Millstätter See

The Millstätter See is the deepest lake in Carinthia and one of the warmest bathing lakes in the region. Above the south shore rise the Nockberge, on the north shore lies Millstatt Abbey with its Romanesque cloister. A high trail and lakeside resorts line the shore.

Highlights

• Carinthia's deepest lake, warm bathing water
• Millstatt Abbey with Romanesque cloister
• Nockberge as a backdrop
• Millstätter See high trail

Good to know

Practical info

Background & History

The Millstätter See is, at over 140 metres, the deepest lake in Carinthia and one of the warmest in the Eastern Alps, which has earned it the byname of a bathing lake with an almost Mediterranean character. It owes its name to a legend that at the same time tells of Christianisation. According to the legend, the converted pagan prince Domitian is said to have thrown a thousand pagan idols into the waters, hence the name from the Latin mille statuae, a thousand statues. The place becomes historically tangible with the Benedictine monastery, founded around 1070, which for centuries formed the spiritual and cultural centre of the region.

The former monastery with its famous Romanesque portal and atmospheric arcaded courtyard still shapes the picture of the village of Millstatt on the northern shore today. Geologically, the lake lies in a longitudinal valley trough gouged out by glaciers, between the gentle heights of the Nockberge and the Millstätter Alpe. This sheltered position provides the mild climate that already allowed the monks viticulture and orchards and later made the lake one of the most tradition-rich summer holiday destinations in Carinthia.