Drau cycle path

Drau Cycle Path (R1)
overall length	approx. 710 km ; ( 10 km, 290 km, 145 km, 265 km);
location	Italy Austria Slovenia Croatia; ; ;
Starting point	Toblach train station ; 46 ° 43 ′ 29.3 ″ N , 12 ° 13 ′ 31.8 ″ E
Target point	Osijek ; 45 ° 33 ′ 11.5 " N , 18 ° 41 ′ 27.2" E
Flooring	asphalt, water-bound surface
difficulty	easy - medium
Traffic volume	low
ADFC certification	5 out of 5 stars (Toblach - Maribor); The rest of the route is not certified; ;
Website URL	drauradweg.com ; dravabike.si

Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

A board on the Drau Cycle Path in East Tyrol

The Drauradweg (R1) (Ital .: Ciclabile della Drava , slow .: DRAVSKA kolesarska pot ) is a cycle path along the Drau .

The Drau cycle path is a five-star long-distance cycle path in the Austrian part that connects Italy (South Tyrol), Austria (East Tyrol and Carinthia) with Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary along the Drau River.

In its Italian part it is just 13 km, in Austria you drive a good 270 km, while the subsequent kilometers through Slovenia (144 km), Croatia (around 100 km) and Hungary (a little more than 200 km) make up 450 km of the route . In total, cyclists can travel 750 km along the Drau.

history

The Drau Cycle Path was built in the 1980s as part of the construction of the Drau power plants. The dam paths initially served as access to the power plant construction sites. The first section Spittal an der Drau - Völkermarkt was given the designation R1 in 1990. Extensions, closing gaps and rest areas followed, partly as an Interreg project .

During the storm in October 2018 , sections of the cycle path in East Tyrol were completely destroyed. The cycle path should provisionally be accessible again from around mid-May 2019. The complete repair of the cycle path will take until May 2020, the cost of which is estimated at two million euros. ^[outdated]

Route

The cycle path begins at Toblach train station , near the source of the Drau, where it is connected to the South Tyrolean cycle path network. It then leads through the Puster Valley to Lienz and from there through Carinthia, past Villach and Völkermarkt to Maribor in Slovenia . An extension of the cycle path to the mouth of the Drava Donau is planned.

From Sillian to Lienz there is a lot going downhill. From Lienz it is relatively flat, after Ferlach it becomes partly hilly.

If you do not want to choose the journey with an additional 70 km via Brixen / Italy along the Rienza, the journey begins at the Toblach train station in Italy. There is a connection to the South Tyrolean cycle path network and the signs are adapted to Italian customs in green signs with white letters.

In Austria, the signs are initially also in shades of green and then change to brown signs with white letters, and finally in Slovenia to change to blue signs / white letters. A connection to the Austrian long-distance cycle route network, such as B. the connection to the Mur or Möll cycle path exists as well as the connection to the Hungarian part of the long-distance cycle path along the Danube towards the Black Sea or Budapest.

It is advisable to visit the well signposted spring shortly after Toblach and to find out about the route, the water catchment area and the so-called watershed between the Adriatic and the Black Sea in the Toblacher Feld.

The route runs largely on asphalt, agricultural side roads, partly on bike paths on federal roads or on gravel nature trails left open in the immediate vicinity of the river.

A cycle path map is recommended for the exact route, and route guidance can also be accessed online from the ADFC . While the Italian and Austrian sections of the route offer optimal tourist services, the Eastern European route through the Pannonian Plain south of Budapest is still not very touristy despite the existing signs.

Rail connection

From Vienna Central Station to Sillian you can travel by train several times a day, with a change in Lienz or in Franzensfeste .

The starting point in Toblach can also be reached directly by train (from Lienz , Innsbruck and Bozen ).

The return journey is usually not very difficult, as the cycle path from Innichen to Völkermarkt goes along the southern railway . In Maribor you can also come to Austria via Graz .