Wörther See

The largest and busiest place on the Wörther See is Velden (440m/1,444ft; pop. 9,000), Carinthia's most fashionable resort; its villas and hotels encircle the western end of the lake. Near the jetty stands the Schloss (16th-17th C.), a Renaissance building with an Early Baroque doorway (1603). It was extended in 1920 and is now a hotel surrounded by a park. The two-story building has hexagonal towers at each corner, with domes and turrets. At the end of the 16th C. it was a favorite meeting place for the aristocracy. The Schubertpark and the promenade along the lake are ideal for walks. To the northeast of Velden, beyond the highway in the district of Göriach, rises the Karawankenblick (660m/2,165ft), a lookout point with a magnificent prospect over the lake to the rugged Karawanken range in the south. To the west there is a pleasant walk (one and a half hours) to the Grosser Sternberg (726m/2,382ft), crowned by a conspicuous pilgrimage church. One hour's walk north of Velden lies the little Forstsee (601m/1,972ft), a storage reservoir.

The second largest place on the northern side of the Wörther See is the resort of Pörtschach (450m/1,476ft; pop. 2,700), part of which is charmingly situated on a peninsula dividing the bay into its western and eastern sections. In the center of a large park on the peninsula stands the Park Hotel, with a fine view of the lake and Maria Wörth. There are attractive promenades along the shores of the lake, decorated with flowers and with a music pavilion. In Pörtschach, too, there is a Schloss used as a hotel, the "Hotel Schloss Seefels". There is plenty here for the keen sportsman (e.g. the Werz tennis center).

The spa of Krumpendorf (474m/1,555ft; pop. 2,300), on the shore of the lake and surrounded by parks and gardens, has more of a village atmosphere. In 1986 Krumpendorf was chosen as the best-kept and the most environmentally caring village. There are plenty of facilities for water sports and it is also a good base from which to visit places of cultural interest in Carinthia. Every two years in summer the fire brigade bands meet here and the brigades also hold rallies here every three or five years. Places to visit in the region around Krumpendorf include Schloss Drasing with its large keep (1,570m/5,153ft), Schloss Hallegg (16th C.) with arcades and sgraffito paintings, and Burg Ratzenegg (14th C.).

Halfway along the southern side of the Wörther See, obliquely across from Pörtschach, lies the resort of Maria Wörth (458m/1,503ft; pop. 2,000), with the communes of Dellach (golf courses) and Reifnitz. The old core of the village occupies a rocky peninsula. High up on the headland, surrounded on three sides by water, stands the Late Gothic parish church, a prominent landmark; note the fine Baroque interior, the Romanesque crypt and the 15th-16th C. high altar with a beautiful Late Gothic figure of the Virgin. In the churchyard there is a round charnel house of 1278. Close by stands the little 12th C. Rosenkranzkirche (Rosary Church) or Winter Church, with well preserved Romanesque frescos of the Apostles.

To the southeast of Maria Wörth lies another little summer resort, Keutschach (542m/1,778ft), noted for its Romanesque parish church and Baroque Schloss. Below the village to the south stretches the Keutschacher See (506m/1,660ft).