If you love Carinthia and want to know what to visit, here you have all the useful information, from ecological itineraries to folklore. There carinthia, is a region that seems to have stopped in time, composed of muted atmospheres, pastel-colored houses and exuberant nature, full of people with a great sense of hospitality. A journey from Wörthersee to fairytale landscapes and cities such as Velden, Klagenfurt and Villach.
During a stay in Austria, you can't stop in one place, Landscape, artistic and cultural temptations. They are increasingly attractive and easily accessible, by train or car. For the motorist with good taste and less eager to accumulate kilometers on the best-known routes, Carinthia, “region of friends”, as the Celts called it, represents a delicious bite. Simply reach Udine on the motorway, then to Tarvisio and over the border continue to Villach, the historic and charming town with the "cleanest lakes in Europe" around it, including Worthersee and Weissensee. It is also important spa center making it the ideal starting point for a holidays between nature, health and sport, which in winter transforms into a paradise for ski lovers.
Some information about the accommodation: a little outside Villach, in the resort paternity In a creatively and tastefully furnished farmhouse, Mrs. Kerschbaumer will welcome you with her entire friendly family and her many animals, including cows, geese, goats and chickens. Relaxation begins in the morning, with breakfast: speck, honey, jams and freshly baked sandwiches intoxicate the kitchen with their aromas, along with freshly milked milk and fruit freshly picked from the tree.
Here you can participate local agricultural activities: leisure, healthy living, entertainment and the possibility of learning the ancient productive and culinary arts are the successful ingredients of this alternative vacation. Along Lake Worth you will enter the Austrian world in a natural and authentic way. On the other side of the lake is Velden “die Rosevon Wörthersee”, the rose of Wörthersee, as an old and famous song says.
Almost in all seasons, here the The climate is very temperate and pleasant., and is worth a visit for those looking for tranquility, excursions or want to enjoy a good dose of water sports, walking or horse riding. Surrounded by a labyrinth of wooded valleys, where thick larch, oak, maple, fir and beech trees grow, the Wörthersee looks like a high mountain lake; However, its altitude, less than 500 meters, belies this sensation, with its beautifully flowered meadows. . The truly warm water is ideal for diving, swimming and windsurfing, thanks to its well-known clarity, highly appreciated by the inhabitants of fields, a charming coastal town with an ancient tourist tradition, full of cozy restaurants, luxurious patisseries and elegant tea rooms.
A Friesach, the oldest city in Carinthia, is the Petersberg Castle, where during the summer the prestigious shows of the theatre festival. After passing through the city of Strasbourg and the castle of the same name with its grandiose towers, Gurk will welcome you with its Romanesque cathedral, one of the most prestigious architectural monuments in all of Austria; Nearby, along the road is St.Veit an der Glan, the former capital of the Duchy of Carinthia, which captivates the visitor with its monuments, perfect examples of balance between Gothic, Baroque and Rococo, between narrow streets and picturesque squares . of the old historic center, with a rectangular floor plan, typical of fortress cities.
The city of Klagenfurt, capital of Carinthia, dominates the eastern coast of Wörthersee and has been a crossroads of towns over the centuries, with an unmistakable checkerboard-shaped urban structure designed in 1534 by the Italian architect Dell'Allio . City on a human scale, offers suggestive itineraries, like a walk along the Lend canal or a climb to the Magdalensberg. Neuer Platz or PiazzaNuova is located in the center of the city, famous for the Dragon Fountain built in 1590, the emblem of the city.
Tourism in Carinthia has focused on one motto: ecology. In fact, those responsible for the regional government have developed a strategy that aims to protect nature and conserve the landscape, reiterating that the structures created for tourists must also serve to improve the quality of life of residents. For an intelligent containment of mass tourism, winter sports are not the only card that Carinthia intends to play. The main objective is to develop alternative proposals to skiing and the strategy is to extend the tourist season to other times of the year.
Il carinthia calendar It is full of festivals, celebrations, popular festivals, processions and folklore events. The traditional celebrations of the Christian world are deeply felt, but rites and celebrations that date back to archaic cults, whose origins are lost in paganism, also survive and are transmitted. Holidays related to land fertility and to good harvests, to the spring awakening of nature such as the May festivals or the propitiatory festivals of early autumn. But even in this time close to Carnival you can experience a carefree vacation. Numerous traditional corporations offer for the occasion an intense program of events to make young and old smile, with floats, parades, masks themed around the main historical events of this city and lots and lots of joy.
Simonetta Bonamoneta
travel journalist
