Climbing Mount Mugel and Mount Rosseck in the Levanttal Alps

A hike in the eastern part of the Gleinalpe Mountains

Starting point

There are several ways to get to Mugel—by train to Niklasdorf or Leoben. By car, park at the forest parking lot in Niklasdorfgraben or below Kirlalm.
 

Description of the hike

This time I’m traveling by train. The district town of Bruck an der Mur is a major railway hub on the line between Vienna and Graz, accessible by express train in about 3 hours from Brno and 6 hours from Prague. It takes just as long by car. From Bruck, I take a local train toward Judenburg and get off at the very next stop, Niklasdorf.

There are several marked hiking and biking trails leading to Mugel (1,630 m). The most popular route is the loop trail starting from the north, from the parking lots at approximately 800 m above sea level, with an elevation gain of 800 m to the summit. From the valley near the train station, the elevation gain is about 300 m greater. The trail climbs steeply up the northern, deforested part of the hill—the Ochsenstall alpine pasture. In mid-April, thousands of white crocuses bloom here, making the slopes look as if they’ve been dusted with sugar. From the alpine pasture, you can already see the Mugel Sender transmitter. The views are fantastic—the eastern range of the Alps from the Vienna Alps—Schneeberg, Raxalpe, Hochschwab, Eisenerz Alps, Seckau Tauern, Gleinalpe, and Zirbitzkogel. You can see almost the entire Murtal—the valley of the Mur River.

From the transmitter, there is just a short climb to the Mugel Schutzhaus, which is open year-round. From Mugel, you can hike over to the adjacent, slightly higher Rosseck (1,664 m). The views from there are also beautiful, especially to the south toward the Grazer Bergland—the hilly landscape surrounding Graz. The prominent hills to the west and southeast are Rennfeld, Hochlantsch-Rote Wand, and Graz’s local mountain, the Schöckl. I consider the descent from Rosseck toward Kirlalm to be the most beautiful section of the route—an alternation of forest and pastures, with views in every direction.

In the saddle below Kleines Rosseck is a small hut with a spring and a self-service bar. On the meadow above the hut, you can pick up another marker for the Kleines Roßeck peak. Kirlalm, with its cherry trees in bloom and views of the Eisenerz Alps, has an almost fairy-tale-like, idyllic atmosphere. From there, the route continues along forest and field paths toward Oberaich in the valley. Farmsteads and old farm buildings are scattered across the green slopes. I return to Bruck via a path across the Murinsel. Here, the Mur flows alongside the Oberwasserkanal, with small stone beaches and light-colored floodplain forests lining the banks. In Bruck, the main square, Koloman-Wallish Platz, and the ruins of Landskron Castle with its Uhrturm clock tower are worth seeing.
 

Difficulty

Last spring, I was captivated by the Gleinalpe Mountains near Graz (Styria), a subrange of the Lavanttal Alps. The grassy, rounded peaks, which reach just under 2,000 meters above sea level, offer sweeping views and have no exposed sections, making them ideal for the start of the season. In the eastern part, I encountered almost no one, and I was delighted by a local landmark—the white mountain church of Our Lady of the Snows on Gleinalm at 1,600 meters above sea level. A year later, I visited the western part between the district towns of Leoben and Bruck an der Mur. This area is more accessible to tourists, but you can still experience peaceful stretches and the typical landscape of mountain meadows and pastures here as well.
 

Water availability

Refreshments are available at Mugelschutzhas or at the self-service bar in the saddle below Kleines Rosseck.
 

Sleeping options

On the Mugel Schutzhaus route, there is plenty of lodging in the valley.
 

Mountain peaks

The hikes to the peaks of Mugel and Rosseck offer views of the eastern Alpine range—the Schneeberg, Raxy, Windberg, Hochschwab, Eisenerzer Alps, Seckauer Alps, Zitbitzkogel, Gleinalpe, and Grazer Bergland.
 

Danger

The route is safe; the section past Rosseck is heavily trafficked, while the descent via Kirlalm is quieter. 
 

Food

The Mugel Schutzhaus is located along the route; there are plenty of restaurants and snack bars in the valley, in Leoben and Bruck.
 

Attractions

If you’re returning by train, I recommend making a two-hour stop in Semmering between two express trains. Semmering Kurort is to Austrians what Karlovy Vary is to us. It’s a mountain town with beautiful spa buildings and Swiss-style villas. Semmering is also a household name among railway enthusiasts. Semmering’s hallmark features are its stone railway viaducts and tunnels carved into the rocks, through which trains pass one after another, with the snow-capped Raxalpe and Schneeberg mountains towering above. The 20 Schilling Blick is iconic—a viewpoint whose image once adorned the 20-schilling banknote (the schilling was the Austrian currency before the introduction of the euro).