Feistritzer Spitze

The Feistritzer Spitze stands at 2113 metres in the Karawanken range, its sharp crest marking the border between Austria and Slovenia. The massif rises above the Jaun valley and forms part of the Karawanken’s eastern limestone peaks. Three summits exceed two thousand metres, with the Feistritzer Spitze the highest entirely on Austrian soil. A cable car from Feistritz ob Bleiburg carries walkers to 1705 metres in fifteen minutes. The lift runs from mid-June to mid-September and again from early December to early April. The mountain is known for its mining past, with tunnels totalling one thousand kilometres driven into the rock. Five kilometres of these old lead and zinc galleries now serve mountain-bike routes. The area also holds rare alpine plants such as Kerners alpine poppy and the Steineralpen marsh orchid, found only on these limestone slopes. In winter a network of lifts serves fifteen kilometres of groomed pistes, while in summer the same lifts carry hikers and paragliders. From the upper station a marked path leads in three hours to the summit, passing three mountain inns with wide views over the Jaun valley. The route continues east to the Kniepssattel saddle and on to the Kordeschkopf, the range’s easternmost two-thousander. Below the lift’s lower station the Siebenhütten area offers guesthouses, ski hire and lessons. Whether climbing or skiing, the Feistritzer Spitze rewards every visitor with long views across the Karawanken into Slovenia.