Wertatscha, Mountain peak in Karawanks range, Austria and Slovenia

Wertatscha is a 2,180 m mountain on the main chain of the Karawanks, on the border between Austria (Ferlach) and Slovenia (Žirovnica). Its northern side falls in rock faces up to 600 m high toward the Bodental above Windisch Bleiberg, while the southern side is gentler. The summit is bounded west by the 1,840 m Bielschitza Saddle and northeast by the Pautzscharte (1,950 m).

The north face was first climbed in 1902 by Eduard Pichl at grade IV. In 1925 Kurt Maix opened the northwest pillar, the first grade V route in the Karawanks. On 21 September 2016 rockfalls in the Vertatscha cirque sent a dust cloud up to the Klagenfurter Hut and trails were closed as a precaution.

The mountain's names vary by language and side: Wertatscha or Vertatscha in German, Vrtača in Slovene, and older German Alpine writings also record Deutscher Berg (Nemška gora), Zinnenwand, Meniška gora (Mönchsberg) and Rtača. The summit ridge marks the border between the municipality of Ferlach in Austria and Žirovnica in Slovenia.

The usual ascent starts at the Bielschitza Saddle (1,840 m) below the Klagenfurter Hut, where a faint path crosses the southwest slopes to the summit in about two hours. From the Selenitza Saddle at the Dom na Zelenici hut (1,536 m) a partly waymarked route over the southern slopes takes somewhat longer. After the rockfalls of 21 September 2016 in the Wertatscha Cirque, whose dust cloud reached the Klagenfurter Hut, trails were closed as a precaution.

In 1925 Kurt Maix climbed the northwest pillar, the first grade V route in the Karawanks. The north face itself was first climbed by Eduard Pichl in 1902 at grade IV. On 21 September 2016 rockfalls in the Vertatscha cirque sent a dust cloud up to the Klagenfurter Hut and trails were closed as a precaution.