Attractions of Styria

Outings/Day Trips

Alpengarten
Ischlbergstrasse 38
8990 Bad Aussee
gemeinde@badaussee.at
city: Bad Aussee

Bauerliche Ölpresse, Schilcherkeller, Bauerliches Handwerk,…
Furth 8
8524 Bad Gams
city: Bad Gams

Bergkreuz auf der Plodererwand
Dorfstraße 6
8691 Kapellen
city: Kapellen

Important Cluster, Technology and Industrial Parks

With the aim of fostering its status as a modern business location, Styria makes targeted investments in research & development. Styria ranks amongst the top 25 European regions in research activities. All over Styria, about 30 centres and initiatives have come into being, building on local strengths and teaming them up in functional synergies.

In this context, the connection between science and business through university spin-offs, technical colleges and technology-oriented centres of competence are a special characteristic

Industries/Employment

63,6 of the Styrian workforce are employed in the service sector, 29,7 % in the industry sector and nearly 7 % (yet only 1% of the dependent labor) in agriculture.

96,200 employees or 22,7% of dependent labor work in the manufacturing sector. The most important sectors of which are fabricated metal products (22,900), motor vehicles (12,200), electro and electronics (10,600), food and beverages (10,100), machinery and equipment (8,700).

In the service sector, the main activities (independent and dependent labor) are trade and maintenance (78,800), health and social services (49,300), education (43,700), business services (39,700) and public administration (32,500).

20th century

Following World War I, Styria was divided in the Treaty of Saint Germain. Lower Styria with the cities of Celje and Maribor became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, while the rest remained with Austria as the State of Styria. Other than in Carinthia, no fighting resulted from this, in spite of minority populations on both sides (the larger cities of Lower Styria were largely German-speaking).

Lower Styria was reattached to the Reichsgau Styria from 1942 to 1945, when it was returned to Yugoslavia. Today, it makes up about the eastern third of Slovenia.

19th century Styria

The Semmering Railway, completed in 1854, was a triumph of engineering in its time, the oldest of the great European mountain railways; it was remarkable for its numerous and long tunnels and viaducts spanning mountain valleys, running from Gloggnitz in Lower Austria to Mürzzuschlag in Styria, and passing through some exceedingly beautiful scenery. The railway brought tourists to alpine lake resorts and mineral springs at Rohitsch and Gleichenberg, the brine springs of Aussee, and the thermal springs of Tuffer, Neuhaus and Tobelbad.

History of Styria

Several “marches” were established in the territory of present-day Styria to protect the borders. They were united in 1180, declared a principality and separated from Bavaria.

The Babenbergs were given Styria in fief in 1192 and united it with the Austrian territories (Lower and Upper Austria). In 1254 Styria had to be ceded to Hungary. King Ottokar II Premysl reconquered the territory in 1260.

In 1282 the Habsburgs received Upper Austria, Lower Austria and Styria in fief. The Emperor Frederick III made Graz an imperial residence in 1440. After the Napoleonic Wars and the Peace of Pressburg, the Schlossberg castle was destroyed in 1809.

Lower Styria was taken from Austria in 1920 by the Treaty of St. Germain. The Ausseer region was reintegrated in Styria in 1948. The province has retained these borders to the present day.

Fast Facts of Styria

Land Area: 16,392 sq.km
Capital City: Graz
Population: 1 195 300 (2001)
Governor: Franz Voves
No. of Districts : 16
Forested area: 8,530 squ.km
Working population: 45,5%

Styria

Styria: The Green Heart of Austria

This is one of Austria’s bargain provinces – even its top hotels charge only moderate prices. Trout fishing, mountain climbing, and hiking are popular summer activities, and in the past decade Styria has been emerging as a ski area. (It has a long way to go before it will rival Land Salzburg or Tyrol, however.) Schladming/Rohrmoos is a skiing center of Dachstein-Tauern, in the upper valley of the Enns River.

Interesting areas to visit in Styria include Bad Gleichenberg, the most important summer spa in South Styria, set among parks and mineral waters; and Bad Aussee, an old market town and spa in the heart of the lush Salzkammergut. Also worth a visit are Murau, a winter ski region and a good center for driving tours of the surrounding countryside, and Mariazell, Austria’s pilgrimage center. If you’re driving around this area, you should know that parking is rarely a problem, and you park free unless otherwise noted.

Styria (Steiermark in German) is the second-largest province in the country. It borders Slovenia and Hungary, as well as the Austrian provinces of Burgenland, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Land Salzburg, and Carinthia. Northwestern Styria includes the alpine ranges of the Salzkammergut, while its eastern section resembles the steppes of Hungary. The Dachstein features mammoth glaciers.