Freibach Reservoir

Level of difficulty 1 |  Gastronomy 1 |  Length 3.8 km |  Time 1 hour

---

Hidden beneath Carinthia's highest mountain range lies an almost undiscovered paddling paradise. Crystal-clear water with deep visibility, magically attractive mountain slopes, and absolute tranquility are among its features.

General information

• Carinthia Card 
• Freibach Reservoir Wikipedia
• Southern Carinthia tourist information
• Tour video
• Climate
• Wind, waves, weather

Navigation rules

The tributaries (Freibach Stream) and the area around the former Stauseewirt Inn in the south are particularly popular for fishing. If fishermen are there, please do not paddle towards the stream and leave the area to the fishermen and the fish, as beautiful as it is.

Most swimmers can be found here and in the public sunbathing area at the small bar called Stausee Hütte. Please paddle carefully and give way to pedal boats!

Bathers and fishermen can also be found sporadically along the rest of the east bank, so paddle with foresight and give way early!

Please avoid noise and litter!

Dangers and risks

Fishermen and swimmers may be present in the south, but also along the east bank, so it is advisable to keep a sufficient distance from the shore to avoid getting caught in fishing lines.

When the water level is high, purple willows, which normally grow on land, protrude from the water in several places. It is easy to get caught on their branches when paddling across such a carpet of plants. Areas in front of the tributaries and near the lawn are particularly affected.

Keep a safe distance from the dam! Although there is no steep gorge behind it, and therefore no sluices or corresponding signage, all paddlers are urged to turn back early enough.

Due to the orientation of the valley and its reservoir, winds can be stronger and require stronger paddle strokes. especially when they blow from the north and south,.

In many places, it is difficult to land because the ground slopes steeply downwards, making it difficult or impossible to get a foothold.

If you park by the roadside at the small bar, you need to watch out for traffic. Although there aren't many cars passing by, some of them drive very fast.

Directions

The Freibach Reservoir is easily accessible from all directions. By car, you can take the B 85 from the state capital Klagenfurt or from Slovenia, for example, to reach the eastern shore, where there are parking facilities at the public beach and the tributary.

By public transport, take the train to Ferlach or Klagenfurt and change to the bus there. Bus line 5338 goes to the stop called Freibach im Rosental Abzw Homölisch. However, it is about a 30-minute walk from the lake, which is why traveling by public transport is not recommended.

National and international bus, train and flight connections can be found via the comparison portals Omio, Busbud as well as RailEurope. If you arrive by plane, you will either land in Klagenfurt or in Ljubljana.

Parking

The only parking spaces are along the eastern shore. Most of them are located by the street along the bar. At the southern end of the reservoir, you can also park for free around the former Stauseewirt Inn, provided you do not block the driveways. There are also a few spots along the road L 103 where you can park very close to the roadside facing north.

Swimming

The reservoir is surrounded by peaceful nature and offers clear water for swimming, diving, paddling and relaxing. There are several bathing bays, a well-maintained beach with a sunbathing lawn and a bar. Those who swim or paddle to the west shore will also find secluded spots in the forest which are difficult to access. The water quality is excellent, which ensures a considerable fish population. The water comes from the adjacent mountains and is correspondingly cool, with average temperatures around 18°C in midsummer.

If that's not convincing, you can visit a lot of great swimming lakes north of the reservoir. Lake Klopein, for example, is one of the warmest swimming lakes in the country and is a true holiday paradise in summer. Around it there are also the lakes Turnersee, Sonnegger See and Gösselsdorfer See.

Those who want to swim in the region even during the cold season can enjoy the high-quality facilities at the Bathhouse Klopeinersee. It is open all year round and offers an infinity pool, four saunas, a nudist area and massage therapists.

Tour

From the tributary in the south along the east bank to the north and back along the west bank. 

Length

3.8 km

Time

1 hour

Start and landing

On the meadow in the estuary area of the tributaries in the south.

SUP rental

Igi’s Stauseehütte
Waidischer Landesstraße, reservoir east bank
9173 Zell-Homölisch

Purple willows underwater and echoes in the air

The Freibach Valley was once an industrial area, as iron ore mined from the Obir Mountain was processed here for a long time. At the end of the 19th century, the Freibach Stream powered the water wheels of three iron hammers as well as several sawmills and mills. The surrounding forests were cleared down up to the rocky regions for charcoal production for iron ore smelting, and old charcoal kilns, as well as the remains of weirs and channels, can still be found here today. They bear witness to earlier times, before the forest overgrew the ruins and the Freibach Stream reclaimed its bed.

But it cannot choose its course entirely freely, because since 1957 it has gently collided with a dam wall beneath Carinthia's highest mountain – the Hochobir – forming the Freibach Reservoir. Surrounded in places by untouched nature, this body of water is bursting with clear mountain water and reveals itself to stand-up paddlers in all possible shades of green. I can already enjoy this on land during my journey, as my winding route takes me past lush meadows and dense mixed forests as I drive up to the reservoir through cute villages in the Slovenian-speaking part of Lower Carinthia.

The only access road to the lake runs along its eastern shore, and I skip the first parking option at the centrally located sunbathing lawn to drive all the way down to the tributaries. At the southern tip of the reservoir, you can also park around the building of the former inn (closed in 2023) if you don't block the path of the only resident there. The elderly gentleman is very friendly when I ask to park and immediately gives me a few hiking tips. After all, it's also a pleasant place to hike with children through the valley and to the Slovenian border.

Hiking may be for later; right now, I'm drawn to the meadow below, to the shore of the reservoir, which is filled to the brim. There are already a few fishermen here, some of them knee-deep in the water. But there's still enough space to set sail at a safe distance.

My gaze is directed 1.5 km north toward the dam, and I take my first paddle strokes in the pleasantly cool water. Fortunately, the water level is maxed out, because otherwise it would not radiate this emerald green beauty, and I would only cover significantly less distance on the decimated water surface.

To my right, a footpath runs alongside the road and the lake shore. However, if you want to walk around the entire reservoir, you have to hike uphill and downhill through the forest away from the west shore. The clear water is unique and allows me to see deep into the world beneath my board, even here close to the shore. In some places, the visibility is several meters deep, with a sharpness and detail rarely experienced.

After paddling for a short while, a curious sight unfolds before me: clusters of purple willows protrude from the water, creating the appearance of a small mangrove landscape. This probably proves that the reservoir has a considerably lower water level for a significant part of the year, allowing these bushes to spread out well in the deep hollow. I look down through the water to their roots, which are several meters below, and am fascinated by this hybrid underwater world with land plants.

A little further on, there is a nice, well-maintained sunbathing lawn with facilities. The area around the bar called Igi‘s Stausee Hütte is slowly filling up, and the first SUPs are already being prepared for use. This is also a great place to start the tour, and you can park just a few meters uphill by the road. The bar also offers a small SUP rental service, and fishing licenses can be purchased here as well.

After a quarter of the tour, it's time for me to turn around and inspect the surrounding landscape, because the steep mountain slopes are just as eye-catching as the underwater worlds of the lake. Directly behind the little bar rises the summit of Mt. Kleinobir, supported by the steep rock faces of Hochobir a little further behind. Especially when you paddle further out on the lake, a view opens up that you can hardly get enough of. But also opposite, above the western shore of the reservoir, the Schwarzer Gupf, rises 1,000 meters high, its wooded flanks flowing directly into the lake.

To the south, the eponymous Mt. Freiberg rises to a height of 1,923 meters, while the Koschuta Mountains over 2,000 meters high, further back, completely block the view to Slovenia. The area is therefore also a delight for mountain lovers and offers something for everyone, from family hikes to climbing trails.

This alpine enclosure of the reservoir also creates an incredible echo, which makes it possible to communicate clearly across the lake. Anyone calling out to someone on the west side from the east shore, even without raising their voice too much, can be sure that they will be heard on the other side.

Against the light north wind, I work my way from bay to bay towards the dam wall, crossing to the other side of the lake about 150 m before it. However, behind the reservoir there is no lock-regulated, steeply sloping barrage, which greatly reduces the potential danger here. So I am more attracted to the seemingly untouched forest on the opposite shore than to the bland-looking dam. The wind now pushes me south and also leads me past some rocks.

The ruins of the sunken village of Homölisch also appear here, because when the Freibach Stream was dammed in 1957, seven buildings were also flooded. The clear water here is therefore not only a blessing for divers, but also for paddlers with investigative intentions.

A German couple has come here by SUP and is currently sunbathing on a rock. While chatting, they recommend that I definitely paddle to the reservoir's inflow to watch the fish there. I do so immediately and continue to enjoy the beautiful colors of the water and the light blue summer sky, whose sunbeams pleasantly overexpose the view of the surrounding mountains.

Shortly before the confluence with the Freibach Stream, however, I come across a vast carpet of purple willow, which even opens a small waterway deep into its heart. I take care not to get caught on the fins anywhere and watch the fish playing underwater among the broom-shaped shrubs. The echo of children playing further away reaches me and it sounds as if I were right there with them.

I am lucky that there are no longer any fishermen standing by the former inn, and I can drift unhindered to the small stream. The nice German gentleman was right earlier, because there are quite a few species of fish here.

For example, there are sturgeons, trout, and pike to be seen, and none of them seem to be frightened by my SUP. Birdsong and the splashing of water now form the acoustic outro to this harmonious paddling tour, and after a few meditative minutes, I glide back to the meadow in front of the former inn with gentle paddle strokes.

To ensure that you experience this area in all its glory, we recommend checking the water level of the reservoir in advance. The municipality of Zell or the bar located directly on the lake are suitable places to do this. And then off to paradise!