Andritz Ursprung

The Andritz-Ursprung is a karst spring in the southern Grazer Bergland of Styria. It lies in the municipality of Stattegg on the edge of the Schöckl massif, at 401 metres above sea level. A stone wall built in the 16th century still surrounds the quaking pool where the water rises. The site is privately owned and can only be viewed by prior arrangement.

The spring is the largest of its kind in the region, with an average flow of 210 litres per second and a recorded peak of 1,640 litres per second in 1938. Its constant temperature of 10 °C comes from deep within the limestone, and the water’s turquoise hue is caused by a particular algae covering the pool. Erzherzog Karl II began trout farming here in 1570, and the pool remains stocked today in adjacent ponds.

Visitors find a small fenced basin fed by the spring, with a sheer rock face rising behind it. A marble tablet marks the visit of Emperor Franz I in 1830. The German Jakob-Lorber Society owns the land and runs a meeting house nearby. The outflow feeds the Andritzbach, which in turn helps recharge the groundwater used by Graz.