Rail & Trail "St. Paul i.L. - St. Andrä i.L." (head-free walk)

A delicacy for lovers of modern station architecture forms the prelude, the St. Paul i.L. station. Situated in the middle of the Lavanttal valley, it offers a magnificent view to the south of the imposing St. Paul i.L. Abbey and its "Trinity" on the forest ridge in the background: the St. Josef (Josefsberg) branch church, the St. Johannes branch church and the Rabenstein castle ruins. After a short stretch of footpath along the main road, we follow the Lavant river upstream - partly on gravel paths, partly on near-natural paths and also on hiking trails. At the beginning, the European nature reserve "Untere Lavant" allows us to trace the original valley landscape: We cross rustic alluvial forest and catch glimpses of the renaturalized river - a hidden natural paradise. Later, we follow the narrow banks of the heavily straightened river on the outside. The view opens up and allows grandiose vistas: the impressive valley width, seemingly endless fields, scattered villages ... and the mighty ridge of the Koralpe. A rare landscape cinema that lets your thoughts fly. As the route progresses, the cathedral town of St. Andrä i.L. with its two imposing churches comes more and more into focus. From the Lavantbrücke bridge, the route crosses Bahnhofstraße to St. Andrä i.L. railroad station.