Southern Carinthia

Carinthia's largest tourist region includes the areas around Lake Klopeiner See and the Lavanttal Valley. The warmest bathing lakes in Central Europe, quiet river sections and a wide range of sports, adventures, cuisine and culture guarantee unforgettable moments and make your heart beat faster.

General information

• KärntenCard/Activ Card
• Southern Carinthia tourist information
• Carinthia Wikipedia
• Climate
• Wind, waves, weather

Paddleboarding

South Carinthia offers paddlers the tame Drava River with its long Völkermarkt Reservoir and the many magic spots that can be discovered along its banks. Some of the tributaries of the Drava are also suitable as paddling areas. The river Gurk is easy to paddle, at least in its lower reaches from the Rain power station, but it has more whitewater than the Drava. The Lavant is also easy to paddle, at least in its lower reaches, but it is unfortunately prohibited. The Vellach, a tributary of the Drava, forms the border with the Rosental Valley to the west. Stronger whitewater can also be expected on this river, and it seems possible to paddle it at least from the village Miklauzhof. Whether this is also permitted has yet to be checked.

There is little choice of reasonably large lakes, but they do offer whirlpool temperatures, natural romance and nightlife. Lake Klopeinersee, for example, is definitely the region's tourist and party hotspot in summer and is great for paddling. The lakes Turnersee and Gösselsdorfer See, on the other hand, are much smaller and probably not really interesting for many paddlers.

Swimming

On the Völkermarkt Reservoir you can not only paddle, but also swim in it. In summer the water temperature sometimes even rises to 25° C, and it can still stay pleasantly warm until October.

But it is not only the Drava that invites you to swim, the lakes Klopeiner See, Turnersee, Gösselsdorfer See and Sonnegger See are also coveted destinations for water lovers and sun worshipers.

There are also a number of smaller pools and artificially created bathing lakes, such as the lovely bathing lakes in Lavamünd and in St. Andrä as well as the public pool in St Paul.

Worth seeing

A number of high-quality museums enhance the region's leisure activities. The Museum am Bach (Museum by the Stream) in Ruden focuses on a critical examination of society, while the Werner Berg Museum in Bleiburg not only exhibits the life's work of its namesake, but also regularly shows special exhibitions by other artists. The Kunstmuseum Liauning (Liauning Art Museum) was created from a private art collection and also organizes concerts.

If you would like to delve beneath the earth's surface, you will find fascinating underworlds in the Obir dripstone caves as well as in the Griffen stalactite cave.

Among the region's religious buildings, the Griffen Abbey and the St. Paul Abbey are particularly noteworthy. Both have a museum and are open all year round.

The Lippitzbach Palace has already functioned as a hammer mill, a forge and was the first sheet metal rolling mill in Central Europe in 1807. The palace, with its castle and burial chapel, is privately owned and today serves, among other things, private residential purposes.

The Rabenstein Ruins south of St. Paul have not been occupied since the 17th century because they were not rebuilt after a fire. The ruins were renovated and secured between 1997 and 2002. The Rabenstein via ferrata leads up to the ruins via various routes and is also suitable for beginners and families.

Extra Tips

The South Carinthian Triathlon took place for the first time in 1983 and was no longer held from the 1990s onwards. This competition with a southern flair has been held again since 2018 and it brings the region around Lake Klopeiner See to a boil every year.

Austria's most spectacular lake fireworks display - Lake in Flames - also takes place right on lake Klopeiner See. Lots of music, culinary delights and around 50,000 visitors turn night into day every year at the beginning of July.

In summer and autumn there are different festivals for a wide variety of tastes. While the Acoustic Lakeside Festival and the Fuzzstock Festival offer plenty of opportunities for music outside the mainstream, wellness junkies can enjoy pilates, yoga and bathrobe parties at the Seenwellness Festival.

The Granitztaler Cider Trail offers three different tour variants starting from St. Paul, which lead through delightful cultural landscapes and past great wine taverns.

You can have great family experiences with the Alpacas from Josefsberg. In addition to guided tours and alpaca hikes, seminars and products made from alpaca wool are also offered.

Your heart will start beating faster as soon as you start bungee jumping from the 96 m high Jauntal Bridge. Since 1991, many celebrities have dared to jump into the depths and several bungee records have already been broken.

The Flow Country Trail on Mt. Petzen, on the other hand, will make your heart race a little less. Europe's longest flow trail was created in 2014 and allows downhill bikers to cycle from 1700 m above sea level into the valley with a view over southern Carinthia.

Underground water sports are possible in the Slovenian Mežica mine, just across the border. After all, a guided canoe tour in a mine followed by a local snack is not something you experience every day.

There are even Carinthian Wines, and southern Carinthia in particular offers good conditions for wine growing. The wineries Domäne Lilienberg, Vino Hren/Miklautzhoff, Weinbau Janko as well as Lippitz and Ritter are particularly noteworthy.

Overnight Stay

Mobile home in Völkermarkt
Dullach 8, 9100 Dullach

Pension Helios
Laubenweg 10, 9122 Sankt Kanzian
Phone +43 (0)4239 2327

Motel Jagerwirt rooms
Sankt Ruprechter Straße 5, 9100 Völkermarkt
Phone +43 (0)660 3543003

Majestic Holiday Home with Garden and Terrace
Kleindiex 23, 9113 Bleiburg

Hotel Gasthof Hüttenwirt
Pfarrdorf 1, 9473 Lavamünd
Phone +43 (0)4356 2310

Südalpen Lofts
Am Kommel 8, 9150 Bleiburg
Phone +43 (0)664 20 12 562

Gastronomy

Fishery Steffan
Restaurant and Hotel
Seidendorf 1, 9122 St. Kanzian am Klopeiner See
Phone +43 (0)4239 93082

Altes Brauhaus Volkermarkt
Buergerlustgasse 2, 9100 Völkermarkt
Phone +43 (0)664 2428395

Fischrestaurant Sicher
Muehlenweg 2, 9121 Tainach
Phone +43 (0)4239 2638

Hafenrast Stausee
Drauweg 20, 9100 Völkermarkt
Phone +43 (0)677 61162216

Landgasthof Hafner
Oberdorf 14, 9155 Neuhaus
Phone +43 (0)4356 2044

Laquamuend
Lavamünd 109, 9473 Lavamünd
Tel. +43 (0)676 5332833

Buschenschank Lippitz vlg. Oberländer
Kollnitzgreuth 1, 9470 St. Paul 
Phone +43 (0)4357 3443

Weinhof vlg Ritter
Loschental 8, 9470 St. Paul
Phone +43 (0)680 3027100

There are also countless bars around Lake Klopeiner See (open in summer).