Not a rarity at all in Carinthia: blossom amongst the beauties of nature with plenty of room for romance and the joy of living. Like here by Lake Millstätter See. Carinthia <strong>Magazin</strong>e 18 Carinthia <strong>Magazin</strong>e 19
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE. A tour of the Carinthian lakes can become a tour de force. So we would recommend a more leisurely pace. A hike from various perspectives. Text by Romana Kanzian and Martin Amanshauser “The bathtub of Austria” may well be a term used in hoity-toity society reporting, but in a way it is not so far from the truth. Because Carinthia has 1,270 lakes including 200 swimming lakes with water pure enough to drink. The “Carinthian Riviera” covers a total area of 60 square kilometres, sometimes pleasantly warm and idyllic, sometimes sophisticated and noisy, but mostly a little reserved, a thousand metres above sea level, and a paradise for fauna and flora. Now and then it is also a place of refuge for hikers, travellers, serious swimmers, fishermen, sailors and anyone seeking contemplation and regeneration. The big three: Lake Wörthersee, Lake Millstätter See, Lake Ossiacher See. Lake Wörthersee has been going strong for more than a hundred years with its many celebrities, comfortable villas, one large castle and several smaller ones, and all kinds of small- and large-scale scandals. It looks as if there is not a single pensioner from Augsburg to Zingst who does not associate Carinthia’s largest lake with a holiday romance or maybe just memories of their childhood. People have always taken a slightly romantic view of the past here. Musicians in particular have always been attracted by the almost Mediterranean feel of the lake. Gustav Mahler had a small house in Maiernigg on the southern shore where he wrote his compositions, and Johannes Brahms spent two long summers in Leonstein Castle. Udo Jürgens spent his childhood by Lake Wörthersee, and Peter Alexander spent the last years of his life here. In the 1960s the international jet set even left their holiday enclave on the French Riviera behind, and came to the sweet Lake Wörthersee to soothe both party fever and stage fright. Right up to the 1990s film crews, stars and starlets surrendered to the Carinthian charm. Nowadays people flirt here the Alpine-Adriatic way, with the cheekiness of the Italians, the ambition of the Slovenians and the unhurried style of the Austrians. Carinthia <strong>Magazin</strong>e 20 Enchanting example of the Lake Wörthersee architectural style: the charming Villa Schnür boathouse in Pörtschach, built in 1926. 1 2 Making a splash: Lake Turnersee in St. Kanzian. A change of perspective. The lakes of Carinthia can also be viewed from above, and the hills and mountain chains offer the ideal front row seats for this. Lake Millstätter See earns a lot of applause. Up there in the Drau Valley, where you will find the deepest water in Carinthia and geomantic energy lines run from the Mirnock to the shore of Lake Millstätter See, there is a self-effacing feel to things. Fishing boats are more popular than high-horsepower motorboats, and captains of industry take their holidays on the shores. Lake Millstätter See features not in the gutter press, but the international glossy magazines and intellectual papers, which shower praise on the sometimes spectacular architecture concealed along the shores of the lake and the hikable mountain arena all around. There is no room for stiltedness in the leisurely Carinthian attitude, and the people of Carinthia have their feet on the ground. Lake Ossiacher See is equally unpretentious, as is the most important music festival in the entire province, which is held on its shores: the Carinthian Summer, which celebrates church opera and classical music. Small, perfectly formed and pleasantly warm. The smaller but no less popular trio comprises Lake Faaker See, Lake Keutschacher See and Lake Klopeiner See. The first of these is popular with gourmets because of its annual festival of enjoyment. The many restaurants here which pamper travellers with the local culinary arts are a delight to the stomach. And there is no unnecessary fuss and bother around Lake Keutschacher See, because the motto here is naturism. Lake Klopeiner See is the role model for all the Carinthian swimming lakes: down to earth, brightly coloured, iridescent, but above all lovely and warm. Once you have dipped your toe into the warmest swimming lake in Austria, you will know what we mean. > Carinthia <strong>Magazin</strong>e 21
Change language