Spittal an der Drau

Coordinates: 46°47′N 13°29′E / 46.783°N 13.483°E / 46.783; 13.483
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Spittal an der Drau
View from Mt. Goldeck towards the Gurktal Alps
View from Mt. Goldeck towards the Gurktal Alps
Postal code
9800, 9701, 9702
Area code4762
Websitewww.spittal-drau.at

Spittal an der Drau (

Carinthia. It is the administrative centre of Spittal an der Drau District, Austria's second largest district (Bezirk
) by area.

Geography

Main square

The town is located on the southern slopes of the

Drau Valley. Despite its name, the historic core of Spittal originated on the banks of the small Lieser tributary, which flows into the Drau at the foot of Mt. Goldeck, a peak of the Gailtal Alps south of the town. Its summit can be reached by cable car
.

The municipal area consists of seven

Lake Millstatt
.

History

The settlement was first mentioned in an 1191 deed issued by Archbishop Adalbert of

László Hunyadi in 1456, after which the Habsburg emperor Frederick III
, also Duke of Carinthia, seized his territory.

Porcia Castle

Frederick granted the citizens the right to choose their own judge and the council. However, Spittal and the surrounding lands were devastated by

Hungarian troops of Emperor Frederick's long-time rival King Matthias Corvinus. Further ravaged by a peasant's revolt and two fires in 1522 and 1729, the decline continued, until in 1524 Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria entrusted his treasurer Gabriel von Salamanca
(1489–1539) with the former Ortenburg county.

From 1533 onwards, the Counts of Salamanca-Ortenburg had

Khevenhüller
noble family had a residence erected opposite the castle, nowadays serving as the town hall.

In 1797 Spittal was sieged by

Carinthian Plebiscite in 1920, Spittal for a short time was the provisional seat of the Carinthian state government, which had fled from Klagenfurt. It formally received town privileges on the occasion of the ten-years-anniversary in 1930. Since 1995 the Spittl has been a seat of the Carinthian Fachhochschule
(University of Applied Sciences) for engineering ("Technikum").

Molzbichl

East of the town, within the Drau Valley lies the village of Molzbichl, which is home to the remains of Carinthia's first monastery, established about 780 by Duke

tombstone of an Early Christian deacon Nonnosus
, who died here in 532.

On a slope above the valley, northeast of Molzbichl is Schloss Rothenthurn, in the 11th century called "Red Tower" (Roter Turm), a fiefdom of the Counts of Ortenburg. The present-day palace is a building from the 17th century and serves as a hotel.

Politics

Town hall

Seats in the municipal assembly (Stadtrat) as of 2009 elections:

Notable people

Hanns Gasser
Katharina Naschenweng, 2015

Sport

Transportation

The city has a

cableway
runs up to Mount Goldeck (2,142 m).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spittal an der Drau.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Austria

Twin towns — Sister cities

Spittal an der Drau is

twinned
with:

References

  1. ^ "Dauersiedlungsraum der Gemeinden Politischen Bezirke und Bundesländer - Gebietsstand 1.1.2018". Statistics Austria. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Einwohnerzahl 1.1.2018 nach Gemeinden mit Status, Gebietsstand 1.1.2018". Statistics Austria. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  3. New International Encyclopedia
    . Vol. IX. 1905.
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