emperor Franz I spent his summers here, and the aristocracy and the wealthy bourgeoisie followed, building elegant villas, parks and bathhouses in the Biedermeier style. Beethoven came to take the waters too, staying many times and working on his Ninth Symphony in a house that is now a museum. In 2021, Baden was listed by UNESCO as one of the Great Spa Towns of Europe, alongside Bath, Baden-Baden, Karlovy Vary and others.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at City of Graz - Historic Centre and Schloss. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
City of Graz - Historic Centre and Schloss to Semmering Railway
City of Graz - Historic Centre and Schloss → Semmering Railway is 108 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Semmering Railway to Baden bei Wien
Semmering Railway → Baden bei Wien is 69 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Baden bei Wien to back through Semmering Railway
Baden bei Wien → back through Semmering Railway is 69 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Semmering Railway to City of Graz - Historic Centre and Schloss
back through Semmering Railway → City of Graz - Historic Centre and Schloss is 108 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.