On the summit of the Semmering pass, which separates the Vienna basin from the Mürztal and marks the boundary between Lower Austria and Styria, lies the hotel and villa colony of Semmering, a popular health and winter sports resort. The scattered settlement is surrounded by forest covered plateaus and sunny hillsides. There was a bridleway over the Semmering pass as early as the 12th C. The first road was constructed in 1728, during the reign of Charles VI, improved in 1839-42 and further improved and modernized in 1956-58.
A toll road (6km/4mi; max. gradient 14%, 1 in 7) winds southeastward from the Semmering pass to the Sonnwendstein (1,523m/4,997ft; Alpenhaus), from which there are magnificent views of the Rax and the Schneeberg, the Alpine foreland and the Semmering railroad far below.
Chairlifts run up from the summit of the Semmering pass to the Hirschenkogel (1,342m/4,344ft) and from Maria Schutz to the Sonnwendstein (1,523m/4,997ft; upper station 1,481m/4,859ft).
Situated at an altitude of 1,000m/3,280ft, Semmering, on the boundary between Lower Austria and Styria, 90km/56mi south of Vienna, is a mountain resort with a long tradition. A track over the pass existed as long ago as the 12th C. The present pass (modernized 1956-58) was developed from a road which Charles VI had laid out in 1728 and which was extended and enlarged in 1839-42. A trip on the Semmering railroad is also very agreeable; this the first large scale mountain railroad in Europe, was constructed in 1848-54 by Karl von Ghega. It passes through 15 tunnels and crosses deep gorges on 16 arched viaducts, some of them consisting of several storys. The maximum gradient is 1 in 40. Chairlifts go up from the top of the pass to the Hirschenkogel (1,324m/4,345ft) and from Maria Schutz to the Sonnwendstein (1,523m/4,998ft). A toll road leads from the pass to the Sonnwendstein from which there is a wonderful view of Rax and Schneeberg, the Alpine foreland and the Semmering railroad far below.
The Semmeringbahn, the first major mountain railroad in Europe, was built between 1848-54 by Karl von Ghega (1802-60). It passes through 15 tunnels and crosses 16 deep gorges on viaducts (some of them of several levels). The maximum gradient is 1 in 40; the summit tunnel (with a parallel tunnel opened in 1952) is 1,430m/1,564yds long and reaches a height of 897m/2,943ft.
From the Sonnwendstein (southeast of the Semmering pass) there is a rewarding mountain walk (four and a half hours) southeastward to the Hochwechsel (1,743m/5,718ft), the highest peak in the Wechsel massif (gneiss), which is a popular winter sports area, reached from the health resort of Mönichkirchen (967m/3,173ft) on the road from Vienna to Graz.
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