A medieval collection of paintings in the lower level of the tower and Baroque furnishings unusually rich for a country church define the Parish Church of St Vitus in Sankt Veit in der Gegend. The local focus is complemented by two trails with different characteristics: the R37 Noric Cycle Path and the Via Natura stage “In the Footsteps of Paracelsus”. For planning your trip, these offer distinct points of interest: church history, a cycling route, and a specific long-distance hiking stage. If you are looking for a holiday apartment, these themes can help you decide what to focus on during your stay.
Parish church and religious tradition
The Parish Church of St Vitus is dedicated to Saint Vitus; its patronal feast is celebrated on 15 June. Its architectural type and individual stylistic features suggest that it was built around 1200 or in the first half of the 13th century. After a fire damaged the church and rectory in 1656, the nave, which until then had a flat ceiling, was renovated in the Early Baroque style. Medieval paintings are located in the lower level of the tower. The church’s Baroque furnishings are considered unusually rich for a country church.
Processions are also part of religious life in St. Veit: they take place in honour of patron saints or on certain occasions. Together with the patronal feast on 15 June, they offer an insight into church traditions that shape the place beyond its individual architectural features.
Protected heritage sites and historic boundaries
The Federal Monuments Authority’s register dated 23 June 2026 lists the cemetery and the St Martin’s charnel house, Velden Castle, the Scheuerer Cross (Village Cross), the Hasler Cross (Guardian Angel Cross), and the war memorial as protected monuments. The listed sites range from the cemetery and charnel house to the castle, crosses, and war memorial, adding other protected places to the picture of the parish church.
The history of the parish area also extends beyond today’s borders: as early as the Late Middle Ages, it reached across the present-day state border and included Althaus, which was already in Carinthia at the time. This historical context places the parish’s development within a wider area without equating its former extent with present-day conditions.
Cycle path and long-distance hiking stage
The R37 Noric Cycle Path runs from the car park in St. Marein bei Neumarkt via Hammerl and Sankt Veit in der Gegend to MĂĽhlen. This makes Sankt Veit a stop on a cycling route connecting several explicitly named places. If you would like to include a cycling trip in your choice of accommodation, you can use this sequence of stops as a guide.
Stage 07 of the Via Natura, “In the Footsteps of Paracelsus”, offers another travel option. This moderately difficult long-distance hiking trail is 23.8 kilometres long and continues from Sankt Veit in der Gegend to the Wildbad thermal spa. Both the difficulty rating and the distance are specified. This distinguishes the stage from the R37, whose route description focuses primarily on the sequence of places.
The choice between cycling and hiking routes therefore comes down to a specific difference: the R37 highlights the named stops, while the Via Natura also specifies a moderate difficulty rating and a distance of 23.8 kilometres. This makes it possible to assess how each route relates to the place according to your planned focus, without treating the cycle route and long-distance hiking stage as equivalent.
The wider travel area
In the wider travel area, the market town of MĂĽhlen places nature and hiking experiences, as well as its location in Zirbitzkogel-Grebenzen Nature Park, in the foreground. The nature park is an important marker of local identity as a nature conservation and recreation area, and provides the basis for a focus on gentle nature and hiking tourism. This regional emphasis adds another perspective for planning a trip to the local history and the two named routes in Sankt Veit.
Discover more destinations: Winklern bei Oberwölz, Murau, Wildbad Einöd, Mühlen, Einach, Mariahof, Zeutschach, Sankt Peter Am Kammersberg
Back to the main travel overview: Murau.
