Bad Großpertholz: Nature, Moor and Crafts

Bad Großpertholz brings together nature and moorland, traditional crafts, local history and a variety of trails. When planning your trip, consider whether you would like to focus mainly on views and scenery, a guided tour that must be booked in advance, or an outing with a specific route.

Moorland and views in Nordwald Nature Park

The Schwarzenberg observation tower near Bad Großpertholz offers sweeping views across the landscape of Nordwald Nature Park. The Pertholzer Moor is a raised bog covering around 2.8 hectares in the market town of Bad Großpertholz in Lower Austria. It consists mainly of characteristic Scots pine bog woodland, with smaller areas of open transitional bog. This means you can enjoy two different kinds of natural scenery here: the expansive view from the tower and the small-scale moorland with its varied areas.

Nordwald Nature Park lies on the western edge of the Waldviertel Highlands between Bad Großpertholz and Karlstift and has a Nordic, Scandinavian character. One of the nature park’s excursion destinations is the “Große Haide” raised bog. Other sights there include the “Exhibition Room on the Life of Woodcutters” and the reconstructed timber-floating channel. Each offers a different perspective: the raised bog showcases the landscape, the exhibition room explores the lives of woodcutters, and the channel tells the story of timber floating.

Crafts, museums and local history

At the Waldviertel Mörzinger Paper Mill, the finest handmade paper is produced in Europe’s last “rag” paper mill. From March to October, you can book a guided tour in advance. Visitors can also make a sheet of paper themselves; arrangements may be required for this activity. If paper-making is an important part of your outing, plan your visit with the advance-booking requirement and seasonal opening period in mind.

The Eder Mill also offers a special guided tour, during which visitors get to know the animals living on the farm and the fishponds. The Eder Mill is more than 400 years old. Arrangements may be required for the tour. The Bad Großpertholz Local History Museum displays a local collection of farm implements and household objects, legal antiquities, documents on local history, religious folk art, and the region’s geology, flora and fauna. The museum’s large lichen collection is considered the largest in Austria.

Another historical landmark is the Trinity Column, also known as the “Plague Column.” It was erected in Bad Großpertholz in 1715, is made of sandstone and is an example of the region’s traditional Baroque style. Together with the collections in the local history museum, it offers a different perspective on the town than the paper mill: here, the focus is on monuments and local history, while the mill showcases the craft of papermaking.

Trails, exercises and train journeys

The Steinbach Trail is a moderately difficult circular route covering 3.93 kilometres and taking 1 hour 15 minutes. The ascent and descent are each 93 metres; the route starts and ends at Kurhotel Bad Großpertholz. The Paper Mill Trail passes the Trinity Column and the wayside shrine of “Brother Konrad,” then descends through the forest to the paper mill. It then climbs back to Bad Großpertholz through the forest, with some steep sections. The trails therefore differ both in their stated length and duration and in their routes: one is a measured circular route, while the other follows named landmarks to the paper mill and back.

The Sehweg is a visual walking trail that starts at Kurhotel Moorbad Bad Großpertholz. At various stations, there are eye exercises for vision and eye coordination. Route details may change, so check the trail before setting out. Another local feature is the Großpertholz healing peat, the first medicinal peloid recognized under the provisions of the 1958 Federal Act in accordance with the Lower Austrian Medicinal Springs and Spa Resorts Act.

Steam and diesel locomotives run on the Waldviertel narrow-gauge railway between Gmünd, Groß Gerungs and Litschau. The route passes through forests and fields, by ponds and striking granite boulders. Steinbach-Bad Großpertholz station is on the railway’s southern branch; nostalgic trains run from there to Gmünd and Groß Gerungs. As operating days may change, check the timetable for your travel dates if you are planning a train journey.

Discover more destinations: Schrems, Sankt Wolfgang, Sankt Martin, Hirschenwies, Hoheneich, Gmünd, Neunagelberg, Eggern.

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