Weg zur Ruine Prandegg

Route
Gutau - Falbenstein - Riedlhammerl - Haselmühle - Prandegg - Umertalmühle - Hainberg - Gutau

This commuter trail leads to one of the largest castles in the country, covering quite a few metres of ascent and descent. The reward is a marvellous view from the accessible fortress tower and a stop at the rustic tavern (www.taverne-prandegg.at), where you can also spend the night in the newly built pilgrims' bunks.
From the starting point at the car park next to the Zeugfärberei dye works, the route heads uphill. Via Hainbergstraße, past the small settlement, a meadow path leads to the Höller-Stadel. This marks a crossroads where you need to branch off to the left and then turn right onto the Falbenstein goods road. At the end of the small village, the end of the goods road is reached and hikers now switch to the gravel and forest path down into the Aisttal valley to the Riedlhammer power station. This productive small power station has a long history, which began as a blacksmith's and armourer's shop for the knights of Prandegg. If you keep left, you cross the Stampfenbach and Waldaist streams and come across the so-called Uhu rock with a small chapel. This marks the meeting of three municipal borders - Gutau, Schönau and St. Leonhard. A short rest is in order, because from now on the route climbs significantly again - first along the Pehersdorf goods road, past the climbing garden at Mönchstein, and then after a left turn to Haselmühle, right again along a beautiful forest path to the small car park, where those excursionists who only want to climb the last one and a half kilometre stretch to the Prandegg ruins can stop. The destination - Prandegg castle and tavern - can therefore also be used as a starting point for a shuttle walk to Gutau and back.