Lienz: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

Now in Lienz--:--:--

--°

Lienz grew where the Isel coming down from the glaciers meets the Drau, and for three centuries it belonged to the Counts of Görz, whose line ended here in 1500. Four hundred years later the town gave its name to a painter, Albin Egger-Lienz, whose heavy, earthy peasants and soldiers fill its museum. This walk goes from the railway past the main square and the parish church to the counts' castle. About two and a half hours on foot, flat except the short climb to the castle; the castle museum opens only in the warm months.

A short history of Lienz

East of present-day Lienz stood the Roman town of Aguntum, which was granted the status of a municipium under the Emperor Claudius in the 1st century CE, and its remains are still being excavated. In the Middle Ages Lienz was the seat of the Counts of Gorizia, who built Bruck Castle above it. When the last count died in 1500, the town passed to the Emperor Maximilian I and the House of Habsburg and became part of Tyrol. After the First World War, when South Tyrol was handed to Italy, Lienz remained in East Tyrol, cut off from Innsbruck by a strip of Italian territory. In June 1945 the British handed thousands of Cossacks over to the Soviet Union from here, many of them with their wives and children, and some of them killed themselves in the River Drava rather than be handed over.

The ten best sights in Lienz

1
Hauptplatz
The main square, with the twin-towered Liebburg on one side and cafés on the others
2
Liebburg
Early-17th-century palace with two onion-domed towers, now the town hall
3
St. Andrä parish church
The big Gothic church north of the Isel, with the tomb of the last Count of Görz
4
Egger-Lienz war memorial chapel
Beside St. Andrä: painted by Albin Egger-Lienz, who is buried inside
5
Schloss Bruck
Castle of the Counts of Görz, now the town museum with the largest collection of Egger-Lienz paintings; open in the warm months
6
Südbahn engine shed museum
Old locomotives in the railway's engine shed by the station; check the opening days
7
Cossack cemetery
Graves of the Cossacks who died when their camp here was handed to the Soviets in 1945
8
Aguntum
The dug-out Roman town 4 km east at Dölsach, with a museum beside the excavation
9
Osttirodler coaster
Alpine coaster down the slope by the Hochstein lift, beside Schloss Bruck
10
Zettersfeld gondola
Up to the high meadows north of town for walks facing the Lienz Dolomites

sleepntripFree with every roomThree audio walks in every city

A guide in your headphones, stop after stop.

To the walks

What is an audio walk?

Tours in Lienz →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Lienz:

Free walking tours in Lienz

The counts and the painter

Südbahn engine shed · The line through Lienz opened in 1871 as part of the Südbahn's Puster valley railway from Villach to Franzensfeste.
Liebburg · The palace was built in the early 1600s for the Wolkenstein-Rodenegg counts, who held Lienz after the Görz line died out. Its two onion-domed towers face the square, and the town council sits inside.
St. Andrä · Inside lies Leonhard, the last Count of Görz, who died in 1500 without an heir. His red marble tombstone shows him in full armour.
War memorial chapel · Albin Egger-Lienz painted the walls of this chapel for the dead of the First World War, and when he died in 1926 he was buried in it. His soldiers here are not heroes but tired, bent men.
Schloss Bruck · The Counts of Görz built the castle in the 13th century and ruled from it. When Leonhard died in 1500, the castle and the county went to Emperor Maximilian I under an old inheritance treaty.
Dolomitenhütte · Despite the name, the Lienz Dolomites are not part of the Dolomites: geologically they belong to the Gailtal Alps. They were named for their pale, jagged limestone, which looks like the real thing across the border.

Over the Iselsberg

East of town the valley holds three layers of history in a few kilometres: a camp where 1945 ended in tragedy, a Roman town, and the village where the painter was born. Beyond them the road climbs over the Iselsberg into Carinthia and up towards the Großglockner. This is a car day of about 120 km there and back, with a toll for the high road. Go early on a clear day, and carry a jacket: at the top it can be cold even in August.

Cossack cemetery · At the end of the war thousands of Cossacks and their families were camped at Peggetz, here on the Drau. In early June 1945 British troops forced them onto trains to the Soviet side; some drowned themselves in the river rather than go.
Aguntum · Aguntum is the only Roman town in today's Tyrol. Emperor Claudius made it a municipium in the 1st century, and its baths and town gate are laid open in the field.
Stribach · Albin Egger-Lienz was born in this village in 1868 as Ingenuin Albuin Trojer, the son of a church painter called Egger. He later joined his father's name to his town's, and signed as Egger-Lienz.
Iselsberg pass · The low pass is the border between Tyrol and Carinthia. From its top the road drops into the Möll valley, which leads straight up to the foot of the Großglockner.
Heiligenblut · The village is named for a phial of Holy Blood kept in its church. Legend says a Danish knight called Briccius carried it from Constantinople in the 10th century and died in an avalanche here, the relic hidden in his leg.
Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe · Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth came up here in 1856 to look at the Pasterze, Austria's longest glacier, and the lookout carries his name. The paved road that brings everyone else opened in 1935.

Into the Hohe Tauern

North and west of Lienz the side valleys climb into the Hohe Tauern, the national park of Austria's highest mountains. Each valley ends at a different wonder: the Großglockner above Kals, the cascades of the young Isel above Prägraten, and a pass into Italy at the head of the Defereggen. This is a long car day; pick two valleys if the weather is short. The roads are good but narrow at the ends, and the last stop is a pass where traffic runs one way at a time.

Matrei in Osttirol · Matrei sits on the road to the Felbertauern tunnel, opened in 1967, which gave East Tyrol its first year-round road straight north under the main Alpine ridge, to Kitzbühel and Salzburg.
St. Nikolaus · This small Romanesque church in the fields below Matrei keeps 13th-century wall paintings in a choir built as two chapels, one on top of the other, inside its tower.
Kals am Großglockner · The mountain guides of Kals formed their association in 1869, one of the first in the Alps, to lead visitors up the Großglockner by the route from this side.
Lucknerhaus · The Großglockner, 3,798 m, was first climbed in 1800 by an expedition paid for by Franz von Salm, the Prince-Bishop of Gurk. From here the peak stands at the end of the valley like a pyramid.
Umbal Falls · The Isel is one of the last big glacier rivers in the Alps that still runs free, without dams, from the ice to the valley. The path beside the falls has platforms right over the spray.
Staller Sattel · The Italian side of this pass is too narrow for two cars, so traffic runs on a clock: a short window each hour for each direction, controlled by traffic lights. Check the times before you drive up.

sleepntripRoad and rail routesEvery night on the road, our hotel

Whole routes, with a room up to $80 at every stop.

To the routes

Getting to Lienz and getting around

Lienz station · Trains east down the Drau valley towards Villach, and west into South Tyrol
Lienz bus station · Right beside the train station; buses up the Isel valley to Matrei and Kals

Cheap eats in Lienz

Lienz eats Tyrolean, with a pull from Carinthia and Italy just over the passes. The dish to look for is Schlipfkrapfen, half-moon pasta filled with potato and curd cheese, served with brown butter and chives. For a quick lunch, a butcher's counter or a bakery café on the main square does a roll with Speck, the smoked ham of the Alps. Prices are Austrian, a little lower than in Innsbruck.

City Café Glanzl · Konditorei on the main square; coffee and a slice of cake about €6-9
Café Bäckerei Trenker · Local bakery café; a filled roll and coffee about €5-8
Joast · Bakery with a few tables; pastries and sandwiches about €3-7
Metzgerei Ortner · Butcher's counter for a Speck or Leberkäse roll, about €3-6
Pick Nick Ossi · Snack stand by the square; sausages and toasties about €4-7
Eis Greissler · Ice cream in odd and classic flavours, about €2-3 a scoop

Museums in Lienz

Museum Schloss Bruck · Egger-Lienz paintings, Görz history and folk art; open in the warm months
Aguntum museum · Finds from the Roman town, next to the open excavation
Südbahn engine shed museum · Old steam and electric locomotives by the station
Burg Heinfels · Medieval castle above the Puster valley, open as a museum; about 30 minutes west

Nature and day trips near Lienz

Tristacher See · Swim or walk round the lake under the mountains
Galitzenklamm · Gorge walk on steel walkways; via ferrata for the bold
Karlsbader Hütte · Hut by a mountain lake in the heart of the Lienz Dolomites; a hike from the Dolomitenhütte
Zettersfeld · Gondola to the high meadows; easy walks with the Dolomites opposite
Umbal Falls · Water trail beside the falls of the Isel

Holy places in Lienz

St. Andrä · Gothic parish church with the Görz tombs
War memorial chapel · Egger-Lienz frescoes and his grave
Spitalskirche · Small church of the old town hospital, a step from the station
Franciscan church · Monastery church of the Franciscans in the centre
Heiligenblut church · Pointed spire against the Großglockner; about 40 minutes over the Iselsberg
St. Nikolaus, Matrei · Romanesque church with 13th-century wall paintings

Where to eat in Lienz

Gösserbräu im alten Rathaus · Big Austrian beer restaurant in the old town hall
Kirchenwirt · Regional inn by St. Andrä; East Tyrolean dishes
Goldener Fisch · Traditional Gasthof near the Isel bridge
Adlerstüberl · Austrian classics a few steps from the square
Rose Lienz Hoagascht · Tyrolean inn food in the centre
Holunderhof · Restaurant by the Zettersfeld gondola, a little out of the centre

sleepntripFree cancellationEvery room we sell cancels for free

Plans change? Until the date on the card it costs nothing.

Find a room

Frequently asked questions about Lienz

What is there to see in Lienz?

The top sights in Lienz are Hauptplatz, Liebburg and St. Andrä parish church. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Lienz?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Lienz without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Lienz?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Lienz, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The counts and the painter.

How do you get to Lienz and get around?

The main ways are Lienz station and Lienz bus station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Lienz, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Lienz that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

Looking for a hotel in Lienz for your dates?

Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.

All hotels in Lienz

Plan a trip across AustriaWaltzes, lakes and Alpine peaks→