Paradiesroute Stage 2

If you have not started your bike ride in Oberwart (see stage 1), then the "Gate to Paradise" in Neustift an der Lafnitz, right on the Styrian-Südburgenland border, is the ideal starting point for you. Here, (according to an idea by the artist Andreas Lehner) a round arch road and rest area over five meters high, planted with wisteria, arches over you – inviting you in a floral way to enter the "Paradise Südburgenland." Here you can also immediately contribute to the "Wall Around Paradise" by leaving a stone inscribed with your data and thus participate in a prize draw.
Before you immerse yourself in the fascinating floodplain landscape that steadily accompanies you on your daily stage today, a bathing lake with drinking water quality, large lawn, water slide, kindergarten playground, and buffet awaits you in neat Neustift amidst gentle, forested hills.

By the way, your bike should be reasonably robust for the following section through the nature reserve along this Burgenland-Styria border river.

From a bird's eye view, the narrow Lafnitz valley, one of Austria's last largely preserved natural river landscapes, looks like a colorful carpet of meadows, fields, and floodplain forests. As a cyclist, however, you experience the untouched floodplain landscape up close with its river meanders, islands, gravel terraces, sandbanks, and oxbow lakes.
Botanical rarities thrive here – from the lung gentian to the globe flower and the cuckoo flower; kingfishers, otters, and beavers still live here. Overall, this "Ramsar" nature reserve along the Lafnitz stretches over 40 kilometers.
Just before you reach Loipersdorf-Kitzladen, you encounter an enchanting sculpture: a five-meter-long, golden shiny angel wing swings seven meters high in the landscape. The artist Andreas Lehner named his work Wing of an Angel, which, located at a rest area just behind the motorway rest stop, intends to make not only you as a cyclist but also drivers pause (information board about the region's offer).
Downstream in the Lafnitz valley, the inns and taverns of Markt Allhau welcome you, a very old spot as evidenced by the Roman and Celtic graves found here. At Wolfau, one of the most interesting sections of the Lafnitz begins, where the river meanders about 40 times. Before you explore this beautiful stretch, you should take a little look around the charming market community (gastronomy and shopping facilities). It has been repeatedly voted the most beautiful flower village in Burgenland. In addition, the local adventure pool invites you to enjoyable hours.

Now you plunge deep into the nature reserve and shortly pass by Wörterberg. In 2003, a still preserved wooden barrel from Roman imperial times was discovered here on the Lafnitz, and in 2005 archaeologists uncovered an ancient Roman industrial quarter less than 200 meters from the river. From an observation tower in the village, you enjoy an impressive panoramic view over the valley to the Hochwechsel.

In the Stinatz area, you cross to the other river bank and reach the Styrian Neudau, where an impressive water castle close to the bike path lies in its Sleeping Beauty slumber. In Burgau, you will also find a water castle that belonged, among others, to Count Batthyány. Count Carl Batthyány founded the first mechanical cotton spinning mill in the community in 1789, thus establishing the oldest textile factory in the Danube monarchy. Later, a workers' settlement was added – so the townscape is mainly dominated by traces of the former industrialization. And, of course, by the castle, which is now used for cultural events.
The pilgrimage church Maria Gnadenbrunn stands on a small hill in the village. From May to October, a pilgrimage takes place here on the 13th of each month, starting at the eleven-meter-high Mary column on the main square of Burgau. If you want to stay a little longer here, a walk along the so-called "Kuruzzenwanderweg" would be worthwhile. This nature trail leads you among other things to a "Tschartake," a former border watchtower, which was reconstructed here in 1995 for an exhibition. Even more worthwhile would be a detour to the Warte in Burgauberg, only two kilometers away, which offers an excellent view as far as Slovenia and Carinthia as well as to the Wechsel (gastronomy, golf course, accommodation). Across meadows, you cycle along the Lafnitz to Deutsch Kaltenbrunn. Here you will be greeted by paradisiacal sounds in the village center.
Music sounds "on demand" from four-meter-high flowers, also an installation by visual artist Andreas Lehner. Depending on the style you prefer, you can choose between cosmic music from Baroque, classical, modern, pop, jazz, and rock. And suddenly you have all the time in the world to listen and rest: You will find drinking water and an e-bike charging station here, as well as a café and a guesthouse. From the small market town, a typical old Angerdorf, it is not far to Rudersdorf, the destination of your stage today.