The "roof of the tour" is visible very early on this mountain bike tour. Experienced mountain bikers and cyclists know that if the highest point of a tour can be seen very early on, it automatically means that there is still a long way to go. So it takes a lot of courage and stamina not to be impressed by this and possibly even to turn back. In any case, the reward for the effort is repaid to the mountain biker many times over. Because anyone who has not yet viewed and enjoyed the Schilcherland from the Schmuckbauerwirt and St. Anna has not yet been here. In a nutshell: the Schmuckbauerwirt - St. Anna tour will be one of the highlights of your cycling holiday in Schilcherland.
The "Schmuckbauerwirt - St. Anna" tour is the cycling tour of your choice if you have
- already have a few annual kilometres in your legs on your racing bike or mountain bike - or own a good e-bike - and fancy a long climb, but which always drops off again after a few steep ramps, giving you time to take in south-western Styria,
- want to get to know the Schilcherland from its quiet, almost deserted side,
- want to visit St. Oswald, one of the most picturesque villages in southern Styria,
- if you want to taste the best sweet cherries, gooseberries, blackcurrants, white and red currants, raspberries or strawberries directly at Koch's Berries during the main harvesting seasons and buy them from the farm,
- want to visit the spectacular 60-metre-high waterfall of the White Sulm,
- and last but not least, if you want to stop at the famous Schmuckbauerwirt and take in a unique new perspective of southwest Styria and Schilcherland from there and St. Anna.
The Schmuckbauerwirt tour is demanding, which can already be seen a little from the tour's key data of 40 kilometres in length and around 1,000 metres in altitude. And it is also well known among connoisseurs of south-western Styria: The climb over the Buchenberg to St. Oswald and then on to the Schmuckbauerwirt is a tough one. It drags on, so to speak. In addition, after only a few kilometres on the ascent of the Buchenberg, you can already see northwest to St. Anna and thus get a good impression of where the tour is heading.
As in "real" life, however, you should not let this rob you of courage. Because especially in cycling and mountain biking the following applies: the way is the goal. And especially this path in the form of the bike tour to the Schmuckbauerwirt and to St. Anna offers a lot. First of all, just the almost unique feature of enjoying an unbelievably wide view of southwest Styria almost throughout the entire tour. On the ascent over the Buchenberg to St. Oswald, you can enjoy the view across to St. Anna, down to Vordersdorf, Wernersdorf and Wies, as well as up to the Soboth and the triangle. The Buchenberg ascent is quite gentle over long stretches with a gradient of around 5%, only in between do a few steeper ramps with 8-10% gradients challenge the thigh muscles a little. So there is plenty of time to enjoy the area.
In St. Oswald, at least a short break at the village square with a view of the church and the beautiful estate of the Prince of Croy family is definitely worthwhile. If you feel like it, you can also drop by the open-air swimming pool and take a plunge in the water.
From St. Oswald, the route goes downhill for a short while, but the experienced cyclist knows: what you cycle downhill before reaching the highest point of the tour, you have to cycle up again later. And that's just how it is in southern Styria. It is not said that you have to cycle the 9 kilometres between St. Oswald and the Schmuckbauerwirt without a break. Even e-bike riders would be advised not to do this. The reason is easily explained: the places you will find along the way are too beautiful, the locations that invite you to linger are too quiet, the berries of the Koch family are too delicious and the waterfall of the Weisse Sulm is too attractive (turn-off signposted to Koch's Beeren). Time for short breaks should be planned if you are not doing the tour in training mode.
At the Schmuckbauerwirt itself (regular closing days are Mondays and Thursdays, opening times may vary from person to person), it pays to stop for a refreshing drink or a snack. It's too beautiful up here to continue straight away.
The same applies to the dreamy little village of St. Anna, which boasts a church, a cosy little village square and an equally wonderful view. Here, too, it pays to take your time on a biking holiday and really immerse yourself in this place and the region.
Last but not least, there is a wonderful downhill from St. Anna via Unterfresen and the Strutz Alpine Inn down to Vordersdorf and Wernersdorf. On this section, it is recommended to make a short detour in Unterfresen to the Gesteinsgarten (rock garden) and to the Alpengasthof Strutz with its Strutz Mühle (mill), known as the winner of the TV programme "9Plätz 9Schätze".
A pleasurable final highlight could be a stop at the Safran - Filatsch inn in Aichberg. Once you have arrived there, you are as good as at the finish line and after a refreshment stop you can relax and cycle back down to Eibiswald without any further exertion.
PS: The choice of bike is easy. Since it is a continuous asphalt trail (except for the few metres to the waterfall of the Weisse Sulm), any mountain bike (mountain bike, gravel bike, road bike) is suitable.