The seemingly small Villach is actually not so small: the town of 60,000 people is the seventh most populous in Austria and the second most populous in Carinthia, the southern Austrian state whose capital is Klagenfurt. Few people come to Fillach purposefully for a vacation, but if you find yourself in Slovenia or Carinthia, you can spare a couple of days to get acquainted with the cute and cozy town and its surroundings.
Fillach sights
Fillach is not very rich in sights, although cavemen still lived in these places, and the Romans built a rather important road for the empire here. Traces of Roman civilization, according to the city website, disappeared when Slavic tribes settled in these places. Since the XIII century, Fillach became officially a town. The clawed paw on the coat of arms is a reminder of that era: it is believed to have been the symbol of one of the most important owners of the town.
The historic city center is small and can be leisurely walked around in an hour. The simple, good colored houses belong to the Gothic period: it is hard to imagine, but they have been standing here for 5 centuries. However, not all of them are completely authentic: during the Second World War, Fillach suffered a lot, many historic buildings were destroyed, but later rebuilt.
Main Square (Hauptplat)
The historic city center — Altstat — starts just beyond the bridge over the Drau (or Drava in Slovenian), a 10-minute walk from the main station. After crossing the bridge, you get to the curved main square, which is surrounded by beautiful colorful houses — in one of them at Hauptplatz #18 in the early XVI century spent his youth Austrian healer and alchemist Paracelsus. In mid-November, the main Christmas fair in Fillach opens on this square.
At the beginning of the square, closer to the bridge over the Drau, stands a copy of the ancient pillar of shame — it has been there since the 15th century. The original is now in the city museum. On the top of the pillar are four cruel punishments that were used in the Middle Ages: flogging, cutting off the hand, deprivation of eyes and cutting off ears. They are accompanied by scales, a symbol of justice, and a sword, a symbol of the inevitability of punishment.
St. Jakob Church (St. Jakob)
The most barn church in Fillach is built in the Gothic style. The lower part of the tower is medieval, while the upper part was built in 1847. The pointed bell tower is the highest in Carinthia: 239 steps lead up to a height of 94 meters. The church is not open all the time: you have to come before or after the service to be guaranteed entry. Inside, the sculptures and architecture of the 16th and 17th centuries have been preserved and the organ from 1645 is still in operation.
- Mode of operation of the bell tower: May, June, September, October — Monday through Saturday, from 10:00 to 16:30; July and August — Monday through Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00.
- Entrance to the bell tower: 2,5 €, with a map of Carinthia free of charge.
- Belfry website
City Museum (Museum Der Stadt Villach)
The City Museum of Fillach, built in 1873, is located in the historic town hall in the city center. There are 5,000 exhibits from the town’s history: everyday objects, clothing, coins.
The museum also includes a large model of the relief of Carinthia in Schiller Park, a viewing platform on the tower of the parish church of St. Jakob, and an exhibition space in the Fillach Castle (discussed below).
- The museum is open May through October daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday is a day off.
- Admission: 5 €, combined ticket for the museum and the tower 8 €, with a map of Carinthia free of charge.
- Exhibition schedule
Fillach Castle (Bamberger Burg)
The former city seat of Bamberg on the banks of the Drava River is now occupied by social housing. However, a small section belonging to the city museum remains there, with archaeological finds and historical artifacts. The castle building, very simple, with a spacious courtyard, was built in the 11th century and has been restored. Adjoining the castle is a 14th century Catholic chapel. All this is not very interesting, but it is free of charge.
- Working hours: daily from 9.00 to 17.00
- Admission: free of charge
- Website
Landskron Castle (Burg Landskron)
On the outskirts of Fillach, near Lake Ossiaher See, on a 676-meter-high hill, the ruins of an ancient castle dating back to the 11th century have been preserved. The castle was regularly struck by lightning, and after the last fire in the XIX century it was not restored. Now in the ruins there is a good restaurant, a monkey nursery and a small zoo with a falconry center, where birds of prey are publicly released to fly a couple of times a day.
The restaurant, zoo and kennel are open from April through October.
- The castle’s website
- Falconry center: admission 13 €, with map of Carinthia free of charge. Website
- Macaque nursery: admission 13 €, with a map of Carinthia free of charge. Website
Church of the Holy Cross (Heiligenkreuzkirche)
The only Baroque building in Fillach is this Catholic church with two twin bell towers. It was built in the 18th century for pilgrims passing through Carinthia. It is located a little away from the city center, but it is perfectly visible from the bridges over the Drava. Although the church was built on the basis of a much older church, there are no special attractions inside — it is enough to look at it from the outside, especially since from the bridge you can get a better view. In good weather, you can see the Alps in the background instead of clouds.
Car Museum (Villacher Fahrzeugmuseum)
The automobile museum is perhaps the only one, apart from the city museum, that is worth a special mention. About 300 cars from 1927—1977 of German and Austrian manufacture Porsche, Rolls Royce and Bentley and other manufacturers are exhibited here. There are Red Bull Formula 1 cars, the original racing Porsche 906 of the famous Austrian driver Jochen Rindt and other rarities.
- Working hours: from 10.00 to 18.00 without weekends.
- Admission: 9,6 €, free with Carinthia card
- Website
What to see near Fillach
Fillach can be a convenient and inexpensive base for traveling in the southern Alps. From here you can reach the Carinthian capital of Klagenfurt in 20 minutes by train, the Slovenian Alps and the ski resort of Kranjska Gora in 1 hour, the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana in 2 hours, or the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia in 2 hours. There is also much to see in the surroundings of Fillach itself.
Schloss Rosegg (Schloss Rosegg)
The beautiful Baroque manor house, built in 1772 in the style of Italian villas, is now home to a café, a zoo and a classic maze of neatly trimmed bushes.
- The Roseg Zoo is open from April through October daily from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. The labyrinth is open from the end of May.
- Admission: zoo — 10 €, maze 4,5 €, combined ticket — 13 €.
- Website
Citrus orchard in Faak am See
The Faak am See, Austria’s largest citrus orchard, is located in the vicinity of Fillach. The park grows not only oranges, mandarins and lemons, but also different types of palm trees, olives and other tropical plants. There is a store where you can buy a tree to take home.
- Working hours: weekdays from 10:00 to 18:00, Saturday — from 10:00 to 16:00, Sunday — day off.
- Website
Terra Mystica Mine (TERRA MYSTICA)
Bad Bleiger, 25 kilometers from Fillach, is a thermal spa. But before the discovery of the healing springs, there was a mine here, where lead and zinc were mined. The Mining Museum tells the story of 700 years of mining history. During the tour, visitors descend into the mine first on foot and then on Austria’s only underground train. On the way to the deepest depths, they are accompanied by mystical underground shows.
The whole tour takes 3 hours, not counting the visit to the museum, so a trip to the Mine is a half-day activity. Underground, the temperature stays at + 8C — don’t forget warm clothes at any time of year.
- Admission: 18,50 €
- Tour schedule
Dobratsch Villacher Alpe ski resort (Dobratsch Villacher Alpe)
In winter, Fillach is a ski resort. It is within easy reach of the neighboring resorts in Slovenia and Italy, so it can be considered as a base point for skiing the slopes of Austria and neighboring countries.
The ski slopes in Fillach are suitable for everyone. Dobrach has 8 elevators, 85 km of slopes, including those for sleds, a large selection of cafes with hot food and drinks, many hiking trails, and a kindergarten. Those who have never stood on alpine skis can use cross-country skis: the resort has 100 km of flat tracks. The best time to visit Dobrač Fillacher is late December to late March.
Warmbad Thermal Spa (Warmbad Villach)
In spring, when there is still snow around, the warm springs awaken — even the ancient Romans liked to swim in warm water surrounded by snow-covered hills. The thermal waters of the Warmbad Spa contain potassium, sodium, magnesium and calcium ions. People come here to heal nerves, strengthen immunity, recover from surgeries, and maintain the health of the spine and joints.
The resort has drinking springs, swimming pools, an aqua park, tennis courts and gyms, cafes and stores.
The resort is located 3 km from the city, you can get here by bus number 1.
Fillah Lakes
There are many alpine lakes around the city, many of them are only accessible by car and only the locals know about them. I will tell you about two large and famous recreational lakes, which can be reached by buses from the city center.
LakeFaaker See is a mountain lake 7 km southeast of the city, with clear and clear water that warms up quickly, so you can swim in it as early as June. City beach with free entrance. I have encountered mentions that the water in the lake is the cleanest among Austrian lakes, that you can drink it. The lake can be walked around the perimeter: length — 2.6 km, width — 1.6 km. Motorized boats are not allowed here — only sailing boats or paddle boats, which can be rented. There are numerous hiking trails and many camping and picnic sites in the vicinity.
Lake Ossiacher See is located 11 km northeast of Fillach. It is the third largest lake in Carinthia: it is 11 km long and 1 km wide. You can fish in Ossiacher See, and the surrounding villages sell fishing equipment and fishing maps of all the surrounding areas. The town of Ossiach itself is home to an 11th-century Benedictine abbey. Its church, rebuilt in Baroque style in the 18th century, is now the parish church.
Alpine road
It is not only in the lake district that you can admire the local beauty. There are many hiking and cycling trails along the alpine route that leads to the highest mountain in Carinthia, Dobrach. The trail is 16.5 kilometers long and is lined with viewpoints, picnic areas, a botanical garden and the Villacher-Alpe Nature Park.
The track itself is toll-free, entry costs about 8 euros (free for cyclists. Details here.
What you need to know about Phillah
- Entrance to museums, observation decks and attractions in Austria is not cheap. I recommend buying a map of Carinthia — it pays for itself with one or two visits.
- Fillach has its own brewery, Villacher, which brews very good beer. The restaurant at the brewery has all kinds of draught «Fillacher» and excellent Austrian cuisine. I recommend trying the local goulash and sausages, and the local brezel is the best brezel I’ve had anywhere. I return to Fillacher again and again for this brezel, even though I have seen almost everything here.
- The best souvenir from Fillach is, in my opinion, local beer or local national clothing. I have marked a store with these clothes on the map at the beginning of this article. Go there and try on a Carinthian blouse, pants or leather shorts — these clothes are still worn every day by the locals.
- When to go to Fillach? In summer — to swim in warm alpine lakes and trek in the Alps. In winter for skiing at relatively cheap prices. November-December to see the Christmas fairs and buy gingerbread. In February, visit Austria’s loudest carnival.
