Radlje ob Dravi - Sveti Pankracij (Radelca) (via Župank and Sveti Urban)

Access to the starting point:
a) Drive to Dravograd, then continue to Maribor. When you arrive in Radlje ob Dravi, turn left at the junction between the Hofer and Lidl stores in the direction of the Radelj Pass and the centre of Radelj ob Dravi. Continue along the road that leads through the centre of the town (left Austria via the Radlje Pass) and follow it to the parish church of St. Michael, where you will see red mountain signs along the road. Park in one of the car parks in Radlje ob Dravi, but be careful, as some car parks only allow parking for up to 2 hours.

b) From Maribor, follow the Drava Valley towards Dravograd, leaving the main road before Radlje ob Dravi, where the signs for this place direct you to the right. Continue past the cemetery, the health centre and the police station, and then you will see the red mountain signs on the right near the parish church. Park in one of the car parks in Radlje ob Dravi, but be careful as some car parks only allow parking for up to 2 hours.

Path description:
From the starting point, take the path in the direction of Župank and Kapunar, where you will first pass a signboard and the parish church of St. Michael, and a little further on you will pass the Rosenhof. The road you are climbing soon turns left, and just a few steps further on the signs direct you to a sharp right onto a narrower road, and from there you will immediately turn left onto the originally marked path. After a few minutes of climbing, we reach a dirt road, and we follow it to the right, bypassing the water tower on the lower right-hand side.

Continue towards Župank and Kapunar (slightly left unmarked path to Kapunar, leading west of Perkolica (600 m), a steeper marked path), where we quickly change from the dirt road to the asphalt road, and climb up it to the NOB memorial at the homestead Župank.

From the monument we return to the chapel, and then continue along the marked macadam road, from which we can enjoy beautiful views that stretch across the Drava to Pohorje and Karawanks, and with good visibility we can also see the Kamniško Savinjske Alps. Slightly higher up, a slightly shorter path joins us at the right turn from the left, which went straight into the forest at the water tower, and we continue along the road, where we are also directed by the signs for Kapunar.

The road quickly leads to the Ižek farm, from where we have a beautiful view of the still quite distant Kapunar. When the road passes a little further into the lane of a forest, it turns sharp left, and at a small crossroads it goes straight ahead. Go around the Pavli farm on the right hand side, and a few 10 steps further on, take a slight right onto cart track, which takes you into the forest. In the woods, take the cart track right onto a footpath, which will take you up to a dirt road in a few minutes.

Follow the road to the right, and at the next crossroads follow the signs for Kapunar. It is a relatively long walk along a dirt road, which you follow to a former guardhouse, now used by radio amateurs.

From the watchtower, where the registration box is located, continue in the direction of the hunting cross, St. Urban and St. Pancras. The path ahead leads along cart track, which gradually starts to descend, and lower down you reach the boundary ridge, which you reach at the hunting cross.

We continue along the Slovenian side of the Radelj ridge, and for some time the Austrian trail runs parallel to our route. The two paths diverge a little, but at the next wooden sign they come closer again.

We leave the national border at a crossroads, where the signs for the St. Pancras Trail point us down to the right. Then descend to the nearby Buzenik farm, which you pass on the left. After the chapel and the NOB memorial, follow the dirt road to the left and quickly reach the Church of St Urbana.
Go around St Urban's Church on the bottom right-hand side, then follow the road downhill a little. The road continues alongside the Slanik farm, and after the farm it descends more easily. At the nearby farm Zgornji Murn, turn sharp left from the crossroads and the descent ends at a marked crossroads near the farm Zgornji Kočnik.
Continue along the upper road in the direction of St Pancras and the stamp at Mravljak (right down Remšnik), which you climb for a short distance, then go left on the marked cart track, which you follow to Mravljak Farm, which opens up to a fine view of the church of St Pancras.
After the farm, we continue past the farm buildings on the St Pancras trail, which leads us in a few minutes to the border ridge, where we join the Austrian trail, or the trail from the Kapunerhütte hut.
Continue slightly to the right, initially downhill, and a minute's walk after the chapel will take you to the Church of St Pancras, which offers a fine view, especially towards Austria, or, for an even better view in summer, you can climb up to the lookout tower.
Radlje ob Dravi - Župank 0:30, Župank - Amateur Radio Hut 1:55, Amateur Radio Hut - St. Urban 0:50, St. Urban - St. Pancratius 0:45.
Description and images refer to the situation in 2018 (December).

On the way: Župank (508m), Kapunar / Kapunerkogel (1051m), Sveti Urban (Radelca) (920m)

We can extend the trip to the following destinations: Kapunerhütte

We recommend: trips from the same starting point, similar trips