Hiking in Vienna
My name is Anna and I have been working at the Austria Classic Hotel Wien for over 30 years. Today I'm taking you on a very special excursion.
To the highest point in Vienna
If you ask the Viennese about the highest elevation in Vienna, many answer with "the Kahlenberg". No, it's not like that! Not the Kahlenberg with an altitude of 484 meters is the highest elevation in the city of Vienna, but the Hermannskogel. It towers over the Kahlenberg by 58 m and is 542 meters above sea level! On the Hermannskogel there is a rather unknown lookout point, but on closer inspection it is enthroned very impressively on the summit of the Hermannskogel’s. It is the Habsburg observatory. It was built in the form of a medieval defense tower in 1888 and, including the pointed tower, rises 27 meters into the sky. When you stand in front of her and look up at her, you feel as though you have been transported back to the Middle Ages. The fundamental point of the Austrian national survey, which was determined by the k & k military geographic institute in 1892, is located on the viewing platform of the round tower at 16.7 meters.
The Habsburg Observatory
The Habsburgwarte is only open from the beginning of April to the end of October and only when the weather is nice on Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays and public holidays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can reach this point with a short hike of about 30 minutes from "Grüass Di a Gott Wirt", which is located directly on the historic Viennese Höhenstrasse. I felt right at home at this inn! There I, a person from the country, heard a rooster crow for the first time in over 25 years, which I have been living in Vienna :) Chickens are cackling around wildly and a sign indicates that the dogs should be kept on a leash here. All hikers feel warmly welcomed with a stop at the “Grüass Di a Gott Wirt” and as “well known”.
City hiking trails in Vienna
A stop here is only allowed if you make some physical effort beforehand (that's my opinion) and therefore I recommend exploring city hiking trail 2, which after about 1.5 hours leads past the “Grüass Di a Gott Wirt” and then over the Hermannskogel and Cobenzl (here you should definitely visit the Lebensbaumkreis and the Sisi Chapel) ends again at the starting point in Sievering. Of course, you can end the hike at Cobenzl and take the 38A bus to Heiligenstadt and from there take the U4 and U1 back to the Austria Classic Hotel Wien.
Stadtwanderweg (hiking trail) Nr. 2
A ten-kilometer hike, starts in Sievering at the end of the bus route 39. You should allow around 3-4 hours for this hike. From the terminus of bus route 39, which runs from Heiligenstadt to Sievering, you follow Agnesgasse, past nice taverns and wine taverns. After about two hours you will reach the Hermannskogel. The way back leads across the sky and the Cobenzl. You are sure to have a wonderful hiking experience with lots of impressions!
The Wiener Stadtwanderweg 2 - Hermannskogel is a popular circular hiking trail with forest sections, vineyards and numerous refreshment stops. Distance: 9.7 km (easy hike) Duration: 3 hours and 30 minutes Start and course: in Sievering at the end of the bus route 39A. Then you go through the Agnesgasse - Salmannsdorfer Höhe - Häuserl am Stoan - Grüass-di-a-Gott-Wirt to the Hermannskogel and the Habsburgwarte (542 m). Via the Jägerwiese - Gasthaus zum Agnesbrünnl (stamp office) - At the Kreuzeiche - Cobenzl - Am Himmel - Gspöttgraben - Sieveringer Straße - you come back to Sievering.
I hope you enjoy your discovery tour.
Anna
