Hauptplatz 7
A-9135 Bad Eisenkappel
More than 1000 square kilometers in size, with mountains, former volcanoes, caves and incomparably rich geological history. Hiking and biking trails, climbing, viewpoints – fabulous pathways not well-beaten tracks. This part of the Alps, the Karawanken, has hardly been discovered yet! One of the longest mountain ridges in Europe. This region between Mount Uršlja gora, the Petzen and the Koschuta, between two countries, between mountain peaks and what was once the seabed, between adventure and tranquillity, on the deep geological fault line between Europe and Africa.
Collect your adventures - join the NATURE GAME!
The project was funded within the framework of the cooperation programme Interreg V-A Slovenia-Austria 2014-2020 by the European Regional Development Fund and funds from the province of Carinthia.
The Petzen area has a sensitive and interesting geodiversity in the middle of the Karavanke Geopark. Sensitive natural areas, environmental issues and climatic changes are difficult to communicate to all relevant strata of the population, in terms of a broad awareness in everyday life. Likewise, the trend of digital media entertainment is becoming increasingly influential, leading to a lower level of physical activity, especially among children and young people. The project aims to make a significant contribution to improving the aforementioned aspects, in the cross-border experience area of the Petzen Mountain. In a playful, attractive way, the diverse geodiversity of this space and its connections with global issues will be communicated. The overall project goal is to strengthen the sensitization for natural conditions in connection with attractive "movement offers" through an attractive offer structure in the area of "nature and geo experience" and thus also to enable the access of a broad public. A network of experience offers, in which one can experience geodiversity, environment playfully and can move playfully in nature is to emphasize as main output the meaning of the Geopark Karawanken. Sensitive areas (Natura2000 areas) are deliberately excluded from use, but the contents of these are conveyed at suitable locations in the immediate vicinity. Geodiversity and its themes, as well as the need for recreational activities in nature do not end at national borders. The results, the outcomes are to be made accessible to the general public. The aim is not to protect the area by placing it under protection, but to use it in a spatially targeted way and to raise awareness. The entire network of excursion destinations thus created is to be integrated within the framework of the bilateral Geopark Karawanken for the management of geodiversity and tourism.
Lead partner:
F.S. Immobilienverwaltungs GmbH
Project partners:
Naturefriends Austria local group Petzen
Obir Dripstone Caves Ltd.
Community Globasnitz
Municipality Črna na Koroškem
Community Prevalje
Podzemlje Pece, podjetje za razvoj turistične in muzejske dejavnosti, d.o.o.
Duration: 1.3.2018 - 31.8.2022
Approved ERDF contribution: € 1.966.798,63
This project has received funding from the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 776465.
Dive into the invisible and hidden part of the Karawanken-Karavanke UNESCO Global Geopark!!