Winklern: Toll Tower, Trails and Free Ski Bus

If you are looking for accommodation in Winklern, winter connections, local history and trails through the landscape come together here. In winter, a free ski bus runs from Winklern to Heiligenblut or Zettersfeld in East Tyrol. When choosing where to stay, it is therefore particularly important to consider which topics you want to focus on besides skiing: a historic town centre, a crystal exhibition or hikes along the Möll River and in Hohe Tauern National Park.

Winter connections from Winklern

The documented winter connection runs from Winklern to Heiligenblut or Zettersfeld in East Tyrol. This means that the village is connected to the two named destinations by free ski bus. No further information on travel times, stops, operating periods or the distance from the accommodation is available here. If you are planning a winter stay, you should check these points separately for the desired period rather than inferring from the ski bus connection that the accommodation is directly located on a piste or in a ski area.

The Toll Tower and crystals in the town centre

The Toll Tower stands in the centre of Winklern. Over the course of its history, the late Romanesque or early Gothic tower served mainly as a granary and residential tower, and it was first mentioned in documents in the 14th century. As part of the Carinthian state exhibition “Water-Gold”, it was enclosed in 2004 by the timber-and-steel structure “Tauernwurm” and made accessible from both the outside and inside.

The Mautturm Crystal Exhibition displays crystals from the Southern Hohe Tauern. The names of their places of discovery connect the exhibits with the local valleys and peaks. The exhibition also includes the largest calcite crystal in the Eastern Alps: a pearly white crystal from the Reißeck Group weighing more than 45 kg. The exhibition is not accessible without barriers because numerous steps lead up through the Toll Tower. If step-free access is essential for your travel group, this limitation should therefore be taken into account when planning.

Churches and higher-lying local sights

The parish church of Winklern is also part of the local history. It is a Late Gothic church dating from the 15th and 16th centuries and was remodelled and extended around 1800. Inside, there is a fresco of Saint Christopher dating from 1470. Above the village stands the Penzelberg filial church at an elevation of 1,375 m. According to the inscriptions on the triumphal arch and above the gallery, the present building was erected in 1765. The wording “according to the inscriptions” is part of the traditional dating.

Trails along the Möll River and in the national park

For shorter walks through the landscape, the Cultural Landscape Trail follows simple paths along the Möll River. The Winklerner Alm Family Hiking Trail is on a different scale: it is a high-altitude hiking trail in the heart of Hohe Tauern National Park, covers approximately 2,000 metres of elevation gain and takes around four hours there and back. The approximate figures refer both to the elevation gain and to the walking time.

Other places to compare

If you would like to compare Winklern with other destinations, you can also look at Mühldorf, Penk, Lendorf, Oberdrauburg, Pfaffenberg, Teuchl, Millstatt and Emberg. This keeps your accommodation decision focused on the aspects you want: winter connections, local culture or hiking routes.

For the higher-level travel overview: Spittal an der Drau District.