The 2nd and blazing hot half of the "weekend of extremes" was here in Villach, in the state of Carinthia (Kärnten). The winner of the 1997 Alpine Town of the Year is some distance west of Klagenfurt, the capital of Kärnten and is officially the 7th largest Austrian city. The river you see running through the city is die Drau (the Drava river). Located near the northeast of Villach is ruins of the Landskron Castle (Burgruine Landskron) which now houses a falconry.
Probably not the best of days to visit a city, but the fact that it was Sunday meant it was quiet and good for exploring or just going for a slow walk. If not for the blazing hot sun, I figured I could have lingered around a little longer. That said, there was a little farewell dinner hosted by Geoffrey in the evening, so, maybe the short few hours here was just right ;)
Pfarrkirche St. Nikolai, the neo-Gothic church from the local Franciscan monastery. It suffered severe damage during WWII due to bombings, meaning that the roof and windows had to be replaced.
Die Drau (The Drava River) that runs through Villach. It also runs through Maribor and a few other lesser known cities in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary.
Stadtpfarrkirche Sankt Jakob and its 94 metres high bell tower. It is said to be the highest in all of Carinthia. Unfortunately, the 239 steps to the top was not open for climbing. So no full view of the city then :(
It's not difficult to guess what this is... It's an Austrian city after all, so you know for sure it's a brewery... where the Villacher Bier is brewed.
The Landskron Castle is just ahead... It's all in ruins but it still looks pretty well preserved.
The ruined entrance to the castle...
From within the castle, you'll get the magnificent view of the Ossiacher See (Lake Ossiach), which is the 3rd largest lake in Carinthia.
In amongst the ruins of the castle... it sure was a blazing hot day... as you can see.
Found you, finally! Wasn't in time for the "eagle show" but managed to catch the eagles relaxing in the sun.
Turns out it was a huge blaze in 1812 that left the castle in a really bad state. It was never rebuilt after that and was allowed to fall into ruins.
The Landskron Castle with the Villach coat of arms.
Then I decided to make the craziest decision... To walk to Villach HBF from the castle. Completely roasted two times over, but capturing this shot made it quite worthwhile ;) If you love mountains, then you'll like strolling and hiking around Villach because it's surrounded by them. It's got a beautiful contrast of colours too :)
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