At an altitude of almost 1,300 metres, Heiligenblut Am Großglockner lies amid a mountain landscape in the heart of Hohe Tauern National Park. The village is also the southern gateway to the Großglockner High Alpine Road. Church art, exhibitions, gold panning, winter sports and hiking routes offer a range of themes for a stay—from a focus on history to a trip planned around specific tour details.
Mountain scenery and views
At an altitude of 2,600 metres, you can enjoy views of the Großglockner and up to 40 other three-thousand-metre peaks in the Hohe Tauern. The view therefore extends beyond the Großglockner to numerous other peaks in the range. If your choice of destination is guided above all by the high mountains, Heiligenblut offers both its high-altitude location and this panoramic perspective as defining features.
Church art and local traditions
The Late Gothic high altar in Heiligenblut parish church was completed in 1520. Another remarkable work is the 13-metre-high sacrament shrine, made of white sandstone in 1496, in the parish church of St. Vincent. It houses the Holy Blood relic and the three ears of grain of Briccius. The two works of art can be viewed through different details: the high altar is notable for its Late Gothic style and year of completion, while the sacrament shrine stands out for its year of creation, height, material and the objects it houses.
Along the Trail of Legends, you will encounter Alfred Margrave of Pallavicini, Josef Schmidl, Franz Wallack, Saint Briccius and Alberth Wirth. A recurring religious occasion is the annual Pinzgau pilgrimage, held in June with a church service at St. Vincent. If you are planning your trip around the pilgrimage, check the specific service date for your chosen year.
Exhibitions and gold panning
The immersive exhibition at the House of the Ibex takes you through seven rooms and three levels, following in the footsteps of ibexes. Models, interactive games and film presentations introduce high-alpine habitats and famous mountain formations from an eagle’s-eye view. The House of the Ibex therefore offers access to high-mountain themes through a range of media and exhibition spaces.
The Gold Prospector Village offers a different kind of experience: an alpine open-air museum designed in the style of a 16th-century gold-mining village. Professional gold miners offer tips on panning for gold; the necessary equipment can be rented for a small fee. Here, hands-on activity is part of the experience, while the House of the Ibex focuses on models, games and films in its exhibition.
Winter trip or hike
The Grossglockner/Heiligenblut ski area has 55 kilometres of pistes and 11 lifts. These figures may change if the ski area’s configuration changes in the future, so check them for your travel dates. This lets you make winter sports a distinct focus of your trip planning without treating the figures as fixed.
The stated details vary among the hiking routes. The Pasterze Glacier Trail is a hike with around 400 metres of ascent and a duration of approximately four hours. The Tauernfenster Geotrail leads from the mountain station to the Hochtor. An interactive educational trail, around 7 km long, runs from the village centre of Heiligenblut Am Großglockner to the Schareck mountain summit. In comparison, the Glacier Trail specifies approximate duration and elevation gain, the route to Schareck gives its length and destination, and the Tauernfenster trail identifies its start and end points. This allows you to distinguish the tours using the information provided for each one.
Discover more destinations: Rangersdorf, Teuchl, Berg Im Drautal, Reißeck, Großkirchheim, Malta, Rennweg Am Katschberg, Obergottesfeld.
For the broader travel overview: Spittal An Der Drau.
