Discover Wies

Churches, chapels, trails and geological themes give a stay in Wies a variety of focal points. Wies Church tells the story of a specific period of construction and a special statue of grace; other destinations combine trails with mining, chapels or displays of rock formations. The visiting conditions are also important when planning: the Limberg Mining Experience Museum is accessible by appointment arranged by phone, and the experimental station for specialty crops has a seasonal visiting period.

Churches, Chapels and Architectural History

Wies Church was built between 1774 and 1782 to house the statue of grace known as the “Scourged Saviour of Wies.” It is the work of Marburg architect Johann Fuchs and features Neoclassical elements. Its construction period, commission and architecture give the church a distinct cultural and historical focus. Traditional groups continue to make pilgrimages to the parish church of the “Scourged Saviour of Wies.” Burgstall Castle lies within the conservation zone encompassing Wies’s historic town centre.

The St. Vitus Chapel in Altenmarkt is also a landmark on the “Chapel Trail” themed hiking route. During its restoration, an almost continuous expanse of Gothic frescoes dating from around 1400 was uncovered; it covers 127 square metres. This stop on the trail thus brings together a specific restoration history and an extensive collection of frescoes. The small parish church in Sankt Katharina in der Wiel was built as early as the 15th century. Its furnishings are believed to date from the 17th or 18th century—the dating is explicitly only an assumption.

In Wernersdorf, Emmaus Chapel serves as a sacred space for Mass, devotions, weddings and baptisms. It is also the destination of the Emmaus Walk every Easter Monday: an early-morning pilgrimage in which pilgrims set out from surrounding parishes. If you are interested in religious traditions, the chapel space, described as open year-round, and this annual event offer two distinct points of interest.

Trails, Mining and Plant Diversity

The Limberg Mining Experience Museum is located directly on the “Mining Museum Trail” experience trail. At the museum, you can operate a miner’s drilling machine at the push of a button and recreate the movement of a mine worker’s shovel. Visits are possible by appointment arranged by phone; confirm your appointment before travelling. The “Hans Kloepfer Trail” experience trail leads to Sankt Katharina in der Wiel, where you can visit the “Captive Russian” and the parish church. These two trails have different focal points: one leads directly to the mining museum, while the other goes to Sankt Katharina in der Wiel.

The trials conducted at the experimental station for specialty crops change every year. Visits are possible Monday to Friday from early May to the end of September; check in advance which visiting days work for your trip. The grounds include a garden with 160 small plots. There, visitors can see, smell and taste vegetables, pumpkins, flowers and herbs. The seasonal visiting period and changing trials make this a different planning consideration from the enduring architectural history of the churches.

Rocks, Art and Regional Products

The Wielfresen rock display features 20 blocks and slabs of rock, some weighing several tonnes. Most have been cut and their surfaces polished to reveal the rocks’ interiors. This means the focus is not only on their outer shapes: the prepared surfaces also highlight the structures within the rocks. The rock display is part of the Koralm Kristall Trail network, which focuses on tourism and earth sciences. The Hohl-Felsen Geotrail in Unterfresen is considered one of Austria’s most beautiful eclogite deposits.

Limberg Castle has been well preserved thanks to its renovation and stands on a small hill with views across southwestern Styria. Another artistic highlight is “The 1,000-Year-Old Mirror”: this artwork was created in Aug bei Wies by Viktor Thomas Kröll, an artist from Wies. The distilling museum is housed in an old cellar building dating from 1865 and explains the history of schnapps distilling from antiquity to the present day.

For regional products, the Kronabeter farm dairy at Krass 109, 8551 Wies is a specific place to visit. Its cheese hut is open around the clock and offers regional cheese specialities and farm products directly from the farm. The offerings also include tastings and individually arranged cheese platters. Culinary experiences thus complement the trip’s cultural and historical, botanical and geological themes.

To the overview of the wider destination: Deutschlandsberg.