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The baroque west facade of Ossiach Abbey on the southern shore of the lake

Abbey & Concert Venue

Ossiach Abbey

Ossiacher See · Carinthia

QUICK INFORMATION

CATEGORY
Abbey & Concert Venue
COUNTRY
Austria
REGION
Ossiacher See · Carinthia
DURATION
2–3 days

ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION

Carinthia’s oldest Benedictine abbey (c. 1024) — now a lakeside concert hall and the home of the Carinthian Summer festival.

HISTORY & BACKGROUND

The story behind it

Ozi’s son Poppo, Patriarch of Aquileia, secured the abbey’s independence in 1028; legend makes the Polish king Bolesław its most famous penitent. Dissolved by Joseph II in 1783, the buildings later served as barracks and stud farm before the province of Carinthia took over in 1995 and turned the abbey into a music academy.

WHAT TO SEE

What to see here

01

The baroque collegiate church with the Backhaus memorial organ

02

Alban Berg Hall concert wing

03

Abbey courtyards and baroque hall

04

Festival concerts July–August

WHY IT MATTERS

Why it matters

The abbey is the reason the lake has a name — and its music festival the best evening out on any Carinthian lake.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Before you go

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MAP & LOCATION

Ossiach Abbey

Ossiach Abbey, Ossiacher See, Carinthia, Austria

46.6608, 13.9953

Open in OpenStreetMap

MORE ATTRACTIONS

More to see in Ossiacher See

The MS Ossiach excursion boat at the landing stage beneath the Gerlitzen
Lake Cruise

Ossiacher See Boat Cruise

Two ships — the MS Ossiach and MS Villach — work a zig-zag route between the lakeside resorts from May to October, and the full round trip takes a satisfying 2.5 hours. The boats dock at the abbey, the Bleistätter Moor, Steindorf and the Gerlitzen cable-car base, so the ship doubles as practical transport: hike one shore, cruise back the other.

View attraction
The Gerlitzen massif rising behind its lakeside landing stage
Mountain

Gerlitzen Cable Car & Summit

The Gerlitzen — “the sunniest mountain in Carinthia” — rises straight from the northern shore, and the Kanzelbahn lifts you from the lake at 550 m to the Kanzelhöhe arena at 1,440 m in ten minutes; new for 2026, Kanzelbahn II continues toward the summit plateau at 1,911 m. Up top: 147 km of marked trails, the alpine water playground at Neugarten, a paragliding take-off considered Austria’s finest flying mountain, and a 360° panorama from the Hohe Tauern to the Julian Alps.

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The dam path crossing the reed beds of the Bleistätter Moor at the lake’s eastern end
Nature Reserve

Bleistätter Moor

The lake’s quiet eastern end is a re-naturalised moor crossed by a straight dam path: a Slow Trail leads 7 km through wet meadows where the Tiebel stream fans into the lake, past a 1931 pump house and reed beds alive with warblers, herons and dragonflies. It is the flattest, quietest walk on the lake — and one of Carinthia’s officially designated “slow” routes.

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The concrete and steel forms of the Domenig Steinhaus on the Steindorf lakeshore
Architecture

Domenig Steinhaus

On the Steindorf shoreline stands one of the strangest houses in Austria: the Steinhaus, architect Günther Domenig’s deconstructivist autobiography in concrete and steel, grown from sketches from 1986 to 2008 and listed as a monument in 2012. Guided tours walk you through fractured rooms, floating stones and a glass cylinder that dives to the groundwater — the “built self” of the architect of the Nuremberg Documentation Centre.

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The Strandbad beach on the northern shore at Bodensdorf
Lake & Beaches

Strandbad & Lakeshores

The lake warms to 27–28 °C in long summer spells — among the warmest in Austria — and the shallow eastern basin heats fastest. Free public lidos at Bodensdorf and Sattendorf, grassy sunbathing lawns at Steindorf and Annenheim, and water-ski and sailing schools on the northern shore make swimming the default activity; the Bodensdorf Strandbad Toff sits right by the station.

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Lakeside promenade and moored boats on the Ossiacher See
Villages

Lakeside Villages: Ossiach, Bodensdorf & Steindorf

No single town anchors this lake — that is its charm. Annenheim and Sattendorf sit under the cable car on the west, Bodensdorf pairs station with lido on the north, Steindorf keeps the quiet eastern shore with its campgrounds and the Steinhaus, and Ossiach clings to the abbey’s southern strip. Each has its own bathing lawn, bus stop and guesthouse; the boat stitches them together.

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THINGS TO DO

Things to do nearby

01

Cycle the Ossiacher See Loop

02

Hike the Gerlitzen or the Ossiacher See Trail

03

Swim and Paddle the Warmest Shores

04

Camp on the Quiet Shores

05

A Concert Evening at the Abbey

06

Day Trips: Villach, Landskron & the Three Borders

FOOD & DRINK

Where to eat nearby

01

Landgasthaus Berghof — traditional Carinthian kitchen in the historic house on the southern shore, open all year

02

Gasthof zur Post (Ossiach) — classic guesthouse by the abbey with a beer garden, Kasnudeln and trout

03

Seeterrasse Seehotel Hoffmann — regional dishes on the lakeside terrace in Steindorf’s eastern bay

04

Buschenschank Rogatsch — farm-gate cold platters and cider at 1,057 m above Steindorf, with the lake at your feet

05

Stoffelwirt (Bodensdorf) — hearty Carinthian inn minutes from the station and lido

06

Gasthof Laggner (Steindorf) — regional and Mediterranean cooking with a garden under the Steinhaus ridge

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HOTELS & STAYS

Where to stay nearby

01

Seecamping Berghof — the lake’s classic family campground on the southern shore, since the 1950s

02

Hotel SeeRose — 4-star wellness hotel directly on the shore at Bodensdorf

03

Seehotel Hoffmann — modern 4-star on the eastern bay in Steindorf with lake sauna

04

Apart Hotel Legendär — upscale lakefront apartments with spa and private beach in Steindorf

05

TerrassenCamping Ossiach — terraced pitches with lake panorama on the abbey shore

06

Hotel Ossiacher See — family-run 4-star with panorama indoor pool above Steindorf

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ITINERARIES

Day-by-day routes

Ossiacher See Round Trip — Ossiacher See1 day

Ossiacher See Round Trip

The full lake circuit by bike or car — abbey, moor, lidos and the Gerlitzen panorama in one relaxed loop.

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Lakes and Borders: Ossiach, Villach & the Karawanks — Ossiacher See1 day

Lakes and Borders: Ossiach, Villach & the Karawanks

From the quiet lake over Landskron to Villach and — if the day allows — across the border into Italy or Slovenia.

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NEARBY DESTINATIONS

Continue the journey

Villach & Faaker See

Villach & Faaker See

Carinthia

Klagenfurt & Wörthersee

Klagenfurt & Wörthersee

Carinthia

Bad Kleinkirchheim

Bad Kleinkirchheim

Carinthia

Graz

Graz

Styria

INTERESTS

Explore by what you love

Beaches

PART OF

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