Skarbin

The Skarbin is the easternmost ridge of the Sattnitz range, a low mountain chain rising above the Klagenfurt Basin in southern Austria. Its steep eastern slopes end in a striking horn-shaped rock tower that can be seen from far away. The name probably comes from the Celtic word for horn, pointing to this unusual landmark. The same name is also given to a small hamlet on the southern slopes, where only about twenty people live. Local legend says the rock tower is a basket-maker turned to stone for swearing an oath. Nearby lie the ruins of Altgrafenstein castle, and a little further off the vanished Burg Prosnitza, once home to the legendary Hildegard of Stein. In 1908 three climbers made the first ascent, fixing a rope and later a summit cross they named Olsta. The cross once stood on the road between Grafenstein and Annabrücke, but winter storms brought it down. A narrow path climbs from Gumisch past old wayside shrines to the foot of the cliffs. Here, in the rock face, are weathered stone niches carved long ago. One still shows a faded fresco of Hildegard’s fall from Prosnitza and her rescue by an angel. Between the boulders wild yellow lilies bloom in spring, marking the spot where she is said to have been saved.