Bad Kleinkirchheim

Bad Kleinkirchheim. Photo: skionline.pl. The biggest draws of Bad Kleinkirchheim (Carinthia), a resort on the southern side of the Alps in the Nockberge range, are the extensive ski terrain around the Kaiserburg and its modern thermal baths. The area's second ski village, right next to Bad Kleinkirchheim, Franz Klammer's home town, is St. Oswald, with ski terrain on the slopes of the Nockalm. While the pistes on the Kaiserburg can be recommended to ambitious skiers with a competitive streak (this is home to the famous Franz Klammer run, whose gradient reaches 80% in places and which has hosted, among other events, women's World Cup downhill and super-G races), the ski terrain on the Nockalm is a perfectly good place to take your first steps on skis and is ideal for family holidays with small children. Skiing there is especially pleasant on fine days, as all the Nockalm slopes get plenty of sun. A major attraction on the Kaiserburg is undoubtedly the natural toboggan run, which leads through the forest and crosses the Franz Klammer run. Tobogganing takes place only in the evenings, twice a week (at the height of the season) or once a week, because each time a snowcat has to cut across the ski run, carving out a tunnel through which the speeding sledges then race. The night toboggan runs are included in the ski pass. Sledges can be hired from the Intersport shop and rental, right by the valley station of the Kaiserburg lift. Römerbad Thermal Spa. Photo: skionline.pl. Coming down from the Kaiserburg you may come across a rather unusual sight on a ski slope: sofas have been placed on the piste, where you can simply sit down and rest. Both mountains, the Kaiserburg and the Nockalm, have giant slalom courses and speed-measurement runs. A big convenience meant to encourage skiers to choose this particular region of Austria is the Top Ski Pass Carinthia. The pass is valid for 6 days and covers all ski resorts in East Tyrol and the whole of Carinthia, and, importantly for fans of thermal baths, it also gives a 50% discount on admission to Thermal Spa St. Kathrein and to the recently renovated and extended Römerbad Thermal Spa. In the town itself it is worth visiting the Gothic church of St Catherine, dating from 1492, whose crypts now house a baptistery.