Upper Styria

Upper Styria lies in the north-west of Austria’s Styria region, a land of high mountains and dense forests. The Stubalpe and Gleinalpe ranges separate it from the flatter, more urban south-east around Graz. Five districts make up the area: Murau, Liezen, Murtal, Leoben and Bruck-Mürzzuschlag. Between Judenburg and Mürzzuschlag the Mur and Mürz rivers carve a valley where industry sits alongside farmland. Far to the north-west, the village of Altaussee belongs to the Salzkammergut cultural landscape. This is a region where agriculture and tourism shape daily life. The Mur-Mürz valley has long been an industrial corridor, while the surrounding hills support dairy farms and alpine meadows. The Salzkammergut’s lakes and salt traditions touch the north-western edge of Upper Styria. Visitors find quiet villages, high pastures and old salt-working towns that still echo their industrial past. A traveller can follow the Mur river upstream from Bruck, passing Leoben’s old town centre. In Murtal the road climbs to Murau, gateway to the Upper Mur valley and its ski resorts. Liezen leads to the Gesäuse National Park, where limestone cliffs frame hiking trails. Altaussee offers a clear mountain lake and salt-mine tours, while the valleys around Judenburg recall the ironworks that once powered the region.