Steinfeld: Churches, Mining and Cycling Routes

Steinfeld offers several specific points of interest to consider when planning a trip: church art, architectural history and traces of mining sit alongside a museum about life in the past century. Walking and cycling can also be part of your plans. The Rottensteiner Bauernweg and the Bienenwanderweg differ in length and number of stations; cyclists can also join the Drau Cycle Path in the municipality. When looking for a hotel in Steinfeld, you can therefore consider whether you would like to focus your stay more on cultural history or on walking and cycling.

Churches, frescoes and a mining-influenced townscape

The Filialkirche hl. Georg (St George’s Branch Church) is located in Gerlamoos. Its fresco cycle was created around 1480 by Thomas von Villach and is arranged in three bands, each about 1.40 metres high. A fresco cycle is a sequence of related wall paintings. Its three-part arrangement and nearly uniform height are specific features of the work, alongside the artist and approximate period of creation. For those interested in cultural history, both the paintings and their clear arrangement are central.

The parish church of Steinfeld-Radlach offers a different architectural accent. It is a Baroque-style choir-tower church dating from the 14th century. The term “choir-tower church” describes a building type in which the tower stands above the choir; “Baroque-style” describes the Baroque design of a church of medieval date. Compared with the branch church in Gerlamoos, the focus here is therefore on architectural form and design, while the fresco cycle stands out at the church in Gerlamoos.

The Singerhof also offers a way to explore local history: it is one of the mining-related buildings that still shape Steinfeld’s townscape today. Alongside church art and architectural history, it points to mining as part of the area’s past and to buildings that make this history visible in the townscape.

Museum and walking routes in Steinfeld

The “Im Laufe der Zeit” (Over the Course of Time) Museum gives visitors insights into life in Steinfeld in the past century. It complements the themes of church architecture, frescoes and a mining-influenced townscape with a perspective on life in the town. Those interested in Steinfeld’s cultural history can thus explore its individual buildings, artistic decoration, mining history and a look back at life in the past century.

Two walking routes can be compared by length. The Rottensteiner Bauernweg is four kilometres long. The Bienenwanderweg in the Upper Drau Valley is one kilometre long and has eight experience stations. In a direct comparison of length, the Bienenwanderweg is three kilometres shorter; its experience stations are an additional feature that sets it apart from the Rottensteiner Bauernweg. When planning your trip, both the route length and, for the Bienenwanderweg, the number of stations provide specific points of reference.

Cycling and the regional setting

Cyclists can join the Drau Cycle Path in the municipality of Steinfeld. Steinfeld is also in the Upper Drau Valley “Outdoor Park” and offers a variety of leisure activities in the Hohe Tauern National Park region. This brings together different scales for planning: individual cultural sites, two routes with specific lengths, and access to a cycling route, complemented by the wider regional leisure offering.

When looking for a hotel in Steinfeld, you can first decide what you would like to focus on during your stay: are you especially interested in church art and local history, or would you like to include walking and cycling? The differences between the cultural themes and the routes described provide specific points of reference for planning your trip.

Discover more destinations: Weissensee, Rennweg Am Katschberg, Söbriach, Döbriach, Berg Im Drautal, Teuchl, Baldramsdorf, Napplach

See the overview of the wider region: Spittal An Der Drau.