Oliver Keohane reflects on a first-time visit to Eisenstadt, Austria, where a motoring launch became an unexpected introduction to a small city shaped by music, history and calm.
Inside Schlosspark, the expansive palace park that unfurls behind Esterházy Palace
There is a distinct intimacy to Eisenstadt, and a calmness brought about by the baroque buildings and the stillness of the streets. Walking down the cobbled main road of this small Austrian city, it feels immediately explicit that this is a place that moves to the optimistic cadences of the classical composer who found his home here, and to the quiet ceremony of ancient grandeur.
Eisenstadt is pretty. The name – German for ‘Iron City’, conjuring smoke and industry – doesn’t imply it. Yet it has pockets of green complemented by pastel buildings and uninterrupted horizons.
With only a handful of higher-end hotels, it’s a city perhaps off the beaten track for most tourists, except music lovers. It seems built around three things: the impressive Esterházy Palace, Schlosspark (Palace Park), rolling gently into the distance behind the palace itself, and the meticulous, quiet, cafe-dotted cobblestones of the main street (Hauptstraße).
Two nights (how long I stayed for) are neither too many nor too few to take in its gentle history. In the single afternoon of leisure afforded us, I took a long walk, soaking up its character and trying to imagine the place’s origins and reasons for being, so distant in time and culture from where we find ourselves in history now.
Bergkirche, set slightly above the town. The burial place of composer Joseph Haydn.
Stretching quietly along the Hungarian border, Eisenstadt developed as a court city, not an imperial one, thanks to the Esterházy family – a name you are immediately aware of upon arrival. The only name I saw more of, in fact, was Joseph Haydn. He was a composer, considered to be at the heart of classical music and the cultural voice of Vienna and Eisenstadt, who entered the service of the Esterházy Palace, composing, conducting and tending to the musical life of the household.
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Although it may seem otherwise, my interest in Eisenstadt was not driven by a fascination with the origins of classical music or the small city’s patron-like development. Instead, it was my enthusiasm for off-road vehicles and the launch of a new all-terrain tyre that brought me here. This tyre will be essential for the South African market, which is not only invested in SUVs but also has access to diverse terrains.
The beauty of writing about the motoring industry is that the launch of a vehicle or an accessory can be so culturally enriching because it means you travel to a city that may never have been on your radar. And then you drive, and as you do, you see part of the countryside or the mountain or the coast that you may never have seen if confined to the inner city.
Testing the General Grabber Cross A/S at the Off-Road Zentrum
General Tire’s Grabber Cross All Season A/S arrived in South Africa in the first quarter of 2026, but we first tried the versatile rubber out on track and off-road in the lower-Austrian state of Bruck an der Leitha, a 45-minute drive from Eisenstadt.
Ryan Visagie, the product communications manager at Continental Tyre South Africa, and I were the only two South Africans joining the friendly group of European company representatives overseeing the smooth operation in Austria, along with media personnel from around the world.
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Our first taste of the tyres was taking them on a short drive from the track testing facility in Teesdorf to the Off-Road Zentrum in Stotzing, 33 ha of rough terrain with varying difficulties.
The Grabber Cross A/S is designed with a new crossover compound that enables the tyre to perform effectively in various conditions, including rain, slush, snow, tar and gravel. During our testing at the Off-Road Zentrum, some tracks were muddy, while others had moist grass and dry surfaces. This variety allowed us to thoroughly test the tyres, which were all fitted to Volkswagen Tiguan R 4Motions, across a wide range of off-road conditions.
The sleek convoy navigated the continuous ups and downs of the terrain – there were 400 ascents and descents on-site. It was initially surprising to see how easily the Volkswagen Tiguans handled the landscape, especially since they are not full-fledged 4×4 vehicles. As we drove away from the tracks and into the green hills, windmills dotted the horizon, creating a picturesque scene that perfectly matched my stereotype of the Austrian countryside. If The Sound of Music had windmills.
Lunch was at Gasthaus Edelmühle, an old millhouse with its first historical reference recorded in 1375 as ‘the noble mills’. The restaurant serves classic Austrian cuisine, including cheese spaetzle (similar to mac and cheese), pork schnitzel, bread dumplings, perch fillet, and a variety of hearty, starchy dishes. It’s the kind of meal that makes it hard not to doze off in the passenger seat afterwards.
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For the second half of the day, we hit the track. Ryan, an avid racer back home in South Africa, was in his element, brake testing the new tyres on a wet section of the track. The difference in braking time compared with the old rubber was remarkable. To finish off the driving, we took the Tiguans for a few laps around the Teesdorf track, crossing water and swerving obstacles to get an idea of how well the tyres can combat aquaplaning and transition to high-speed, quick manoeuvring on the road.
Hotel Galantha
We stayed at the quirky, endearing Hotel Galántha, opposite Esterházy Palace. While the event only lasted two days, and we spent most of the second one driving, nothing felt rushed. Outside the inventive product briefing on the first day, which used Virtual Reality headsets to showcase the new tyre, we had time to wander and enjoy a drink at the hotel’s rooftop bar before being wined and dined across the road.
Restaurant Henrici, located at Esterházyplatz in the heart of Eisenstadt, is situated directly across from Schloss Esterházy. This historic restaurant is housed in former princely stables, combining old-world architecture with a relaxed, modern ambience. The menu has dishes that highlight regional produce from Burgenland.
Where we began our first evening at the rooftop bar, we ended our final night there, after an incredible dinner and celebration at Bio-Landgut Esterházy, a large organic farm estate and visitor experience destination in Donnerskirchen, Burgenland, near Lake Neusiedl in eastern Austria. The farm combines sustainable agriculture, regional food, cultural experiences, and events. On our last night in Eisenstadt, they put on a brilliant buffet, cooking cuts of meat from the estate over open flames and hot stoves, then serving them straight from the fire.
Closing celebrations at Bio-Landgut, Esterházy
With such limited time, it is a skill to host an event where participants experience not only a product launch, but also the place they’ve travelled to. The General Tire team took care to ensure that in two days, we had a sense of the intimate city that hums its own sweet, scenic tune at the centre of Europe.
IMAGES: Oliver Keohane
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