Gurk

The Gurk is a river in Carinthia, flowing entirely within the state before joining the Drava. It begins in the Nock Mountains near the Styrian border, where two small lakes feed its headwaters. The Gurksee and Torersee lie above 1,900 metres, frozen solid each winter and too shallow for fish. From these high cirques the river winds southwest to Reichenau, then turns east through the Gurktal valley toward the town of Gurk. Near Straßburg it bends south, crosses the Klagenfurt basin, and finally reaches the Drava west of Völkermarkt. The Gurk drains nearly a third of Carinthia, covering 2,585 square kilometres. Its longest tributaries are the Görtschitz, the Metnitz and the Glan, each adding water from the surrounding Alps. The river’s course is shaped by the limestone and slate of the Gurktal Alps, creating a valley of meadows and wooded slopes. In its middle reaches the Gurk flows through Gnesau, a village known for its quiet farms and old bridges. The protected headwater lakes sit within a nature reserve established in 1981. Visitors can walk along the upper Gurk from the Turracher Höhe Pass, where the two source lakes lie close together. The path follows the river’s first kilometres through alpine pastures and dwarf pine. Further downstream the valley widens, offering views of farmland and distant peaks. Near Gurk the river passes the town’s old market square and the cathedral of Gurk, a 12th-century church standing above the water. The lower stretches wind through gentle hills before merging with the Drava, completing a journey of 156 kilometres.