Bad Kleinkirchheim

Bad Kleinkirchheim sits at about a thousand metres on the southern edge of the Nockberge, and thermal springs have been used here since the Middle Ages - the Katharinenkirche is built directly over one, with the spring accessible in the church itself. Two thermal complexes take the water, one of them designed around the springs and one attached to the ski area, and the combination of skiing and thermal bathing in the same village is the local selling point. The ski area is medium-sized with the Franz Klammer downhill run named for the Olympic champion, a Carinthian farmer's son born at Mooswald near Fresach, whose 1976 Innsbruck gold is the moment Austrian skiing is measured against. The Nockberge biosphere reserve is directly above.

History

The densely forested valley seems not to have been settled in Roman times; Alpine Slavs moved up the Drava valleys from about 600 and Bavarians from the middle of the 8th century, and the estates here were held by the Aribonid family. A document of 5 July 1166, in which Archbishop Conrad II of Salzburg confirms the gift of a chapel to Millstatt Abbey, names Chirchem and a priest called Pabo, the first mention of the place, and the Benedictines of Millstatt had the forests cleared and the valley settled by small farmers; the name Kleinkirchheim later set it apart from Großkirchheim in the Möll valley, and the first bathing guests came in the 17th century (Wikipedia, Bad Kleinkirchheim).

Highlights

• A church over a spring - the Katharinenkirche built directly on the thermal source.
• Thermal bathing and skiing together - two spa complexes beside the lift network.
• The Franz Klammer run - the downhill named for Carinthia's Olympic champion.
• The Nockberge above - the rounded biosphere reserve range at the village edge.

When to go

December to March for skiing; June to September for walking. Two days.

Practical notes

It is a resort village, priced accordingly, with limited character outside the spas and lifts. Snow reliability at this altitude varies. Spa entry is charged by the hour or day and is not cheap.

Nearby

The Nockalm road runs above; the Millstätter See is west.

Key facts