Graz - Piber Stud Farm

35km/22mi west of Graz lies the little mining and industrial town of Voitsberg (394m/1,293ft; pop. 10,000) with its ruined castle above and the charming Kainachtal to the northwest. 6km/4mi further west is Köflach (449m/1,473ft; pop. 13,000), and a good 3km/2mi northeast of Köflach the Piber Stud Farm, where the famous Lipizzaner horses are bred for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna (conducted tours daily in summer). The horses originally came from Spain and were later bred in Lipica in Slovenia; hence their name. The Schloss (1696-1728) has a beautifully arcaded courtyard, and the adjoining Romanesque church is first mentioned in the records in 1066.