LOCAL, ORGANIC FARMS ALONG THE ROUTE

The route starts at the car park of Rosegg Castle.
More detailed descriptions of parts of the route can be found at www.woerthersee.com/velo.

A selection of organic products from the farms can be purchased at the W-Gravel Hub & Shop.

BIO-BEERENLAND ROSEGG

For over 15 years, 2 hectares of berry bushes have been cultivated organically here – this means that no chemical synthetic fertilisers or pesticides are used and biodiversity is specifically promoted through year-round greening. Depending on the season, you can pick your own organically grown strawberries, raspberries, red, black and white currants here against the beautiful backdrop of Rosegg Castle and the Karawanken mountains. A market garden with a wide variety of organic vegetables is currently being implemented, from which you can choose in a versatile farm shop directly on site.

BIO-IMKEREI APITERRA

The bees of organic beekeeper Hans Hermann not only find pollen (flower dust) from organic berry bushes, the surrounding meadows and forests, and the lime trees in the avenue of Rosegg Castle as a source of food at the Rosegg site, but they also pollinate the flowers of the bushes, thus increasing the yield of the berry bushes. The bee colonies are allowed to live according to organic guidelines and in a particularly natural way: for example, the beehives are made from natural raw materials, the organic feed for the necessary winter feeding and the wax for the honeycombs are of organic origin.

Apiterra Bio-Imkerei
Blumenweg 1
9081 Reifnitz
+43 664 4130081
www.derbienimkerei.at

LICHTGUT BIO-KRÄUTERHOF

Lisa Rettl is a career changer who has dedicated herself to the cultivation of traditional medicinal herbs on her small organic farm, which dates back to the 16th century. As a trained practitioner of traditional European medicine, she offers guided tours of her ‘garden of mindfulness’ and summer workshops on making mild herbal waters, tinctures and ointments.

Garden tours and workshops take place in the summer months of June, July and August, with guided incense meditations also available on request in the autumn and winter months.

Advance booking for garden tours: 7 days, min. 5 people

Lichtgut-Bio-Kräuterhof & Naturpraxis
Dr. Lisa Rettl
Inselweg 5, 9232 Rosegg / Rožek
+43 650 2411211
www.lichtgut.at

BIOGARTEN – EINFACH VIELARTIG

As an organic vegetable retailer, Christian Hermann produces and sells a wide variety of organic vegetables as well as various organic berries and honey products from organic beekeeper Hans Hermann. Various crops, vegetables and young plants are grown on his land in St. Jakob im Rosental and Rosegg and sold at the Klagenfurt organic farmers’ market, among other places. Preserving biodiversity is particularly important to organic vegetable gardener Christian Hermann. That is why he has teamed up with BIRDLIFE to create new bird protection and flower strips with natural hedges next to his fields in Rosental.

Feistritz 7
9184 St. Jakob im Rosental
+43 660 32 11 775
www.biogarten.at

BIRD LIFE BIODIVERSITY PROJECT

Many bird species need structures such as fallow land or hedges to breed or hide from potential predators. Hedges also play a very important role in foraging and feeding. The fruits of the hawthorn, for example, are eaten by 32 bird species. Those of the rowan (rowanberry) and black elderberry even provide food for over 60 bird species each. Hedges also provide food indirectly by attracting insects and their larvae, which in turn are important for insectivorous bird species. For this reason, a 600-metre-long hedge with 13 different plant species was planted on Christian Hermann’s land in St. Jakob.

The Zikkurat-Drauwelle (Drava Wave) consists of material from storage dredging for flood protection and was designed as a land art project. Biotope structures were created in the adjacent water zones, providing valuable habitat for a variety of fish, birds and amphibians. The ‘summit puddle’ of the hill is fed with fresh water by a wind turbine on the shore of the reservoir and serves as a natural mirror of the Karawanken mountains.

SONNHOF KULINARIK

Sandra Krzisnik’s organic farm is located on a small hill in St. Egyden. Ten hectares of land are organically farmed with oil crops such as oil flax, camelina and hemp, which are processed on the farm itself and sold in the farm shop as cold-pressed organic oils and in the form of various hemp products. Recently, the Sonnhof has specialised in the cultivation of hazelnut bushes and the associated truffle farming.

Sandra Krzisnik
St. Egydenerstraße 412
9536 St. Egyden
+43 664 2319379
www.sonnhof.me

Organic farm shop: Opening hours Thursday 9:00 – 12:00, 14:00 – 17:00 & Friday 9:00 – 12:00

BIO-WEINGUT STERNBERG
Organic wine from Carinthia

In 2009, Alexander Egger and his wife harvested around 600 vines for the first time and pressed the first ‘Sternberg wine’. Today, around 21,500 vines thrive in the 4.5-hectare vineyard, which has been cultivated organically and dynamically from the very beginning. In addition to numerous chickens, Shropshire sheep are also allowed to roam freely in the vineyard and act as ‘natural lawnmowers’.

Weingut Familie Egger
Feldweg 6
9241 Wernberg
+43 664 1601630
www.sternberg-wein.at

Farm shop & tasting by appointment

BIOHOF KNAPPINGER
Organic oils, organic grains & compost production

The farm is one of the oldest buildings in the village and was first mentioned in the 14th century. It has been in the family for three generations and was converted to organic farming in 1995 out of conviction. The Knappinger family is committed to preserving the natural diversity of plant varieties, which is why they are increasingly cultivating heirloom varieties. This enables us to reproduce our own seeds and thus remain independent of large corporations in the future. When it comes to processed products (flour, rice, oil, etc.), particular attention is paid to freshness and to using only the whole grain with the germ to produce high-quality, fresh organic wholemeal flour.

DI Stephan Grasser
Kirchweg 6
9220 Velden
+43 664 5309792
www.biohof-knappinger.at

ROSEGG CASTLE, LABYRINTH & WILDLIFE ZOO

Rosegg Castle was built in 1772 by Prince Orsini-Rosenberg for his Italian mistress, Madame Lucrezia. The castle is very reminiscent of the Italian ‘Brentavillen’. Since 1831, Rosegg Castle has been owned by the Liechtenstein family and is open to visitors with a café.

Next to the castle is one of the largest garden labyrinths in Austria, consisting of over 3000 hornbeams, as well as a zoo that is home to around 400 animals and over 35 different species, including the rare bald ibis.

Opening hours May to October

Thanks to BIO AUSTRIA Kärnten – Association of Organic Farmers in Austria