Ossiach: Lake Ossiach, Abbey and Gerlitzen

Ossiach lies on the southern shore of Lake Ossiach and is surrounded by the hiking and skiing mountain Gerlitzen and the Ossiach Tauern mountains. Ossiach therefore offers historic culture, music events, walking or cycling routes, destinations for families and experiences on the water. Gerlitzen is referred to here as a hiking and skiing mountain; this does not imply any specific distances to lifts, pistes or accommodation.

Ossiach Abbey as a cultural centre

Ossiach Abbey was founded around 1024 as a Benedictine monastery. The complex includes the Baroque Ossiach Abbey Church, whose building is 31 metres long. Since 1969, musical events of the “Carinthian Summer” have been held at Ossiach Abbey during the summer months. The historic ensemble was also given a new function: from October 2006 to June 2009, the abbey was revitalised and expanded into the music and events centre of the Carinthian Music Academy Ossiach Abbey through the addition of a new building.

This creates a clearly recognisable distinction in Ossiach between a stay focused on cultural interests and one focused purely on outdoor activities. Depending on the time of year, the abbey can be combined with the other documented attractions in the area without requiring any particular accommodation feature.

Hiking and cycling around Ossiach

For hikers, stages 19 and 20 of the Alpe-Adria Trail pass through Ossiach. A shorter, specifically described route is the Ossiach Gorge Trail. It starts in the centre of Ossiach, leads to Tauern Pond and can be followed back to the starting point via Tauernstraße or a trail. Those who want to explore the lake by bicycle can consider the Lake Ossiach Cycle Route R2/R2A, which passes through Ossiach.

Excursion destinations for different interests

The Lake Ossiach Climbing Forest is a five-minute walk from the centre of Ossiach. The Lake Ossiach Familywald can also be of interest to families. The nature activity park is located in a beech primeval forest and includes the “Fly-Line” forest roller coaster, a TREENETS adventure, a treetop trail, a forest playground, tree houses and an adventure trail with various play stations. These attractions are clearly distinct from the abbey’s historical and musical focuses.

Published times are also available for mountain bike tours: the mountain bike routes in Ossiach are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. from 1 May to 15 September. From 16 September to 31 October, opening hours are listed as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You should take these different periods into account when planning a cycling tour.

Experiencing Lake Ossiach from the water

Lake Ossiach Shipping offers trips on the MS Ossiach and the MS Gerlitze. This allows you to experience Lake Ossiach from a special perspective. For a stay in Ossiach, this provides another way to include the lake in your daily itinerary alongside hiking, cycling and cultural attractions.

Compare other destinations

For comparing other destinations, you can also view Alt-Ossiach, Falkertsee, Rennweg, Reichenau, Feldkirchen in Carinthia, Simonhöhe, Sankt Urban and Turracherhöhe.

For the higher-level travel overview: Feldkirchen.