Discover Maria Enzersdorf

Maria Enzersdorf lies in the southeastern Vienna Woods, right on the outskirts of the metropolis of Vienna. Nature park trails on Kalenderberg, the history of Liechtenstein Castle, Baroque architecture, museums and religious sites offer different ways to shape your stay. You can plan which ones you would like to explore by looking at the specific places and their history.

Föhrenberge Nature Park and its trails

Maria Enzersdorf is one of the nature park communities with land within Föhrenberge Nature Park. Kalenderberg, often simply called “Liechtenstein,” is part of this extensive nature park. Numerous circular and hiking trails on Kalenderberg lead to viewpoints and sights, with places to rest along the way. These include the castle and palace of Liechtenstein, artificial ruins, the amphitheater, Pfefferbüchsel and the Black Tower.

The two “Tut Gut!” walking routes also differ in character: Route 1 is a relaxed circular walk through the forest and past Liechtenstein Castle. Route 2 is a short tour through Maria Enzersdorf’s industrial area. If you are looking for another way to get active, the recreation area offers opportunities for play, sports and relaxation. It has been open to the public since 1988 and includes, among other things, a beach volleyball court, two soccer fields and a pump track.

Liechtenstein Castle and its surroundings

Today, Liechtenstein Castle is considered one of the most significant castle buildings of the Historicist period. It is the ancestral castle of the House of Liechtenstein and closely connected with its almost nine-hundred-year history. Tours of the rooms have been offered since 1812; today, the castle can be visited almost all year round and welcomes all curious visitors.

You can reach the castle on bus route 262 from Mödling toward Gießhübl; get off at the Maria Enzersdorf Siedlungsstraße stop. Check the timetable before setting out. Nearby, individual structures also tell the story of how Kalenderberg was landscaped: The amphitheater is an artificial ruin in the Austrian pine forest, built in 1810 by Prince Johann I of Liechtenstein as a lookout point. The access to the amphitheater has been walled off for safety reasons. Pfefferbüchsel consists of the remains of the walls of the Chapel of St. John, or Pilgrims’ Chapel, which the same prince had built in the Austrian pine forest on Kalenderberg in 1818.

Palaces and museums

Hunyadi Palace is a late Baroque, three-winged palace complex with remarkable stucco work and paintings. A park with mature trees surrounds the palace, which now serves as an event venue for concerts and theater performances. The small palace on the meadow offers a different architectural accent: Its exterior and interior feature rich elements of the Baroque and early Austrian Rococo styles.

The marble hall of the small palace features a ceiling fresco by Johann Georg Schmidt (1694–1765), known as the “Vienna Schmidt.” It bears the date 1730 alongside his signature and depicts the “Triumph of Art and Trade.” At St. Gabriel Mission House, the Missionary Ethnographic Museum uses numerous valuable exhibits to illustrate the distinctive features of foreign cultures and the order’s missionary work. If you would like to visit this museum, check the current visiting arrangements beforehand.

The Maria Enzersdorf Fire Brigade Museum displays historic equipment and documents, alarm systems, and mementos and keepsakes from the work of the volunteer fire brigade. The exhibits include the founding minutes with team photographs, a fire brigade bicycle and two rare vehicles: a 1948 Dodge Canada and a 1967 Opel Blitz. The collection thus brings together documents and the history of emergency response with actual vehicles and equipment.

Pilgrimage history, cemetery and poetry

Religious history is also present at several sites. The Maria Enzersdorf Franciscan monastery is the first stop on the Via Sacra from Vienna to Mariazell. The pilgrimage to “Mary, Health of the Sick” has been held since 1730; the interior of the Maria Enzersdorf parish church features Rococo characteristics.

The Romantic Cemetery gained significance beyond the region because it is the burial place of numerous members of Vienna’s Romantic circle. Among them was the Redemptorist priest Clemens Maria Hofbauer (1751–1820), who was later canonized. The cemetery chapel was built in 1785 by Josef Penkler, then owner of the Liechtenstein estate. The Franciscan burial ground has been located on the east side of the chapel since 1870.

Another cultural site is the Poetry Park in the town hall park. Since autumn 2020, poems from various periods, from the Middle Ages to the present day, have been displayed there; the park is considered unique in the German-speaking world. Together with its historic buildings, the Poetry Park offers a literary perspective on the town’s cultural history.

Discover more destinations: Münchendorf, Guntramsdorf, Mödling, Hennersdorf Bei Wien, Brunn Am Gebirge, Hinterbrühl, Gaaden, Wiener Neudorf.

Go to the main travel overview: Mödling.