Chalet Falk, an award-winning private chalet, Carinthia, Austria

An Alpine-Japandi Retreat in the Nockberge Biosphere Reserve

Chalet Falk stands at 1,323 meters on the flank of the Falkert, the peak it is named for, inside the UNESCO Nockberge Biosphere Reserve above St. Oswald. Munich property developer Daniel Marschalt designed and built it for himself in 2023 with his studio dm concepts. He has said he built the house he couldn’t find: an open fireplace, timber already old when it went in, linen and sheepskin, lime plaster. Falstaff and FOUR both profiled the chalet in 2025.

The center of the house is the Falk Lounge, a double-height room under a floating gallery, with an 11-meter glass front onto the meadow and a window seat that pushes out over it. The kitchen is built for long dinners at one table, with a BORA cooktop and a Miele double oven. The four bedrooms run off the main floors, each facing the mountains, each with a rain-shower bathroom and Occhio lighting.

The spa includes a year-round 33°C outdoor pool with a counter-current and built-in whirlpool loungers, a Finnish panoramic sauna facing the peaks, and hanging loungers to cool off in, all reachable without shoes. (A bsw pool award put it among its 2024 top 10 in the pools-at-night category, for the lighting.) Beyond the terrace, the garden drops through larch and meadow to the Oswald creek, with a fire pit, a yoga deck and a sun terrace.

Layout

This vacation home for rent in St. Oswald, Austria, sleeps up to eight guests. The chalet runs to 250 square meters over three levels, with the lounge, kitchen and dining area forming one open volume under the gallery. Four en-suite bedrooms sit off the main floors, and there are four and a half bathrooms in all: one per bedroom, plus a guest WC.

• Bedroom 1: King, en suite

• Bedroom 2: King, en suite

• Bedroom 3: King, en suite

• Bedroom 4: King, Bunk (x2), en suite

• 1 guest WC

Experiences

Private chef Kathrin cooks Slow Food menus in the Falk Lounge, from a single dinner to a cooking class, and there’s in-house massage and private yoga on the deck. Recommended by host: private ski, hiking and biking guides, plus heli-skiing or panoramic flights with Alpe Adria.

Good to know

Children are welcome from age eight; no pets, and no stag or hen groups. Access is by car up a mountain road, with the gondola a 10-minute walk away. The local tourist tax and metered EV charging are billed on arrival. In severe winter weather, the pool may be closed briefly.

Amenities & services

Private spa in reclaimed wood, Finnish panoramic sauna, 33°C outdoor pool (6.5 x 3.4m) heated all year, counter-current swim system, three built-in whirlpool loungers, pool cover, hanging loungers, relaxation room, open fireplace, Falk Lounge with floating gallery, pop-out window seat, fully equipped kitchen, BORA induction cooktop, Miele double oven, SMEG coffee machine, dishwasher, refrigerator and freezer, microwave, kettle, toaster and blender, wine glasses, large dining table, four en-suite bedrooms, rain-shower bathrooms, Occhio lighting, floor-to-ceiling windows, room-darkening shades, cotton and linen bedding, bathrobes, extra pillows and blankets, 55-inch TV with streaming and satellite, Sonos sound system, ethernet and high-speed wifi, dedicated workspace, washer, hair dryer, Jean & Len bath products, central heating, firewood, fire pit, outdoor dining area and furniture, hammock, sun loungers, bikes, private patio and balcony, direct Oswald creek access, yoga and fitness deck, private entrance, free parking on premises, level 2 EV charger (11 kW) for two cars, daily breakfast delivery, digital concierge via WhatsApp and phone, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, fire extinguisher and first aid kit, final cleaning, and an interim cleaning with linen change on stays of eight nights or more.

On request: Private chef and cooking classes, in-house massage and private yoga, private ski, hiking, biking, tennis and golf instruction, water activities, heli-skiing with Alpe Adria Heliskiing, panoramic helicopter or hot-air-balloon flights, airport shuttle or helicopter transfer, extra cleaning and laundry, and paid dryer.

Around

St. Oswald sits on the sunny side of the Alps, in the Nockberge above Bad Kleinkirchheim. The gondola is a 10-minute walk or a one-minute drive: 24 lifts, more than 100km of piste and the Franz Klammer World Cup downhill, with the Kärnten Ski Pass covering 31 resorts and Turracher Höhe about 25 minutes away. In summer, the same slopes carry hikers and cyclists, and the Nockalmstraße, a 35km panorama road, runs straight through the biosphere reserve. The lakes of Millstätter See, Brennsee and Afritzer See lie roughly 20 minutes down the valley, and the nights here are among the darkest in Europe.