Tscheltschnigkogel

The Tscheltschnigkogel, also called Kadischen, rises on the western edge of Villach in Carinthia. It is a steep, nose-shaped hill of 696 metres above sea level, dropping sharply above the Warmbad district and the suburb of Judendorf. The hill is known for its underground cave systems, the most famous being the Eggerloch which stretches for 709 metres. Archaeologists have found traces of settlement dating back to the Copper Age around 4000 BC. The hill also served as a fortified site in late antiquity, when a wall with bastions and a gate tower protected its slopes. The Kadischen name comes from the Celtic word for a steep drop, matching the hill’s dramatic cliffs. Early farmers chose such defensible knolls during the Copper Age, and later Iron Age groups built a settlement here. Roman builders added a small church on a narrow terrace, later converted into a rectangular early-Christian building with an apse and side rooms. Fragments of marble altar pieces and graves confirm its religious use. A late-Roman fort stood higher up, its stone command post still showing hypocaust pillars and heated floors. Visitors walk through beech woods to the hill’s summit where stone walls mark the fort’s western and eastern enclosures. The Eggerloch entrance lies near the foot of the cliffs, its passages now closed to protect fragile carvings. From the hilltop the view stretches over Villach and the surrounding Alps. The slopes also hold the Wechselwiese meadow, once a small farming hamlet linked to the prehistoric settlement.