The mausoleum stair above Ehrenhausen

Ehrenhausen an der Weinstraße closes the southern end of the wine road: a small market town on the Mur with a baroque square and a castle above it. Behind the parish church a stone stair climbs the wooded hill to the mausoleum built for Ruprecht von Eggenberg, the commander who fought the Ottomans — a domed early-baroque building with two colossal armoured figures flanking the door.

The stair itself is the photograph. It runs straight up under the trees, a corridor of steps, stone walls and green shade, so a couple walking it is framed on both sides. At the top the platform in front of the mausoleum is small and formal, and it looks back over the roofs of the town to the vineyards.

Shade covers the stair for most of the day, which makes the light easy — there is no particular hour to wait for. The square below is best in the last hour before sunset, when the sun reaches along the façades. Autumn puts colour into the trees on the hill.

The climb takes a few minutes and there are handrails. The mausoleum interior is not always open and access is arranged only at certain times, so check locally before promising the inside of it; the exterior, the stair and the terrace are freely accessible.