City & Region

The resorts of Weiz and St.Ruprecht, located at the heart of East Styria, are just a 1.5 hour drive from Vienna and 30 minutes from Graz. The drawn-out hilly landscape of East Styria is often described as Austria’s land of hills. The region is shaped by agriculture and encompasses a diverse range of local traditions.

Cuisine plays a very important role here – in particular the farming of pumpkins and associated production of genuine Styrian pumpkin seed oil. The numerous small and large-scale agricultural producers such as Steirerkraft also make plenty of other pumpkin-based products. The scarlet runner bean is one of the region’s newly discovered products.

Mulbratl (smoked ham) is a particular speciality of the region and is honoured each August in the Mulbratl festival which is famous far beyond the regional borders. The smoked speciality is made from loin of pork which is pickled for 3 weeks and then cold smoked over beechwood.

The climate of the region ensures that large areas of the land are given over to wine-growing each year. The Austrian wine route and its many wine-growers are increasingly becoming an insider tip among wine connoisseurs!

Some significant industrial companies have settled in the region. The car supplier industry with Magna Steyr plays a big role in particular as the region’s largest employer and economic driving force. Siemens Transformers as a specialist in the energy sector and the Weitzer Parkett wood processing company are renowned far beyond the region.

Commerce and crafts in the form of various small and medium-sized companies characterise this financial centre. The shoemakers, blacksmiths and bakers here are all family companies with a long-standing tradition.

Quality of life here is high and the unemployment rate is extremely low compared to other regions.