On the way: Austrian iron road

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On the way: Austrian iron road
Photos: Eisenschink

On the way: Austrian iron road

On the way: Austrian iron road

On the way: Austrian iron road

On the way: Austrian iron road

15th pictures

On the way: Austrian iron road
Iron ham

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The hot KTM iron before the molten iron from the blast furnace.

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Blast furnace tapping at Voestalpine in Linz.

On the way: Austrian iron road
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The picturesque houses in the town of Eisenerz are also worth seeing.

On the way: Austrian iron road
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This time it is not the KTM that gives gas, but the gas boiler.

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The Enns – It is Austria’s ore transport route.

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Traditional iron processing in the Not Valley near Ybbsitz.

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Not only the old forge, but also old mining equipment reminds of earlier times.

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On the Styrian Erzberg, tons of ore is mined using opencast mining.

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The curve paradise in the Salza Valley.

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To change the mobile pedestal: By boat on the wave course on the Salza.

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The gigantic Hauly loader helps with ore mining.

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On the trail of iron production, the route led via Enns and Steyr to the settlement of Austrian heavy industry. In addition to blast furnaces and iron mining, the region offers much more for bikers interested in culture and landscape. Here the Salza reservoir at the Presceny Klause.

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But not only the iron processing is worth a look. The towns along the Eisenstrasse also invite you to take a break. Here the pretty old town in Mauthausen.

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Curvy roads in the middle of a blooming landscape on the way to Radmer.

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The stallion pass is a veritable pass on a mountain circuit around Liezen.

to travel

On the way: Austrian iron road

On the way: Austria
Austrian iron road

No motorcycle without steel. Why not tour Austria on the trail of iron? You can hardly experience steel production in a more curvy way.

Markus Biebricher

09/02/2010

Anyone who drives a motorcycle can hardly avoid the subject of iron and steel, because without this material neither motorcycles nor other vital objects of our civilization would exist. So it is a delightful idea to make steelmaking the subject of a tour. If this mission can be combined with winding roads through attractive landscapes and places, as in Austria, all the better.

“Austria”, so I had recently read that was “the land of waiters and skiers”. Nothing there, because when I direct the KTM Duke along the Danube towards Linz on a sunny afternoon, another character trait of the Alpine republic becomes clear: the premises of Austria’s steel giant Voestalpine stretches across from the river. Blast furnaces, coking plants, gasometers and rolling mills form a bizarre industrial network that is as large as 760 football pitches in terms of area. Austria, which is dominated by tourism, also has a soot-blackened face.

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A short time later I steer the Duke through “Stahlstrasse” and admire the Voestalpine blast furnace backdrop during a factory visit. In the blast furnace “Hot giant” a traditional blast furnace smear is running with molten pig iron at a temperature of 1400 degrees. Outside, on the factory premises, nature cannot be suppressed: 500 plant species exist here, and kestrels nest in the hall roof. When a cub falls out of the nest, the works fire brigade approaches and sets the bird back.

The subject of iron and steel can no longer go, I follow it “115”, the Eisenstrasse, which runs south of the Danube via Enns and Steyr through towns and landscapes with names such as Eisenerz, Eisenwurzen, Gusswerk or Eisenerzer Alpen. Sounds exciting and looks curvy. Instead of iron, only corn and grain fields can initially be seen. Behind Steyr there are blooming alpine meadows and wooded mountain peaks. After Ternberg the first craggy limestone cliffs in wooded mountains. The Enns shines blue-green – almost Caribbean.


On the way: Austrian iron road


Iron ham

Blast furnace tapping at Voestalpine in Linz.

Altenmarkt, Hieflau, I’m right in the middle of the Ennstal and Eisenerz Alps. A few more curves, then comes a gigantic step pyramid that shimmers mysteriously in the afternoon sun: the Erzberg. Ore has been mined here for more than 1200 years. The 1500 meter high mountain has mutated from a densely wooded ridge to a multi-tiered pyramid. The picturesque village of Eisenerz passes by, followed by the Erzbergstuberl, where it is today “Hauly schnitzel with french fries and Erzberg pizza” are. I follow the sign “Erzberg adventure” and get to a show mine with an attached station for one “Hauly adventure ride”.

The Hauly, actually Haulpak, is an eleven and a half meters long, five meters wide, equally high and 55-ton truck. Power: 860 hp. The six drive wheels each have a diameter of 2.60 meters. Its hollow has been rebuilt. Instead of rock containing ore, it now transports 64 visitors. With me the next Hauly adventure ride is filled to the last place. The heavy truck can easily take it, its payload capacity is 77 tons. Greeting with “good luck for”, then the twelve-cylinder begins to roar. Why you have to buckle up becomes clear when you drive off. The Hauly, equipped with six forward and one reverse gears, makes such a jolt that heads fly backwards. Then it goes – another nod when shifting into second gear – with a lot of engine roar over gravel serpentines up to the Drei-Konig floor. 1085 meters. The view is phenomenal and extends over the steps of the pyramid far into the Erzberg Alps. Past the bottle-green Erzbergsee, it goes back to the starting point, time is money – the Hauly eats 55 liters of fuel per hour.

Back in the bike saddle, it is noticeable that the Duke is as stubborn as the Hauly when shifting gears. We ride towards Hieflau. Turn signal left in the village. On the right, the Enns rages through its river bed, on the left, the Ennstal Alps grow monumentally upwards. Weng, Weibenbach, Altenmarkt. The route is so beautiful that I almost miss the junction from Eisenstrasse towards the Hengstpass. After a narrow notch valley of the Wildalpen National Park comes only the one “bottleneck”, then the “Stallion Pass”: Curves at its finest.

A cyclist comes towards me at the Zicker-Reith snack bar, otherwise there is no vehicle to be seen. I curve over Windischgarsten and Phyrnpass to Liezen and advance into the Salzatal via Weng, St. Gallen and Grobreifling. Salza – the name sounds like dance. The route along the bottle-green river has a similar effect. Endless curves. It’s good that the rafters and canoeists who cross the street here are wearing colorful life jackets and wetsuits. As far as Wildalpen, the signs point to water sports. Two thrusts further, in the foundry, the Eisenstrabe with the Montan and Foundry Museum lures me out of the saddle after the long stretch of curves. Up until the beginning of the 19th century there were three blast furnaces around Gusswerk, says Richard Pichler, chairman of the association “Eisenwerk Gusswerk”, but only the iron foundry remained of the coal and steel industry.

On the way: Austrian iron road

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On the way: Austrian iron road


Iron ham

Traditional iron processing in the Not Valley near Ybbsitz.

A sign is waiting behind Gusswerk: “Please drive slowly and quietly!”. OK. Goes slowly. But quietly? I carefully feel my way up the serpentines to the pilgrimage site of Mariazell, which greets me with church bells and the hustle and bustle of tourism. I have to flee north and now experience hairpin bends that not only have numbers but also names. Turn 13 is called “Katzler Reith”. Others call themselves “Otscher Reith” or “Spitzbuben Reith”. After bend 9 I turn left to the loop around the almost 2,000 meter high Grober Otscher. It is lonely here. Only meadows and forest. To the hairpin bends “Moor Reith” and “Donkey bars in Reith” I drive via Puchenstuben to Kienberg and Lunz.

Another detour via St. Georgen, Ybbsitz and Hollenstein, then along the Ybbs back to Mariazell. What a motorcycle route! Then it goes over the Afflenzer Seeberg down to Bruck and along the Mur to Leoben. In the district of Donawitz there is a huge blast furnace backdrop. Here, where there is still steam, hissing and smoking, the Eisenstrasse shows its spectacular side. Stopover in “Shift worker inn”, then I screw myself up to Vordernberg strengthened.

Small birches, spruces and yellow dandelions in bloom emerge from the joints of the Radwerk III blast furnace in Vordernberg, which appears in the sights a short time later. Nature recaptures many a dinosaur from the Iron Age. A museum is housed in the Radwerk IV blast furnace, the only fully equipped charcoal blast furnace in Austria. But I want to go on. Up to the 1225 meter high pass at Prabichl and then again to the Erzberg.

Stopover at the parking lot “Erzbergblick”, from where I can see the 42 steps of the Erzberg pyramid and the yellow Hauly driving around. If afterwards I drive over the Eisenstrasse in the direction of the Danube to the A1 and on to Passau, then I can cover a good 200 kilometers to the German border in around two hours. The Hauly – top speed: 60 km / h – would need twice as long. But could take 77 tons of souvenirs with me.

Info


On the way: Austrian iron road


Drawing: Werel

Travel time: four days – Distance covered: 800 kilometers

It doesn’t always have to be apple strudel and Kaiserschmarrn: Anyone who goes on the trail of iron and steel in Austria can experience a lot. There are great curves for free.

Worth seeing:
You can visit a state-of-the-art interactive exhibition on the world of steel at Voestalpine in Linz. Optionally with a subsequent factory visit. Voestalpine Stahlwelt, Voestalpine Strabe 4, A-4020 Linz, www.voestalpine-stahlwelt.at, phone 00 43-50 30/4 15 89 00. On the Erzberg there is a show mine, Hauly adventure trips and an annual, now famous motorcycle -Rodeo. As of 2011, it will be called “Enduro Xtreme” Have world championship status and are expected to determine the best off-road driver in all disciplines in mid-June. Information: Adventure Erzberg, Erzberg 1, A-8790 Eisenerz, phone 00 43-38 48/32 00, www.ablebnis-erzberg.at. Radwerk IV is the only preserved and fully equipped charcoal blast furnace in Europe and can be visited today as a blast furnace museum. Peter-Tunner-Strabe 2, A-8794 Vordernberg, phone 00 43-38 49/2 38, www.radwerk-vordernberg.at. The Montan- und Gieberei-Museum Gubwerk offers guided tours including exhibition casting and video presentations: Bahnhofstrasse 7, A-8632 Gubwerk, phone 00 43-38 82/26 36, www.kunstguss-gusswerk.at. Exhibits from the world of steel cookers can be found in the Metallurgie-Museum Donawitz, Vordernbergerstrabe 121, A-8700 Loeben, phone 00 43-5 03 04/25 22 61, www. geschichteclubalpine.at. The Fahrngruber Hammer is a former hacking forge from the 16th century, today there are show forges and blacksmithing courses. The old Edmund Fahrngruber is still forging himself. Markt 24, A-3341 Ybbsitz, Telephone 00 43-74 43/8 53 00, www.ybbsitz.at. Further sights on the subject of iron and steel at www.eisenstrassenmuseen.at (Styria) and http://museen.eisenstrasse.info (Lower Austria).

Stay:
The hotel is a chic place to stay in the middle of the pilgrimage town of Mariazell “White deer”, Telephone 00 43-38 82/3 10 76, www.weisser-hirsch.at. In Linz: Hotel Schillerpark near the center, phone 00 43-7 32/69 50, www.austria-trend.at. The Wengerwirt bed and breakfast, A-8913 Weng im Gesause, phone 00 43-36 13/22 70, www.wengerwirt.at is familiar.

Addresses / Maps:
Information from Styria Tourism in Graz, www.steiermark.com, Linz Tourist Association, www.linz.at/tourismus. Further information: www.eisenstrasse.co.at, www.eisenstrasse.info. A map of Eisenstrasse is available from the Steirische Eisenstrasse association, Freiheitsplatz 1, A-8790 Eisenerz, phone 00 43-38 48/36 00

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