Mürztal

The Mürztal is a broad valley carved by the river Mürz in the north-east of Styria. It begins where the Kalte Mürz and Stille Mürz join near the border with Lower Austria and widens as it turns south-east past Mürzzuschlag. The upper section, called the Neubergertal, is a steep Alpine gorge with the Mürzer Oberland nature park. Below Wartberg the valley opens into a wide trough between the Fischbacher and Mürztaler Alps.

The valley has long been one of Austria’s key industrial regions because of its water, forests and proximity to the Erzberg iron ore. Major firms such as Böhler-Uddeholm and Norske Skog still operate here. The Semmering motorway and the Südbahn railway run through the valley, linking Upper Styria with the Vienna basin. A cycle path follows the Mürz from Mürzsteg all the way to Bruck.

Visitors find a landscape of gentle meadows, wooded slopes and scattered towns like Kindberg, Kapfenberg and Bruck. The valley floor is often misty in winter while the surrounding ridges catch more sun. Old postcards and photographs show how the river once powered mills and factories that shaped the region’s history.