Discover Bad Leonfelden

Bad Leonfelden combines distinctive landscapes with vivid history. Around the European watershed, Sternstein and the historic spa town, there are various ways to spend your holiday: you can explore geological connections, hike along historic routes, learn about traditional crafts or discover sites from the town’s history. When looking for a holiday apartment or holiday home, it is therefore worth deciding on your preferred focus first. Should your stay be shaped primarily by hiking, by culture and local history, or by a mixture of both?

The watershed and Salzstraße as distinctive points of reference

A prominent starting point is the European watershed. There is a round granite slab there that was formerly used as a well stone. At the same time, this place points to a geological peculiarity: the Rodl flows into the Danube and onwards to the Black Sea, while the Granitzbach drains into the Vltava, the Elbe and ultimately the North Sea. This connection becomes particularly tangible for visitors when they not only admire the landscape but also combine it with a hike.

The “Salzstraße” leads from Bad Leonfelden via the European watershed and the Rading border crossing to Hohenfurth. You can use this historic route as a specific reason to plan your day around a longer hike. At the border with the Czech Republic, you will also find the Schwedenschanze, a relic from the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th century. It is reached via the old “Salzstraße” trade route from Bad Leonfelden to Hohenfurth.

Sternstein: views, archaeology and winter sports

Sternstein combines nature and history within a compact thematic area, without this implying a particular route length or walking time. The Sternstein observation tower stands on the 1,125-metre-high Sternstein and was opened on 20 October 1899. Anyone who climbs the tower to the top is rewarded with panoramic views across the Mühlviertel. The Sternstein circular trail also passes the 1,000-m-Platzl, a viewpoint.

The region’s past can also be discovered at Sternstein. The archaeological excavation site Glasöfen can be reached via the Via-Leone hiking trails and is located near the Sternstein circular trail. Structural remains and production waste from medieval and early modern glassworks were excavated there. For a holiday with varied interests, such topics can complement an excursion that is otherwise focused on landscape and physical activity. Sternstein also has a dedicated ascent route for ski tourers and piste skiers.

Moorwald and a town walk

The Moorwald adventure trail offers playful insights into the habitats of forests and moors as well as the Moorwald ecosystem. Those who want to experience nature not merely as a view but as a multifaceted habitat will find an independent focus here. In the town, the town walk follows a circular route with 20 stations through the character and history of the spa town of Bad Leonfelden. It starts at the Stadtplatz Bad Leonfelden bus stop by Hole CityStore and ends at Stadtplatz Bad Leonfelden. This clearly described route can be included in your travel plans as a dedicated day of town and culture.

Traditional crafts and historic school life

Bad Leonfelden also offers encounters with the region’s history of traditional crafts and education. Handblaudruck Wagner is one of the last two hand-printing workshops in Austria, displays a large collection of pattern templates and welcomes visitors to its workshop by prior telephone appointment. The Upper Austrian School Museum is housed in a former school building that was built in 1577 as “DOMUS DISCIPLINAE” and used as a school until 1850. There, you can take part in a “Historic School Lesson” featuring a traditionally dressed “schoolmaster”. Guided tours of the Lebzeltarium are available only by prior registration and for groups of at least five people.

The town’s history also includes the “Eiserne Hand”. The 2-metre-high and 25-centimetre-wide stone pillar presumably marks a fork in the road on the old Salzstraße. During market days, it indicated the royally granted right to hold annual fairs, known as the “Stapelrecht”, while also drawing attention to the “harsher” jurisdiction that applied at the time.

Choose the right holiday accommodation for your travel plans

When searching for accommodation, you can choose Bad Leonfelden based on which of these experiences are intended to shape your holiday. Travellers who want to combine hiking trails, views and historic routes will plan differently from those who want to focus on the town walk, school museum, traditional crafts and guided tours. A holiday apartment or holiday home serves as the starting point for planning your individual days; you should check the specific facilities and location advantages of each accommodation in the relevant listing.

For a further search for places in the directory, you can also view Schild, Sankt Gotthard Im Mühlkreis, Puchenau, Eidenberg, Ottenschlag Im Mühlkreis, Vorderweißenbach, Sankt Magdalena and Reichenau Im Mühlkreis.

To the higher-level travel overview: Urfahr-Umgebung.