There is still a short hiking trail in the Ysper valley, which I have not yet paid attention to: the heart stone trail. The hike is named after the heart stone, a big heart shaped wobbly stone. The path is available in two variants with a similar distance. Either you start a little southern in St. Oswald or a little eastern in Ysper. I chose the variant over Ysper because it can be reached a little faster by car.
Ysper#
Starting from the church on the market square, the path leads at the end of the town into the forest. You don’t leave the forest again so quickly, apart from a few places along the edge of it. The soft forest floor dampens my steps. It only rained at night, but it is quite dry. The forest road drains quickly. I never have to jump over big puddles.
Are the mushrooms on the side of the path edible or toxic? There are so many. Since I am not a big mushroom collector and connoisseur, I prefer to avoid them and leave them be. Otherwise, about berries, I know a little. Red elderberry thrives here and is bearing fruits. The birds chirp eagerly. An idyllic forest hike.
Steinernes Kornmandl (Petrified Sheaf)#
I leave the forest briefly at the Piritsteiner farmstead. Oops. There is a colossal, pyramid-shaped stone in the field. It’s the first unusual stone structure I see on this hike. The locals call it Steineres Kornmandl.
In the past, when grain was still harvested by hand, the stalks of grain were tied together in small piles, the so-called Kornmandl (sheaf), where they could continue to dry and were then collected later by cart. With a little imagination, the stone actually reminds me of a sheaf. There is also a legend about the origin of the stone.
Once upon a time, the field is said to have belonged to a particularly fierce farmer. When it was time for the harvest, he sent his maids and farmhands out to the field to cut the grain. To his surprise, his servants soon returned. He scolded them angrily, but they insisted that they had done their work, but the harvest had been meagre, so they had finished quickly. In disbelief, the farmer travelled to the field himself to see for himself and expose the lies of the lazy servants.
But when he arrived, he realised that his servants had spoken the truth. The whole field had been mown and there was only one sheaf standing in the field. The farmer then was cursing angrily, even cursing God for the poor harvest. Suddenly there was a loud crash, a terrible thunder echoed through the valley and the sheaf was suddenly petrified.
According to the information board next to it, there were two more stones near the Kornmandl. The ensemble was used as calendar stones to calculate winter and summer solstices based on the position of the sun.
Skull and dragon stone#
Not far from the Kornmandl is the next highlight of the hike. I walk up a short ramp in the forest and soon reach a huge, spooky stone formation: the skull stone. A stone ledge evokes memories of a skull. Two indentations symbolise the eye sockets. Behind it is a smaller stone structure called the Dragon Stone. It is said to be the tail of a petrified dragon.
According to researchers, the skull features human carvings. A sacrificial bowl and a square seat, both carved out of the stone, can be found at the top of the stone. A few hundred metres further is the summit cross of the Weißenberg. However, I walk back down the path to Kornmandl without visiting the summit cross. From Kornmandl, I briefly follow the path along the edge of the forest and then across a clearing, from where I have a good view reaching as far as the Alps.
Heart Stone#
Now I head deeper into the forest again and after a short climb I come to the Heart Stone, the eponym and high point of this loop. Once again, it is a large stone structure. The heart stone resembles the symbol of a heart ❤️. Only it stands on its head and balances on a stone. According to superstition, it is possible to crawl through the hollow formed by the stone, which has been enlarged by human hands, and in doing so, to cast off illness and infirmity.
Instead, I prefer to take a short break on the heart-shaped bench next to it. I’ve seen these several times in the southern Waldviertel. I finish off the Manner wafers I’ve brought with me and take a few sips of water before setting off again.
The major difficulties of the hike are now over. It’s all downhill now, back to Ysper. I have one more thing to say: The signposting of the trail is excellent. All the signs are clearly visible. A short, pleasant hike for a morning or afternoon.