The Green Heart of Austria
It is no accident that Styria bears this name. From the riverside forest in the south of Styria to the stone pine and larch forests in the mountains the total forest area makes about 60 % of the province and almost a quarter of Austria. Styria is therefore the most densely wooded province. The oldest trees are several hundred years old. But not only walks in the forest, hiking and looking for mushrooms is popular in this region. Mountain lakes, alpine pastures and huts invite you to spend some time there. The variety of the landscape can be explored through biking, cross-country skiing, skiing, mountain biking or playing golf – in the Alpine-North on the mountains Dachstein and Hochschwab, in the national park Gesäuse or on the gentle hills in the south of Styria.
Regional delicacies
Next to the beauty of the landscape also the Styrian cuisine invites you to visit this region. Wellknown and popular are the Styrian Backhenderl (deep-fried chicken), the Steirerkäse (cheese) and the Bauernkrapfen (crullers), pumpkin and pumpkin seed oil, runner beans, apple and Schilcher (wine). Idyllic is also to stop at one of the numerous wine taverns where self-produced, regional and seasonal delicacies are offered like for example the classic Brettljause (cold snack), runner bean salad, brawn or sour sheep cheese – by the way, there are more than 800 wine taverns in the Styria, many of them in the Styrian hill country.
Experience Styria with all senses
The delicious Styrian products can not only be tasted, but at many places also directly experienced. There are plenty of culinary day-trip destinations from the north to the south. In some distilleries visitors can watch the brewing process of fine brandies. Also cheese making can be watched in cheese dairies and the craft of beer brewing comes across vividly in many of the Styrian breweries. Sweet gourmets can look gingerbread bakers over their shoulders and learn interesting facts about the processing of chocolate. But you can also help with the grape harvest and taste the excellent Styrian wines.
ORF "Land&Leute: Genussregion - Wo die Käferbohnen wohnen", Broadcast from 11.12.2021, Creator: Gisi Hafner
