Sankt Marein in the Mürztal – Rennfeld and Maria Rehkogel

If you are looking for a hotel, two different highlights can help you plan a stay in Sankt Marein in the Mürztal: Rennfeld, with its broad high plateau, and the pilgrimage tradition of Maria Rehkogel. You can plan your trip around whether you are mainly interested in the summit setting and hiking trails or in the history of the pilgrimage site.

Rennfeld: Summit and High Plateau

At 1,629 m above sea level, Rennfeld is the westernmost summit of the Fischbach Alps in Austria’s Upper Styria. It lies in the wedge between the Mur and Mürz rivers; its summit also marks the highest point of Sankt Marein in the Mürztal. The municipal boundaries of Sankt Marein in the Mürztal, Bruck an der Mur and Pernegg an der Mur also meet there.

Rennfeld forms a broad high plateau oriented from west to east. At 1,620 m above sea level, a few metres below the summit, stands the Ottokar-Kernstock refuge; a radio relay station is also located there. One variant of the Central Alpine Trail crosses the summit of Rennfeld.

Hiking Trails and Ascents

The ascents described here vary in their starting points and directions: from Bruck an der Mur to the west, trails climb via Kaltbachgraben and Glanzgraben; from Kapfenberg to the north, via Frauenberg; from Pernegg an der Mur to the southwest, via Gabraun-Graben; and from Breitenau am Hochlantsch to the southeast. These ascents involve around 1,000 to 1,200 metres of elevation gain.

Another hiking route leads from Sankt Marein in the Mürztal to the Ottokar-Kernstock-Haus and passes the pilgrimage church of Maria Rehkogel. If you are planning a hike, check the current trail conditions before setting out.

Maria Rehkogel and the Pilgrimage Tradition

The pilgrimage site of Maria Rehkogel is in Frauenberg, in Sankt Marein in the Mürztal. Pilgrimages there have been a tradition for centuries and continue to this day. Its building history also goes back a long way: a chapel was built on Frauenberg in 1354; in 1489, it was replaced by a church in the Late Gothic style.

The church was later extended in the Baroque style in 1769. In 1775, an organ by Anton Römer, with 19 stops and 872 pipes, was added. The architectural features of the Marian shrine include several altars and pulpits, as well as artistically designed rib vaults.

Other religious landmarks add to the picture of Sankt Marein: the parish church of St. Anne is dedicated to Saint Anne. The Chapel of St. Sebastian is in the old cemetery and was built around 1490.

Discover more destinations: Spital am Semmering, Neuberg, Mürzhofen, Veitsch, Kapellen, Semmering, Mürzzuschlag, Kindberg.

Back to the main travel overview: Mürzzuschlag.