EuroVelo 13 runs along the Austrian border with the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, where the contemporary history of the East-West division of Europe can be experienced as you cycle along the former death strip, now the “Green Belt”. As historically interesting and naturally beautiful as the route is, the often hilly topography requires a certain level of fitness.

For almost 40 years the Iron Curtain divided Europe into East and West, until it was torn down in 1989. A wide strip along the border was depopulated, militarised and had become an impassable barrier. The renaturalisation, has turned the area into a habitat for rare and endangered animal and plant species and thus into the European Green Belt. Coming from the Bavarian- Czech border, you can visit the Cistercian monastery in Vyssi Brod (CZ), the “Museum of the Green Belt” in Leopoldschlag and the “Green Belt Center” in Windhaag/Upper Austria. Other highlights along the route include the Harbach healing moor-baths, the Kuenringerstadt of Weitra and its brewery, as well as the “Iron Curtain” exhibition in the castle and the “Iron Curtain” open-air museum at the border crossing of Kadolec / Nove Hrady.

Along the route you can also pass the Renaissance town of Slavonice, Austria‘s smallest town, Hardegg, and the cross-border National Park. As the next stops on EuroVelo 13, we recommend the bunker complex and the remains of the Iron Curtain near Satov (CZ), the historic wine town of Retz with its underground labyrinth and Laa an der Thaya, which boasts a historic town centre and renowned thermal baths. We continue through the Galgenberg cellar alley to the historic town of Mikulov, where you can take in its castle and the nearby “Gate to Freedom” monument nearer to Sedlec.

The route continues through the UNESCO cultural landscape near Lednice (CZ) and onto Valtice, which has its own Iron Curtain Museum. Finally, we go through one of the most exiting wetlands in Central Europe, the March/Thaya floodplains from Hohenau to Devinska Nova Vez. To get there you cross the spectacular “Bridge of Freedom” to Schlosshof, the second largest baroque palace complex of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy. On the Slovakian side, you cycle via Devin /Thebes Castle at the confluence of the Morava and the Danube, from where a ferry goes to Hainburg. Hainburg is located only a few kilometers from Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Alternatively, you can choose the Austrian parallel route between Hohenau and Schloss Hof. From Bratislava, the route leads along the border to the historic bridge near Andau, on to Lake Neusiedl, the historic city of Sopron and finally south to Lutzmannsburg and Szentgotthard (HU).

EuroVelo 13 - Iron Curtain Trail is a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe since 2019.
EuroVelo 13 - Iron Curtain Trail is a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe since 2019.
Landen

Legend

Development status
  • Certified Section of at least 300 km that has successfully undergone the certification process in line with ECF’s European Certification Standard. It is the highest quality level on the EuroVelo network
  • Developed with EuroVelo signs Developed route (see category below) with continuous signing along the route, incorporating EuroVelo route information panels.
  • Developed Route developed for cyclists and signed in line with the respective national standard (i.e. it is part of a local, regional or national cycle network). There must also be a website providing information to users. Developed route can be heterogeneous in terms of infrastructure: type of cycling infrastructure, surface, width, gradients, etc
  • Under development Route containing sections that require further development (e.g. stretches on public highways with high levels of traffic). Cyclists are advised to use public transportation to skip these non-developed stretches.
  • Planning Undeveloped route with no detailed information publicly available on the Internet. The itinerary communicated is a proposal for the best possible option currently available. It may also contain dangerous sections. Cyclists are advised to use public transportation to skip these non-developed stretches.
  • Public transport link

Markers

  • Natuurlijk Erfgoed
  • UNESCO-werelderfgoed
  • Cultureel Erfgoed
  • Culinaire Hoogstandjes
  • Maritime Heritage / The Rhine / The Meuse
  • Other Point of Interest
  • Bus station
  • Train station
  • Mobility info center

National & Regional Information

EuroVelo Austria

National EuroVelo Coordination Centre

The Austrian EuroVelo website offers an online map with railway stations and Bed+Bike accommodations, tracks in GPX and KML formats for download and detailed route descriptions in German in PDF format with maps, highlights and contacts for more information. The website was created by Austria's cycling organisation Radlobby.

Austria Info - The official Travel Guide

The official Austrian Travel Guide, the website of the Austrian National Tourist Office

ÖBB - Österreichische Bundesbahnen - Austrian Federal Railways

Website of the ÖBB: timetables of public traffic. Tickets can be booked directly. Look at special offers.

Radtouren in Österreich

"Radtouren in Österreich" (Cycle routes in Austria) is the national marketing cooperation for the best cycling routes in Austria. It provides information on cycle trails, accommodation and cycling maps.

+43 (0) 316 4003

EuroVelo 13 in Slovakia and Austria

In this web portal dedicated to EuroVelo 13 – Iron Curtain Trail, you can find an interactive map and plenty of information on the relevant sites along the Slovak and Austrian sections of the route. The website is available in Slovak, English, German and Hungarian.

Kaarten & Gidsen