In Murau, the railway and a timber footbridge cross the same river that gave the town its name. Above them stand old streets and a castle; nearby a brewery still makes a product associated with the district far beyond it. This is a useful place to see how a small Styrian town turns forest, water and craft into work, rather than treating them as scenery alone.
A market, not a Roman origin story
A chronology published by the Historical Association for Styria records a castle at Muorowe in 1250 and the grant of market privileges by Otto II of Liechtenstein in 1298. These are documented medieval milestones, not proof of an ancient or Roman foundation. It also records the consecration of St Matthew's church in 1296 and Anna Neumann's acquisition of the Murau lordship in 1574. The present castle replaced an older one from 1628 onward. The steep relationship between river, market and castle becomes clearer from the streets than from a single viewpoint.
The brewery's own historical report distinguishes early local brewing from its current site: brewers are documented in Murau in 1441, while brewing in the present brewery building is traced, with some uncertainty, to 1495. Its production belongs to a wider regional economy of forest products and tourism. Regional tourism calls Murau Austria's ‘timber capital’ and describes wood and renewable energy projects. That is a promotional designation, not a measure that every household works in forestry. The Murau hydropower station opened in 1908 mainly to supply the brewery, a direct link between water and industry.
Approach by rail, leave on foot
Statistics Austria counts 3,337 residents in the municipality on 1 January 2026, not just the old-town core. From Graz or Klagenfurt, the ÖBB route 600 reaches Unzmarkt; the regional transport guide directs travellers onwards by R81 Murtalbahn or buses 890/892 to Murau station. Check connections and service changes before departure. From the station, cross the Mursteg, a pedestrian timber bridge completed in 1995, then climb from Schillerplatz past the brewery towards the historic centre and castle. The modern bridge makes the valley's material economy visible before the medieval buildings come into view.