Wörthersee

The Wörthersee is the largest and most celebrated of the Carinthian lakes, stretching 16 kilometres east of Villach toward Klagenfurt. The lake is easily reached from Villach by train (the stations at Pörtschach and Velden are about 20 minutes away) or by bicycle along the lakeside path that runs along the northern shore.

The main resort towns of Velden, Pörtschach, and Klagenfurt's lake district each have their own character. Velden is the most glamorous — or tries to be — with casino, marinas, and a promenade that attracts a flashy summer crowd. Pörtschach is quieter and better for families. The cycle path along the northern shore through orchards and villages is one of the finest lake rides in Austria. The water is warm enough for swimming from June through early September, and the southern Alpine light in summer gives the lake an almost Mediterranean quality that makes it easy to understand why Habsburg-era visitors came here year after year.

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A story
The Wörthersee was the summer playground of Habsburg high society and the Viennese bourgeoisie from the 1860s onward, accessible by the new Southern Railway. Johannes Brahms composed his second symphony at Pörtschach on the north shore in 1877 and returned for several subsequent summers. Gustav Mahler built a composing hut at Maiernigg on the south shore, where he wrote his fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth symphonies between 1900 and 1906. The lake proved remarkably productive for late Romantic music.

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