Styria is situated in the southeast of Austria where the Alps pass over from
the high to the lower mountain regions. The second biggest Austrian province has
about 1,2 million inhabitants (240,000 live in Graz) and covers a total area
of 16,388 km².
The neighbour provinces of Styria are the Burgenland in the wast, Upper and Lower Austria in the north, Salzburg and Carinthia in the west and
Slovenia in the south. It is divided into the city of Graz, with its own statute, 16 political districts, 543 villages and 108 cities.
Upper Styria is bounded by the Calcareous Alps in the North (Dachstein, Totes
Gebirge, Ennstaler Alpen, Hochschwab, Schneeberg and Rax mountain chains).
The highest Styrian mountain is also located here - the Hohe Dachstein (2,996m).
The so called spine of Styria is represented by the Lower Tauern mountains with
their marvellous mountain lakes (Schladminger, Wölzer, Rottenmanner and Seckauer
Tauern chains). The lower foothills in Eastern Styria end in the woods of the
Fischbacher Alps, the Jogglland region and the Wechsel mountains.
In the west, central Styria is connected by the Packalpe, Stubalpe and Gleinalpe
mountains with the Grazer Becken basin. The lower course of the Mur river, which
is the main river in Styria, divides the hilly region into eastern and
western Styria. On its way to the Salzburg Lungau region and the Drau streamlet
the Mur river is gathering almost two thirds of all Styrian waters. The second
biggest river is the river Enns which leaves Styria towards the Gesäuse
mountains in the north. The river Raab is the biggest river in eastern Styria.
southern Styria with its characteristic poplar and cypress trees, that cover the
wine hills, is reminiscent of southern regions like the Toskana.