The mill ruins in Hartberg
The Brühlbach is Hartberg’s most important stream, supplying the whole town with water. And yet, few know of its existence because it’s mostly invisible. It disappears underground at the town gates, flows under the main square unseen and only reappears at the other end of the town.
Meanwhile, the Brühlbach reveals the immense power it holds on the nearby Ringkogel, Hartberg’s local mountain. In the past, the stream powered two saws and eleven mills. One of the mills, the 500-year-old Posch mill, is still intact and can be toured.
The other mills can be visited as ruins along the Brühlbach on an idyllic hike through the nature reserve. If you go for a walk under the shady canopy and listen to the lively babbling of the stream, you will quickly feel refreshed.
The vast “underworld” of Eastern Styria
Discover underground facilities and passages from ancient times in Eastern Styria. The area around Vorau, Pöllau and Miesenbach is a veritable hub of old, artificially created underground systems in Central Europe.
So far, around 790 underground systems — passages and tunnels — from different eras have been rediscovered, and there’s no end to these discoveries in sight just yet. Some of these facilities go as far back as 10,400 years. Some rock passages date back to the Middle Ages and the modern era or were expanded in these epochs.
A guided tour gives access to some of these corridors and the interesting objects contained in them; a great opportunity to learn more about the fascinating testimonies of ancient cultures.
