Discover Groß-Siegharts: Culture, Textile History and Cycling Routes

Groß-Siegharts offers several distinct themes to help you plan your stay: collections and contemporary art, textile history, and parks, outdoor swimming, hiking and cycling. You can choose your focus depending on whether you are especially interested in historical and craft-related contexts or would rather explore outdoor activities. The themes range from exhibitions to named starting points for hiking and cycling routes.

Culture and History

The First Austrian Savings Bank Museum displays technical exhibits, old documents, historical banknotes and securities, old bookkeeping records, and an old bank counter. The collection therefore includes documents and financial objects as well as technical exhibits and a bank counter. Anyone interested in the history of savings banks will find a range of exhibits here, not just banknotes and securities.

The Groß-Siegharts Art Factory has a gallery that brings national and international contemporary artists to the Waldviertel. The pillory in Groß-Siegharts, erected in 1795, offers a different connection to the past. A dated historical object and a contemporary art gallery thus represent different periods within the town’s cultural offerings.

Textile History from Different Perspectives

The Groß-Siegharts Textile Museum is dedicated to the development of ribbon weaving in Groß-Siegharts and the everyday lives of the people who worked in the trade. Its permanent exhibition covers around 600 m² and includes approximately 1,000 exhibits. The focus therefore combines the history of ribbon weaving with the lives of the people who worked in the industry.

The Sieghartsbergweg trail passes the complex of the former carpet and upholstery fabric mills, a reminder of the great past of Groß-Siegharts’ textile industry. The Waldviertel carpet embroiderers offer another perspective on textile handicrafts: they make carpets by hand from pure sheep’s wool, and each carpet is a unique example of Waldviertel craftsmanship. Groß-Siegharts Castle is also a starting point for the Waldviertel Textile Route. The museum, place of remembrance, craft and route thus each offer a different focus within the theme of textiles.

Castle Park, Outdoor Swimming and Hiking

Groß-Siegharts Castle Park is in the town centre and covers 30,000 m². Its features include mature trees, a duck pond, a children’s playground and a stick-shooting lane. The outdoor swimming pool offers different features: a water slide, a long sandy beach and a large non-swimmer area. The park and pool are distinguished by their respective named facilities and amenities.

The outdoor pool car park is also the starting point for the Groß-Siegharts “Tut gut” hiking routes. This provides a specific starting point for planning your route. When hiking, you can distinguish this starting point from the facilities in the castle park and at the outdoor pool.

Cycling in Groß-Siegharts

The Seebsbach cycling loop is suitable for trekking bikes, city bikes and e-bikes, and connects to the TOP Thayarunde cycling route. This information helps you assess the loop based on the type of bike you use; its connection to the Thayarunde is also specified. Compared with the hiking routes, the focus is different: the outdoor pool car park is named as a starting point for those routes, whereas the cycling loop is described in terms of suitable bike types and its connection to another cycling route.

Discover more destinations: Dietmanns, Vitis, Raabs An Der Thaya, Waldberg, Waidhofen An Der Thaya, Karlstein An Der Thaya

Go to the higher-level travel overview: Waidhofen An Der Thaya.