Graz Center West - Fürstenstand (Plabutsch) (via Buchkogel)
Starting point: Graz Center West (352 m)
Starting point Lat/Lon: 47.03339°N 15.4151°E 
Path name: via Buchkogel
Time of walking: 4 h
Difficulty: easy marked way
Difficulty of skiing: no data
Altitude difference: 402 m
Altitude difference (by path): 635 m
Map: Graz und Umgebung, Wanderkarte 1:50.000, WK 133 ali https://www.bergfex.at
Access to starting point:
Leave the Maribor–Graz motorway (A9) at the Graz exit, then at the roundabout take the 1st exit in the direction of St. Peter / Puntigam / Center West. At the next traffic-light intersection turn left and immediately thereafter left again. Drive to the last building of the shopping center, where we park.
Path description:
We continue on the road, left from the parking lot, past the last building of the shopping center Center West. After approximately 50 m we leave the road and turn left onto a footpath, which further leads left along the tennis courts to the underpass. We go through the underpass, then right to the traffic light. In the background we see the hill Buchkogel. We cross the road. We continue straight along the street in the direction of the mentioned hill. At all intersections we go straight. In between we pass a secured railway crossing. We cross the signalized intersection. On the other side we first go left and then immediately right. At the end of the street we turn into the forest onto a steep, marked forest path. In 10 minutes we arrive at the parking lot. From the parking lot we spot the church, to which we go either via the stairs or via the road. At the church we turn right and continue straight along the road steeply uphill. Before the barrier the hiking signposts direct us left into the forest. At the next junctions we keep to the right on the marked mountain path. When we step onto a wider forest track, we continue straight in the direction of "Rudolfswarte". At the next two junctions we keep to the left, thereby leaving the marked mountain path (because it is quite overgrown in summer). Then we cross the road two more times. Along the east ridge we arrive at the top of the hill Buchkogel. We continue right beside the tower slightly downhill. At the next two junctions we continue straight and via the path "Buchkogelsteig" descend steeply to arrive at a wider macadam path. Along the path beside the fence, which marks the military area, we continue straight until we reach the inn below the church of St. John and Paul / Sankt Johann und Paul. Along the macadam road we descend slightly and after 200 m turn right into the forest, where the blazes lead steeply downhill to the main road. We turn left and after 200 m at the intersection turn right in the direction of "Thal". We follow the road straight and after approximately 500 m turn right in the direction of "Fürstenstand". Initially the asphalt road turns into a macadam road, which we follow to the fork. We go left. When we arrive at the asphalt road, we turn left. The road brings us to the summit after 4 km.
On the way: Sv. Martin (Gradec) / St. Martin (Graz) (411m), Buchkogel (Rudolfswarte) (659m), Sv. Janez in Pavel / St. Johann und Paul (563m)
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