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Hiking through Advent with the “Bergkrone”

Hiking through Advent together - the "Bergkrone" makes it possible!(Bild: Hannes Wallner)

Simply switch off and enjoy the Christmas season in the mountains - this is once again possible this year on the Advent hikes, which take place every Sunday in Advent. 

The annual Advent hikes have long since become a cherished tradition for mountain enthusiasts and partnerships have turned into friendships. "I'm really looking forward to the Advent hikes," says Hannes Gütler, who will be taking part in them for the first time as regional head of Carinthia Mountain Rescue.

This is because the emergency services from the Bad Eisenkappel, Villach and Lieser-Maltatal branches and their comrades from the Italian Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino have been ensuring the safety of Advent hikers for years. Mountain pastor Roland Stadler and "Krone" mountain expert and initiator Hannes Wallner: "We are looking forward to welcoming many old and new mountain friends again."

The four "Bergkrone" Advent hikes
The hike to Topica near Bad Eisenkappel kicks off on the 1st Sunday in Advent, which this year falls on December 1st. Johann Kogaj and his Alpenhof Riepl team are already looking forward to it.

On December 8, the second candle will be lit on the Stubeck summit high above Gmünd in Carinthia, around whose summit cross an Advent wreath has been hung for years.

On the third Sunday in Advent, we head up Villach's local mountain, the 2166-metre-high Dobratsch, before the fourth Advent hike on 22 December takes us to Monte Lussari, where Bishop Vicar Engelbert Guggenberger will traditionally celebrate the Christmas mass (12 noon).

Every year, an Advent wreath is attached to the summit cross of the Stubeck at an altitude of 2370 meters.(Bild: Hannes Wallner)

The four Advent hikes organized by "Bergkrone", the mountain rescue service and the church attract hundreds of nature enthusiasts to the wintry mountain world to escape the Christmas hustle and bustle for a while.(Bild: Hannes Wallner)

Every year, the Dobratsch is a fixed point on the "Bergkrone" Advent hikes.(Bild: Hannes Wallner)

A mountain devotion takes place on all four peaks at 11 am. Information is available on 0664/911 15 81.