The Luftberg is located in the Mostviertel region of the federal state of Lower Austria, about 30 kilometers by road south of the state capital of St. Pölten. Coming from the northern Danube region, the road connects the villages of Kettenreith and Kirchberg an der Pielach via the Luftberg.
Together with the neighboring crossings Plankenstein (670 m), Wetterlucke (543 m) and Kohlenberg (437 m), the Luftberg represents the first real hurdle in the (Melk) Alpine foothills. All of these mountain roads lead into the Pielachtal. From here, the 1,000-meter mark can already be overcome with the road via Wastl am Wald (1,110 m).
Above all, north of the Luftberg, the gently hilly Mostviertel stretches out to the Danube. The countless cider pear trees and the mighty square farms in many places are typical of this region. Cyclists who cross this area from the Luftberg can reach the city of Melk with the famous Melk Abbey in less than an hour. Together with the Danube Cycle Path, the UNESCO World Heritage Site Wachau and the neighboring Waldviertel, a varied and very interesting racing bike area opens up to cyclists from the Luftberg.
The Luftberg is particularly popular among local cyclists: First of all, it can be classified as rather easy in terms of the meters in altitude to be covered and the percentage of incline. Secondly, the road with its many curves on the Pielachtal side is very entertaining and interesting to drive - especially downhill: the downhill menu ranges from hairpin bends and curve combinations to a long high-speed curve. The best conditions to hone your cornering technique.
It should not go unmentioned at this point that until 2005 the Uniqa-Classic stage cycle race, which was no longer held, often passed the Luftberg. (From 1953 to 2000 the race was called Vienna-Rabenstein-Gresten-Vienna.) The Luftberg heralded a mostly selective stage final, in which one or the other short climb had to be mastered to the finish in Rabenstein an der Pielach.
Note: If you are looking for the Luftberg on the map, you will most likely not find it, since at the highest point of the road usually only "Wh. zur Luft” or something similar is entered on maps. The "Wh.", which stands for tavern, was closed a few years ago and does not refer to the street crossing.