Treffen at Lake Ossiach combines distinctive hiking trails, seasonal mountain activities and cultural attractions ranging from historic architectural features to art. Different questions can guide your choice of travel focus: Would you rather walk through the forest and across bridges, plan a cycling loop, or explore architectural history and sculpture? Each destination offers its own highlights.
Waterfalls, Cycling Route and Gerlitzen
The trail to the three Finsterbach Waterfalls—the Finsterbachfall, Schleierfall and Kesselfall—climbs through a forest of spruce and deciduous trees and crosses four bridges. The ascent, forest sections and bridges shape the route; the waterfalls are clearly named hiking destinations. This makes it possible to describe the tour by its specific features, rather than just its destination.
From Treffen, you can take the 27-kilometre cycling route around Lake Ossiach. Compared with the waterfall trail, the difference is clear: one is a loop around the lake with a known total distance; the other is an uphill hike through forest sections to three waterfalls. The 12-kilometre Gerlitzen toll road leads directly from Treffen to the middle station of the Kanzelbahn cable car. Unlike the cycling loop, this route has a specific endpoint.
The time of year also offers a practical guide to choosing. In the warmer months, Gerlitzen Alpe has hiking trails and mountain huts; in winter, it is a family-friendly ski resort. In Verditz, gentle hikes are possible in summer and snowshoe hikes in winter. The seasonal offerings therefore differ both in activity and in the area mentioned.
The Spiritual Forest Trail at OrtenfelshĂĽtte offers another way to experience the forest. Its seven stations invite visitors to take in the forest with all their senses. Compared with the trail to the Finsterbach Waterfalls, the focus here is on experiencing the forest along the stations, not on reaching a waterfall.
Architectural History and Art
Different periods of construction come together at the Catholic Parish Church of St. Maximilian. The surviving nave walls and the tower foundations date from the 12th century. Since its renovation in 1812, the interior has been classified as Neoclassical. The same church therefore brings together medieval architectural features and a later interior design.
The Krastal Sculpture Route offers a different cultural highlight: the project “From the River to the Lake” is an open-air gallery running from Treffen to Weissenstein. The sculpture route includes 15 stone artworks. Here, art is arranged along a route, while the parish church focuses on the architectural history of a single building.
Kunstwerk Krastal gives international artists space to work with stone and explore interdisciplinary approaches in a historic quarry near Villach. The address is Krastaler StraĂźe 24, 9541 Treffen at Lake Ossiach. The focus here is on artistic work with stone and across different disciplines.
The Pilz & Elli Riehl Doll Museum is located in the village of Winklern in Treffen at Lake Ossiach. Many handmade dolls from the former “Elli Riehl Doll World” have found a new home there. This distinct cultural-history attraction complements the themes of architecture and sculpture.
Discover more destinations: Görtschach, Sankt Magdalen, Fahrendorf, Stöcklweingarten, Gorintschach, Latschach, Oberfederaun, Velden at Lake Wörthersee.
View the full travel overview: Villach.
