Carinthia Webcam – Lakes and Peaks of Austria’s Sunny South

The Carinthia Webcam is a live tour of Austria’s southernmost state rather than a single fixed view. The stream switches every 10 to 30 seconds or so between partner cameras on the lakes and ski mountains of Carinthia, from the Worthersee shore at Portschach to the Weissensee, the Gerlitzen above the Ossiacher See, the Nassfeld ski area on the Italian border and the Petzen near Slovenia. Each view carries a strip along the bottom with the place name, the camera’s elevation and a three-day local forecast, so one pass through the loop gives a quick read on the weather across the whole region. On a clear day the lake cameras show turquoise water under forested hills, and the high cameras look over ski runs and lift stations.

About Carinthia

Carinthia, called Karnten in German, is the state in Austria’s far south. Its capital is Klagenfurt, at the eastern end of the Worthersee, and about 570,000 people live in the state. The Drava river crosses it from west to east and leaves Austria at the Slovenian border at 339 meters (1,112 feet), the lowest point in Carinthia. The highest is the Grossglockner, at 3,798 meters (12,461 feet) the tallest mountain in Austria, on the state’s northwestern edge in the Hohe Tauern.

The cameras in the loop give a cross-section of that terrain. The lake views sit low: the Jilly Beach camera at Portschach on the Worthersee’s north shore is at 445 meters (1,460 feet), and the Pressegger See camera near Hermagor in the Gail Valley is at 550 meters (1,804 feet). Two Weissensee cameras look east and west along the lake from a bridge, and a third looks down over the water and the village church from a church tower. Higher up, the stream moves to the Gerlitzen middle station at 1,456 meters (4,777 feet), the Petzen top station at 1,682 meters (5,518 feet) in the Karawanks, and Tressdorfer Hohe on the Nassfeld at 1,875 meters (6,152 feet). Other stops include Diex, looking out from 1,233 meters (4,045 feet) toward the Karawanks, and a campsite at Kotschach-Mauthen in the upper Gail Valley.

The Worthersee is the largest lake in Carinthia, 16.5 kilometers (10.3 miles) long and up to 85.2 meters (280 feet) deep, and one of the warmest of the large Alpine lakes, with water reaching about 25 to 27 C (77 to 81 F) in high summer. The Weissensee, at around 930 meters (3,050 feet), usually freezes over in winter, and since 1989 it has hosted the Alternative Elfstedentocht, a 200 kilometer (124 mile) skating tour modeled on the Dutch original.

Weather and Climate in Carinthia

Carinthia gets more sunshine than any other Austrian state, and Klagenfurt logs about 2,050 hours a year. Winters in the Klagenfurt basin are cold and often foggy. The 1991 to 2020 averages for Klagenfurt give January highs of 1.5 C (35 F) and lows of -5.6 C (22 F), and fog settles on about 106 days a year, mostly in autumn and winter. On those days the lake cameras can sit under grey murk while the Gerlitzen, Petzen and Nassfeld views are clear above it. Occasional foehn winds from the Karawanks break up the cold with short mild spells.

Spring warms quickly, with April averaging 16.6 C (62 F) by day and 4.3 C (40 F) at night while snow still lies on the high cameras. July brings highs around 26.2 C (79 F) and lows of 13.9 C (57 F), the peak of the swimming season on the Worthersee. October stays mild at about 14.4 C (58 F) by day and 5.5 C (42 F) at night, and autumn colour shows in the trees around the Pressegger See and the Weissensee. Annual precipitation in Klagenfurt is 943 millimeters (37 inches). Because the forecast strip changes with each camera, the loop also shows how much height matters: on a clear autumn day it can read about 20 C (68 F) at Portschach and under 10 C (50 F) at Nassfeld.

Things to Do in Carinthia

On the Worthersee, Klagenfurt’s lakeside lido is billed as the largest in Europe away from the sea, with room for about 12,000 bathers a day in summer, and Minimundus nearby is a park of miniature landmarks from around the world. In the city’s old town, the Lindwurm fountain from 1593 shows the dragon of Klagenfurt’s founding legend. Above the lake’s south shore, the Pyramidenkogel observation tower opened in 2013 and rises 100 meters (328 feet) in larch wood and steel, with views over the Worthersee to the Karawanks.

For the mountains, the Gerlitzen rises to 1,909 meters (6,263 feet) above the Ossiacher See and is reached by cable car from the lakeshore, with skiing in winter and hiking and biking in summer. Nassfeld, on the border with Italy in the Carnic Alps, has about 110 kilometers (68 miles) of slopes. In a cold winter skaters can travel the length of the frozen Weissensee. Further west, the Hohe Tauern National Park and the Grossglockner High Alpine Road lead toward Austria’s highest peak.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

Two more cameras cover Carinthia on their own, and a third looks over another Austrian lake.

• Bad Kleinkirchheim Webcam
• Berg im Drautal Webcam
• Thiersee Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Carinthia located?

Carinthia is Austria’s southernmost state, bordering Italy and Slovenia to the south, Salzburg and East Tyrol to the west and Styria to the northeast. Its capital, Klagenfurt, sits at the eastern end of the Worthersee.

What can you see on the Carinthia Webcam?

A rotating set of live views from around the state: the Worthersee, Weissensee and Pressegger See, the Gerlitzen, Nassfeld and Petzen ski areas, Diex and Kotschach-Mauthen. Each view shows the place name, its elevation and a three-day forecast.

Why does the Carinthia Webcam keep switching views?

It is a weather panorama built from many cameras, not one camera. The stream moves to the next location every 10 to 30 seconds or so, and short promotional slides from partner resorts sometimes run between views.

Is Karnten the same as Carinthia?

Yes. Karnten is the German name for Carinthia, and it is the name the stream itself uses for this tour of the state’s lakes and resorts.

Is there a live view of Klagenfurt or the Worthersee?

The Worthersee is in the loop, Klagenfurt is not. The lake view comes from Jilly Beach at Portschach on the north shore, looking west along the water with the Portschach shore on the right. The city and its lido at the eastern end of the lake are behind the camera.

Which ski areas in Carinthia are on the stream?

The Gerlitzen above the Ossiacher See, with views from its middle station and from Klosterle lower down, Nassfeld on the Italian border and the Petzen in the Karawanks near Slovenia.

What is the weather like in Carinthia?

Sunny by Austrian standards, with cold, foggy winters in the Klagenfurt basin and warm summers, when Klagenfurt averages highs of 26.2 C (79 F) in July. The forecast strip on each view gives the next three days for that spot.

Source: PanoCloud