Styria has a lot to offer between the alpine north and the hilly south: from the highest mountain, the Dachstein at 2,995 metres above sea level, to the largest contiguous alpine pasture area in Europe and culinary delights in 167 Kulinarium Steiermark establishments or more than 1,000 wine taverns.
With its seed oils and top-quality wines, Styria is Austria’s delicatessen. Impressive mountain scenery in summer and winter and sweeping vineyards make it a natural paradise. Healthy thermal water and crystal-clear spring water are more valuable than ever as healthy elements. And its baroque and modern buildings lend Graz a touch of sophistication.
Styria stands for variety, but above all for the enjoyment of diversity in 11 adventure regions.
Four very different types of landscape characterise the Green Heart and mean enjoyment from glaciers to wine as well as excitement from the night race in Schladming to Formula 1 in Spielberg. This 5,838 metre difference in altitude between the highest point on the Dachstein (2,995 m) and the lowest with the Vulkania spring (2,843 m deep) in Rogner Bad Blumau offers precisely the variety that locals and guests alike appreciate. It enables the Styrians to enjoy a lively exchange within their own country between the mountainous north, the urban centre with Graz and the pleasurable south – and it offers guests a colourful range of possibilities within short distances, e.g. Bad Aussee-Bad Radkersburg in 236 km.
From Graz, the cultural capital with the largest population, to Mariazell, the largest in terms of area, to Hohentauern, the smallest and highest municipality, towns and their cultural assets are ideal starting points for getting to know Styria, its history and the traditions that still characterise Styrians today.
From the Lipizzaners to the Erzberg, from Riegersburg Castle to Herberstein Garden Castle and its animal kingdom, from the more than 200-year-old Joanneum, Austria’s first museum, the World Heritage Sites to the Kunsthaus Graz and the modern architecture of the wineries: a rich history and contemporary art treasures ensure a high quality of encounter with both the past and the present.
Between the Dachstein, Gesäuse, Hochschwab, Zirbitzkogel and Almenland, between the Ausseerland lakes and the floodplains of the Mur river in particular, the Green Heart is the most densely wooded and therefore greenest province in Austria with 805 million trees.
These landscapes, especially in the north of the country, are ideal for hiking, cycling, skiing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and ski touring … or simply just to admire.
The delicatessen of Austria. The orchard of Austria. Whatever Styria is called: It is, especially in the south, the most fertile federal state in Austria, producing a wide variety of high-quality delicacies from apples to Swiss stone pines – and wine for two and a half thousand years.
And the people of Styria are well aware of this treasure, which is centred around the culinary trilogy of wine, pumpkin (pumpkin seed oil) and apple, which contributes significantly to the Styrian attitude to life.
| Location | South-east of Austria |
| Area: | 16.401 km2 (61.34 % forest), second largest federal state in Austria |
| Population: | 1.265.198 inhabitants (as of 01/01/2023) |
| State capital: | Graz (second largest city in Austria): 298.479 inhabitants (as of 01/01/2023) |
| Climate zones: | Alpine climate in the north, Pannonian climate zone in the south |
| Highest point: | 2.995 m (Hoher Dachstein) |
| Lowest point: | 200 m (Mur east of Bad Radkersburg) |
| Longest river: | Mur – 290.9 km (in Styria) |
| Largest lake: | Grundlsee (4.3 km2) |
| Topografy: | The north is (high) alpine, in the centre the landscape is characterised by the largest contiguous alpine pasture area in Europe and the Graz Basin, in the south the hills of the vineyards alternate with the flat plains of the Thermenland. Around 60% of Styria is covered by forest (that’s 850,000,000 trees). |
| National colours: | White & Green |
| Arrival: | By plane to Graz (for the south) or Salzburg (for the northern regions); by train via Munich-Salzburg-Graz; by car via the A8 motorway |
