From Schwarzach via St. Veit to St. Johann
The fastest route to this destination
From Schwarzach via St. Veit to St. Johann
The sunny hike connects three very different communities and also follows a short section of Thomas Bernhard’s footsteps.
At the forecourt of Schwarzach station, among the parked cars, a steam locomotive from 1927 draws attention to the importance of the place as a major railway junction. Right next door, the remarkable “Tauernbahn Museum” invites you to delve deeper into this interesting subject. While one of the most important north-south railway connections via the Gastein Valley starts from Schwarzach, guests recover one floor above on the sunny terrace of St. Veit from illness and strains. Thomas Bernhard was one of them; he described his experiences in the Grafenhof lung sanatorium in the novel “The Cold. An Isolation.” The listed old building is still preserved, but modern treatment centers have been built next to it. The second part of the hike leads to a fantastic viewpoint overlooking the Salzach Valley and St. Johann. After a steep forest descent, the hike appropriately ends at the station.
moderate
2h 5min
6.97 km
Family-friendly
A to B
Multi-day tour
Sankt Veit im Pongau
Seasons
Directions
The starting point is Schwarzach – St. Veit station. Our route leads over the Salzach bridge into the town centre, then crosses the stream on the right-hand side, continuing along Vinzenzstraße past the parish church, the Cardinal Schwarzenberg Clinic, and the cemetery, now following path 25 steeply uphill through the Schönrain district to St. Veit. At the lower end of the pretty market square, the Thomas Bernhard path branches off to the right and leads past the sports field to the Seelacken Museum. The former lake has almost entirely turned into a fen, but it is still enough for a few wild ducks. The Thomas Bernhard path leaves to the left after the last pond and leads up to the state clinic, but our path 22 to St. Johann turns right and then immediately left again. A 1.5 km driveway runs to the last farmstead; a few metres past the chapel, a short path leads to the rest area “Zur Schönen Aussicht” (750 m above sea level). Back on path 22, a steep descent through the forest follows, which becomes a flat country road at Vorderstallnhof. Protected by a noise barrier, the last, now no longer marked, section of the path remains on the left side of the federal road until shortly after the Jet petrol station, where a road underpass allows a safe crossing. Turning left, St. Johann station can be reached in a few minutes.
Information & contact
Mag. Christian Heugl
5400 Hallein
christian.heugl@gmail.com
Image credit: Christian Heugl
By public transport
By train or bus to Schwarzach-St. Veit station (forecourt). Return by train or bus from St. Johann im Pongau station.
Interval, frequency: numerous connections to the aforementioned stations, including Sundays and holidays!
Timetable information and download: Online at www.salzburg-verkehr.at or on your smartphone via the free Salzburg Verkehr app for Android and iOS.
Route profile
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