Four treehouses sit at roughly 1,100 metres in the Styrian Alps, nested into working forest above the Pogusch pass. Baumhaus Teichwiese, Baumhaus Waldlichtung, Baumhaus Stollinggraben and Baumhaus Himmelreich each rise through three timber levels, clad in larch shingles that blend quietly into the surrounding spruce and pine. These are not hotel rooms dressed in rustic clothing. They are structures built to feel genuinely arboreal, rooted in the hillside at Steirereck am Pogusch, Poguschstraße 21, in Sankt Lorenzen im Mürztal.

Each treehouse uses Baumbau's modular BERT system, assembling cylindrical wooden modules that stack and rotate like a living organism adapting to its site. Glass, timber and eco-forward materials make up the shell, and the design shifts with the seasons rather than resisting them. A spiral stair connects each level. The upper sleeping deck faces outward through broad windows, and the terrace — which catches the breeze and occasionally sways — puts you inside the canopy rather than beneath it.

Mornings here have a specific texture. Pine scent and the tap of a woodpecker arrive before any other sound. Dew sits on the terrace rail, light moves through needles, and the silence is the kind that takes a day or two to properly hear. The Bründlweg trail begins close to the houses, and the surrounding forest opens into alpine meadows on longer walks. Nights cool fast at this altitude, and the dark above the ridge is real dark, worth lying still for.

Steirereck am Pogusch is a farm and an inn as much as it is a treehouse retreat. The kitchen works directly with more than 500 plant varieties grown on-site, along with animals grazed nearby. Seasonal menus draw from field, garden and forest in combination, and the farmhouse Wirtshaus serves evenings that feel like a natural extension of the landscape outside. Sleeping here and dining here are part of the same argument: that altitude, ingredients and unhurried time belong together.

Autumn brings forest colour, mushroom walks and a culinary harvest that suits the kitchen's approach perfectly. Winter at this elevation means frosted pines, alpine quiet and slow evenings by firelight — the kind of season that justifies a good sauna. Summer offers long golden light and easy access to the higher meadow trails. Each season changes the experience enough to reward a return visit.

Nightly rates sit in the premium range, roughly €350–€450, varying by season and availability. The four treehouses are limited in number and book up well in advance, so early reservations are worth making. Layers are essential: even summer nights at 1,100 metres carry a proper chill, and the terrace at dusk will remind you of that quickly.

For access, bus line 173 stops at Pogusch Passhöhe, approximately 100 metres from the property — a convenient local option. The train station at St. Marein-St. Lorenzen, served by S1 rail, sits around 7 km away by approximate straight-line distance and offers a reasonable regional connection for those arriving without a car.

The stay is pitched firmly at couples or pairs who want genuine detachment from pace. There are no corridors or lifts, and the spiral stairs and tilting terrace make clear that the forest sets the terms. The BERT system's philosophy — a dwelling that grows like a tree, built from regional materials with ecological clarity — becomes self-evident once you're inside. Sustainability here is structural, not a label on a wall. You leave slower than you arrived, and the creak of timber in the wind stays with you longer than expected.