Annaberg is a small town in the South of Lower Austria.
Since Austria is located in the Lower Austrian Limestone Alps, there is also a nice family skiing area in Annaberg.
Since all the seats in the restaurant at the skilift near the Raidl-Hütte have been reserved for a group yesterday, I walked to the center of the town to eat lunch there.
From the parking at the main road B20 (this is the road from St. Pölten to Mariazell)…
I walked up the ascending walking path.
There is also an educational nature trail on the mountain.
The way from here to the center of Annaberg has a length of about 1.5 kilometers. There are sufficient signposts along the way.
First there is a right bend,…
later on a left bend. Here you have to follow the way. For the walk to the peak of the mountain, that is by the way called "Ginsel", you would have to turn off left.
There is a rather big wooden wayside cross at the left-hand side.
Then the way descends and joins another way coming from the right.
Soon you will be able to look down to the main road B20 and see the first houses of the village.
Then you will reach the village. At the end of the 12th century, a castle is said to have existed here, but there are no remains of it anymore. At the beginning of the 13th century, the village was founded and a chapel consecrated to St. Anna has been built.
The chapel soon became a pilgrimage destination. Through the century, chapel was expanded to a church and converted several times. Since 1753 it has today's appearance.
At the Gemeindeamt (municipal office), you have to turn right.
Then you walk down to the main road B20. Unfortunately the church has been closed so I was not able to make photos from the interior.
I got lunch at the Gasthaus Meyer. This inn is in typical alpine style. The menu offered a good variety of food. The service was friendly and quick, the food tasted very good, especially the typical Austrian "Fritattensuppe", a soup with sliced pancakes. For my surprise, the inn offered very good value-for-money and much cheaper than in other skiing areas.
After enjoying the meal I walked back to the skilift.
I do not practice skiing but as far as I was able to see, Annaberg is a great resort for families with younger children. Also the ticket prices are moderate and it is just 45 minutes from Lower Austria's capital city St. Pölten.
Also for walking and hiking Annaberg seems to be great. So I plan to visit this village again in some weeks for a snowshoe hike.
GPS data of my walk can be downloaded here!