This year the motto of the celebration at Montanuniversität Leoben was “Erasmus rocks”, so us (exchange) students and the team of MIRO (International Relations Office) went to Erzberg for an excursion to the “Zentrum am Berg” (ZaB). Afterwards, we had a wonderful afternoon at Leopoldsteiner Lake. Would you like to “re-live” this day with us? Then sit back, I´ll tell you how it was!

First of all, we went to visit the Erzberg, a large open-pit mine. Geographically it´s in Eisenerz, Styria, about 30 km from Leoben and it represents the largest iron ore reserves in all of Austria!

The mine itself is quite old (about 400 years) and used to be underground, nowadays the mining takes place above ground. You can still visit the underground mines and you can still find some remains of the old times there as well and feel a touch the history.

Our destination though was the “Zentrum am Berg”, a unique underground research and training center. First, one of the engineers of the enterprise (our tour leader) took us to the changing rooms, where we had to dress in special protection shoes, helmets and reflective vests. In this uniform, we felt like miners and were completely ready to go the underground! ? We walked through the tunnel system, saw drilling and transport vehicles and received information on what the “Zentrum am Berg” is all about. Students with a specialization in mechanical engineering and mining showed particular interest because they could imagine what their future work would look like. Of course, afterwards we had to do several small photo sessions with a beautiful view of the city of Eisenerz and the mountains around. This is what the Austrian industry looks like: green technology and mountains!

After the excursion, we went to have lunch at the Leopoldsteiner lake. What is the most common traditional food in Austria? Schnitzel, of course! Or, if you are a vegetarian, be sure to try Käsespätzle. MIRO organized lunch for all of us in the “SeeStüberl” restaurant.  A little tip: If you've never been there, you should definitely visit it.

After a pleasant lunch, we went for a “digestion walk” around the lake, and here's what I can tell you – IT IS UNBELIVEBLE BEAUTIFUL!

This mountain lake, located in the Erzbergs Alps, is not only beautiful, but also has an interesting legend: The inhabitants of Eisenerz caught a Aquarius who lived in the lake. To buy himself his freedom, he offered his captors the iron deposits of the Erzberg. Then he disappeared into the cave of the lake (this is obviously the very short version of the story). In general, the place is full of history, you can find a climbing route named after Kaiser Franz Josef, the Emperor of Austria, who climbed (and hunted) around this area himself 100 years ago.

I personally enjoyed this day very much because autumn in Austria is (if the weather is great) absolutely beautiful: it´s warm, sunny, you can already see the snow on the mountain´s in the distance, lakes give us a variety of colors, as well as the numerous forest which surround the area. As we say in Russia – “my soul is singing” from the beauty of nature. And I believe that everyone felt the same.

Many thanks to MIRO for organizing the event and Zentrum am Berg for the interesting excursion. Find out more about the ZaB here: https://www.zab.at/

The Erasmus Days take place every year in October and exchange students, as well as regular students of Montanuniversität Leoben are always invited to the event organized by MIRO. Make sure to join the Erasmus Days in 2022. For more information follow MIRO on Instagram and Facebook or contact them here: international(at)unileoben.ac.at