Sankt Gertraud: Lavant, Trails and Culture

Sankt Gertraud reveals different sides: the Lavantmeile is a traffic-calmed recreational area on the Lavant with access to the river and bathing platforms, while the Erz Trail brings the historic traces of the region’s mining history to life. There is also a late Gothic parish church, a water education trail and a striking natural monument. Anyone looking for a holiday apartment in Sankt Gertraud can use this desired mix of activity, nature and culture as the basis for planning their own trip.

Experience the Water and Choose Your Trails

The Lavantmeile is a traffic-calmed recreational area on the Lavant. It offers access to the river, bathing platforms, and walking and cycling paths. This allows you to combine time by the water with an active outing without committing to a particular mode of transport. If you enjoy making your days varied, you can include these options in your plans separately from longer hikes.

The Lavant Adventure Trail is an approximately 1 km-long, barrier-free, traffic-calmed zone. The approximate trail length and the designated accessibility are practical points of reference when you want to compare different types of routes. The Frantschach-St. Gertraud market municipality’s water education trail explores another theme. Along the trail, visitors learn about water extraction in the municipality. The starting point is at the bus turning area on Weinebene Landesstraße at the edge of Frantschach-St. Gertraud.

Following the Traces of Ore

Route 1 of the Erz Trail is approximately 12.3 km long. Take this approximate distance into account when planning your day. The Erz Trail follows a path used by miners from the 16th century until the late 19th century to transport the raw ore extracted from the tunnels on the Wölch to the “Hammer” blast furnace. This historical background gives the hike a distinctive thematic framework. The trail can be explored together with the Stollentroll.

The former Sankt Gertraud ironworks in Vorderwölch is also part of this history. It is protected as a historic monument on the basis of an official decision pursuant to Section 3. The designation “former ironworks” is important here: it refers to the site’s historical function and adds another aspect of regional industrial history to the story of the Erz Trail.

Church and Natural Monument

The parish church of St. Gertraud stands in the village of the same name. The late Gothic building dates from the first half of the 16th century. For visitors interested in culture, the church offers a distinct point of interest that fits into a trip planned around nature and history.

A striking feature on the Lavant is the Entenschnabel, or “duck’s bill.” This protected natural monument is a distinctive boulder in the Lavant that resembles a duck’s bill. In the area of the Frantschach-St. Gertraud market municipality, it can be viewed from a small car park. Thus, alongside the trails and historic destinations, a remarkable landscape formation can also be included in your itinerary.

Choose the Right Accommodation Area

When looking for accommodation in Sankt Gertraud, it is worth first organizing your planned priorities. If the trip is to focus mainly on water, walking and cycling paths, you can make the options around the Lavant the centerpiece. For a stronger historical focus, the Erz Trail, the Stollentroll and the former ironworks provide suitable points of connection. Anyone wishing to include shorter or barrier-free routes can add the approximately 1 km-long Lavant Adventure Trail to their selection. You should pay attention to the specific place names, as each of the destinations described is associated with its own area and starting points.

For further trip planning, you can also compare Wolfsberg, Sankt Paul Im Lavanttal, Bad Sankt Leonhard Im Lavanttal, Sankt Andrä, Preitenegg, Lavamünd, Reichenfels and Lamprechtsberg .

To the higher-level travel overview: Wolfsberg.