Lake Ossiach, Alpine lake in Carinthia, Austria
Lake Ossiach is an alpine lake in Carinthia that stretches between Villach and Feldkirchen, surrounded by the Nock Mountains. The water reaches depths exceeding 50 meters and covers more than 10 square kilometers.
Ossiach Abbey was founded around 1000 and was the first Benedictine monastery in the Duchy of Carinthia. The monastery shaped the region for centuries and remains a landmark by the lake today.
Ossiach Abbey, a former Benedictine monastery on the southern shore, gives the lake its name and hosts the Carinthischer Sommer festival. The abbey church, rebuilt in Baroque style in the 18th century, contains a Romanesque crypt and a winged altar from 1500. Concerts take place in the church and the abbey courtyard.
A 25 km cycle route, the Ossiacherseeradweg R2, circles the lake, and stages 18 to 20 of the 690 km Alpe Adria Trail pass the shore. From Annenheim a cable car built in 1928 by Bleichert climbs to the Kanzelhöhe subpeak of Mount Gerlitzen. The main villages on the water are Annenheim, Sattendorf, Bodensdorf, Steindorf and Ossiach.
The Bleistatt Moor on the eastern side undergoes natural restoration and has become a special habitat for rare plants and animals. This wetland shows how nature can renew itself when conditions allow.
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