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Grosser Königstuhl - ascent Karlbad

Karlbad - Stangboden - Karlnock - Großer Königstuhl - Königstuhlscharte - Friesenhals - Karlbad
    

Walking time	3,5 hours
Altitude difference	650 metres
Difficulty	medium
Hiking map	Freytag & Berndt 221 (Nockalm Road)

Wellness may well sound like a trendy recreation undertaking, but the need for physical and mental harmony in a relaxed bathing atmosphere is not so very new. The good old sweat bath was already cultivated in our latitude during the Middle Ages, and probably came to central Europe via Asia Minor. But the way in which beneficial bathing in a wooden trough came to be practiced at 1,700 metres in the Nockbergs National Park is interesting. The legend may tell of a gout-plagued Turk who followed the healing water to its source and was thus the first to discover the Karlbad, the bath in a little cirque, below the Großen Königstuhl. But it is more than probable that this cultural-historical rarity has developed from the centuries-old tradition of "farmers' baths".

Nevertheless, the Karlbad was claimed to possess healing properties by already about 1800 by a doctor from Gmünd. Then as today, the selected pieces of rock are heated on a wood fire and then lowered into one of the bathing troughs. The bathing timed lasts from half an hour to one hour, only the bather's head protrudes from the trough that is otherwise covered with planks. To ensure that the cure really works, the proprietor and bath attendant recommends at least seven baths in one of his 14 wooden troughs.

But after the long hike over the Großen Königstuhl, a single bath would have a very relaxing effect. If there is insufficient time for a bath, the marvellous home-cooking at the Karlbad, with typical Carinthian dishes, will bring a high degree of physical and mental satisfaction.


The Route

Trail 117 from Karlbad quickly gains height. After three-quarters of an hour the marked trail become flatter, and one continues over the Stangboden for a pleasant hike to the Großer Königstuhl turn-off. Trail 125 leads to the north through fields of dwarf pine and over alpine meadows on to the insignificant Karlnock. A plain wooden cross marks the small, pyramid-shaped pile of the stone summit. The Große Königstuhl makes a friendly, inviting impression from here and it is really only a further short stroll to the hiking destination at 2,336 metres with it many views.

The following descent, now somewhat steeper, is on trail 125 to the north-west and the Königstuhlscharte. One then takes trail 118 to the lonely Lake Friesenhals, and turns off to the  left a little later towards Karlbad. Above and along where the water flows from the lake, this beautiful tour then ends at the richly traditional Karlbad.

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