Kauns: Berneck Castle, Nature and Trails

Kauns offers several specific points to consider when choosing where to stay: a nature reserve with diverse landscape features, trails leading to different destinations, and listed historic buildings. If you are looking for a hotel, these themes can help you define why Kauns is the right choice. First, consider whether you want to focus your stay on nature, a particular trail, or the castle and listed religious buildings. The following places and routes offer different points of interest.

Landscape in the nature reserve

The Kauns-Kaunerberg-Faggen Nature Reserve encompasses dry grassland, rock bands, shrub and woodland islands, and overgrown dry-stone walls. The landscape described here thus brings together open and rocky areas with vegetated islands and wall features. This combination gives the protected area a different character from a single cultural site: the focus is on a mosaic of different landscape forms. If nature is important to your travel plans, the area offers a clearly defined point of interest.

Trails with different destinations

The Kauner Forest and Shrub Educational Trail is a themed trail through the nature reserve. It is 2.7 kilometres long and starts and ends at the Kauns municipal office. Its name draws attention to forests and shrubs, while its location in the protected area provides the landscape setting. The Kauns–Kaltenbrunn Pilgrimage Trail has a different focus: it also starts in Kauns, but ends at the Kaltenbrunn pilgrimage church. The two trails therefore differ in their endpoints: the educational trail returns to its starting point, while the pilgrimage trail leads to a named destination. This can help you choose the type of trail that best suits your plans.

The tour to the Aifneralm also starts at the Kauns municipal office. This makes it the starting point for both the educational trail and another tour, whose destination is the Aifneralm. Route conditions for the tour to the Aifneralm may vary by season, so take this into account when planning. The three routes offer different points of interest: the nature reserve, the Kaltenbrunn pilgrimage church and the Aifneralm.

Berneck Castle and listed religious buildings

Berneck Castle, also known as Schloss Berneck or Bernegg, is a castle complex built around 1200. The phrase “around 1200” gives an approximate date of origin without specifying a single year. The castle chapel is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew. On the south side, a gallery extends over a 130-metre-high rock face and offers a view down into the depths. The castle complex thus brings together a historical context, its own religious significance and a striking landscape feature.

The Catholic parish church of St James the Elder in Kauns is also a listed building. The Chapel of the Holy Cross, also known as the Schranz Chapel, is listed as well. Together with the castle chapel, these are three distinct religious sites: the castle chapel, the parish church and the Chapel of the Holy Cross. If you also want to plan your stay around buildings and their individual functions, these names offer specific points of interest.

Herbs as a distinct point of interest

The Kauner Herb Corner is an herb garden on the organic farm of Verena and Edgar Buchhammer. The herb theme is therefore tied to a specifically named farm and complements the landscape and architectural heritage themes with an agricultural connection. When considering accommodation in Kauns, this garden can provide another focus: alongside the trails in the nature reserve and the historic buildings, the herb garden is a point of interest in its own right.

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For the higher-level travel overview: Landeck.