Scheibnerleitenweg Nr. 12

Route characteristics: 65% asphalt, 25% forest road, 10% forest trail

At the town hall, head upstream along the road through the village toward Mandelstein. After a short climb, you’ll leave the village behind. Immediately after the steep section, follow the narrow paved path on your left up the hill. After a few minutes, you’ll reach a secluded house. From there, you can see far into the rolling countryside. On a clear day, from the “Hoch über Harbach” viewpoint, you can make out the “Stockzahn des Waldviertels”—as the ruins of Arbesbach are known—which is located nearly 30 kilometers away as the crow flies.

Continue hiking to the end of the paved path, where you’ll finally turn sharply right and enter the forest. Here, at over 800 meters above sea level, you’ve already completed the most strenuous part of the hike.

Now the trail descends through the forest, gently at first and then a bit more steeply. After a few minutes, the path joins a sandy road, which is initially very difficult to recognize as such. Follow this forest road further downhill to the border crossing into the Czech Republic. There you can admire the “Milestone of Peace,” a stone spiral built as a symbol of a cross-border peace project. Make an entry in the “Book of Peace,” which is located on the outside of the spiral.

Now follow the road, which climbs slightly away from the border. A little later, as soon as the forest on your right clears, you’ll see the roofs of the Moorheilbad and, to the right of it, the Nebelstein—with its transmitter at the summit, it’s impossible to miss.

Once you arrive in Harbach, walk past the fire station to the country road that leads into the village from the right. Follow this road to the left, past the church, and you’ll soon reach the municipal office—the starting point of your hike.