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Carinthia ( sl, Koroška ; german: Kärnten), also Slovene Carinthia or Slovenian Carinthia (''Slovenska Koroška''), is a traditional region in northern Slovenia. The term refers to the small southeasternmost area of the former
Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (german: Herzogtum Kärnten; sl, Vojvodina Koroška) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial Sta ...
, which after World War I was allocated to the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs according to the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain. It has no distinct centre, but a local centre in each of the three central river valleys among the heavily forested mountains. Since the entry of Slovenia into the European Union in May 2004, much effort has been made to re-integrate Carinthia as a cultural, tourism, and economic unit. The historic region has no official status as an administrative district within Slovenia, although the association with an informal province (''pokrajina'') is quite common.


Geography

The region lies in the Karawanks mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps and comprises two spatially divided areas totalling : * the Meža Valley (''Mežiška dolina'') down to the confluence with the
Drava The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...
Valley (''Dravska dolina''), including the municipalities of
Črna na Koroškem Črna na Koroškem (; german: Schwarzenbach) is a town in northern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Črna na Koroškem. It lies in the traditional Slovenian province of Carinthia, close to the border with Austria. Since 2005 it h ...
, Mežica, Prevalje and Ravne na Koroškem, and Dravograd. * the Municipality of Jezersko south of the Seeberg Saddle mountain pass. All these municipalities border on the Austrian state of
Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
in the north. In 2005, the Carinthia Statistical Region was established, which covers a larger area of about , parts of which encompass a number of adjacent municipalities belonging to the traditional region of
Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
like the town of
Slovenj Gradec Slovenj Gradec (; german: Windischgrätz'', ''after about 1900 ''Windischgraz'') is a town in northern Slovenia. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Slovenj Gradec. It is part of the historical Styria region, and since 2005 it has belon ...
in the Mislinja Valley or Muta and Radlje down the Drava River, though not Jezersko, which is part of the Upper Carniola Statistical Region. The landscape of Carinthia is very diverse, with predominance of hilly and mountainous relief, in the Pleistocene transformed by glaciers. The climate is partially an alpine climate, and partially a transitional
continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...
. An important element is temperature inversion. Over two thirds of Carinthia is covered by forest and the percentage is still increasing. The predominant tree species are beech, fir, and spruce. The lower areas have been polluted by lead due to a lead mine. Despite this, Carinthia is home to much game (hare, deer, roe deer) and alpine animal species above the timberline, like at Mount Peca or Mount Raduha. The Drava River is home to many fish.


History

The name derives from the early medieval Slavic principality of
Carantania Carantania, also known as Carentania ( sl, Karantanija, german: Karantanien, in Old Slavic '), was a Slavic principality that emerged in the second half of the 7th century, in the territory of present-day southern Austria and north-eastern ...
, whose territory stretched from the present-day Austrian state of Carinthia down to the Styrian lands on the Sava river. The area was part of the
Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...
Carinthian duchy established in 976 and ruled by the House of Habsburg from 1335, which in 1867 became a
Cisleithania Cisleithania, also ''Zisleithanien'' sl, Cislajtanija hu, Ciszlajtánia cs, Předlitavsko sk, Predlitavsko pl, Przedlitawia sh-Cyrl-Latn, Цислајтанија, Cislajtanija ro, Cisleithania uk, Цислейтанія, Tsysleitaniia it, Cislei ...
n crown land of Austria-Hungary. Upon the Austrian defeat in World War I, the newly established Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed Yugoslavia) in 1919 occupied southern Carinthia. The Meža Valley, the area around Dravograd and Jezersko, which are today the territory of Slovenia, were split off without a referendum, while in the occupied region north and west of this, on 10 October 1920 the voters in the Carinthian Plebiscite determined that those parts should become part of the newly founded
First Austrian Republic The First Austrian Republic (german: Erste Österreichische Republik), officially the Republic of Austria, was created after the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 September 1919—the settlement after the end of World War I w ...
. During the 1941 Balkan Campaign of World War II, the area was annexed by Nazi Germany and put under the administration of the ''
Reichsgau A (plural ) was an administrative subdivision created in a number of areas annexed by Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1945. Overview The term was formed from the words (realm, empire) and , the latter a deliberately medieval-sounding word wi ...
'' of Carinthia, led by Friedrich Rainer. Upon the German Instrument of Surrender in May 1945, Yugoslav Partisans entered the region, killing numerous alleged collaborators during the Bleiburg repatriations. The area around Dravograd ( Otiški Vrh, Selovec, Bukovska Vas, Šentjanž) and Prevalje ( Leše, Poljana) is the site of several mass graves. After the war, the region formed part of the Yugoslav
Socialist Republic of Slovenia The Socialist Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Socialistična republika Slovenija, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Sociali ...
, it became part of independent Slovenia after the
Breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
in 1991.


Demographics

The Carinthia Statistical Region had 73,754 inhabitants in 2008, with an uneven settlement and relatively young population. Nonetheless, due to low birth rate and shorter life span, the number of inhabitants is decreasing. The biggest employer is the processing industry. Many people are commuters, working in Ljubljana,
Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...
, Velenje and Austria. In 2008, there was relatively high unemployment, 10.5% in the mining town of
Črna na Koroškem Črna na Koroškem (; german: Schwarzenbach) is a town in northern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Črna na Koroškem. It lies in the traditional Slovenian province of Carinthia, close to the border with Austria. Since 2005 it h ...
and 11.8 in Ravne na Koroškem, known for its steel industry. Other large settlements are the mining towns Mežica and Prevalje, Dravograd along the Maribor-Klagenfurt railway, Slovenj Gradec, the administrative centre of the Mislinja Valley and a cultural centre, Muta with a metal industry based on its blacksmith tradition, Radlje ob Dravi, a lively business and commercial centre.


Economy

In the 1990s, the lead and zinc mine in the Meža Valley, the most highly industrialized valley of the region, and the lead
smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including Silver mining#Ore processing, silver, iron-making, iron, copper extracti ...
in Žerjav were closed down. The only factory in the area around the mine still operating is TAB, a manufacturer of
batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
. Metal Ravne, the
steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finish ...
at Ravne, which was one of the largest employers in the Duchy of Carinthia in the 19th century, managed to survive and now specializes in alloy steel and machinery components. There are five hydroelectric plants in the Carinthian stretch of the Drava Valley, with a total capacity of about 60 megawatts, and metal products are produced in different places.


Environment

After the shut-down of the zinc mine, the extremely poor environmental situation in the narrow Meža Valley with its centuries-long lead and zinc ore exploitation has slowly been improving. However, the entire area of the Slovene Carinthia continues to suffer from severe damage to its forests. In some areas, up to 40% of the trees are damaged due to heavy
sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic activ ...
emissions from the
Šoštanj Power Plant The Šoštanj Power Plant ( sl, Termoelektrarna Šoštanj), also known as the Sostanj Thermal Power Plant, is a lignite, heating oil and natural gas fueled power station on the bank of the Paka River near Šoštanj, Slovenia. Termoelektrarna Šo ...
and the iron works in Ravne. Despite the pollution of the Meža and Drava rivers, water supply has never been a problem. Clean water is abundant due to the mountainous terrain with its impermeable rock. Almost every farm in the mountains has its own water supply system, and the settlements in the valleys are connected to municipal water supply systems.


Education and culture

The Dr Franc Sušnik Central Carinthian Library and the Carinthian museum are in Ravne na Koroškem, but the Carinthian Regional Museum, the Carinthian Gallery of Fine Arts, and the regional radio station are located in Slovenj Gradec (historically part of
Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
). In the past, educational establishments and other activities were dispersed among several small towns. There are high schools in Ravne and Muta. Students who wish to continue their tertiary education mostly choose the universities in Maribor and Ljubljana. In Črna na Koroškem, there is a centre for the protection and vocational education of physically and mentally handicapped youth.


Notable people

*
Aleš Gorza Aleš Gorza (born 20 July 1980) is a retired Slovenian alpine skier. Gorza represented Slovenia at the 2006 Winter Olympics. His World Cup debut was on 21 December 2001 in Kranjska Gora. His best results so far are two 3rd places in Super-G, on ...
, skier * Robert Koren, football player * Lado Kralj, writer, theatre critic and literary historian * Alojzij Kuhar, historian, diplomat, journalist and politician * Mitja Kunc, skier *
Nataša Lačen Nataša Lačen, (born 3 December 1971 in Črna na Koroškem) is a Slovenian cross country skier who competed from 1993 to 2003. Her best World Cup finish was 12th twice with one each in 2001 and in 2002. Lačen also competed in two Winter Olympi ...
, cross country skier * Tina Maze, skier *
Boštjan Nachbar Boštjan "Boki" Nachbar (born July 3, 1980) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player. A 2.06 m forward, he spent most of his career between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the EuroLeague. Nachbar helped lead the Sloven ...
, basketball player *
Vinko Ošlak Vinko Ošlak (born 23 June 1947) is a Slovene author, essayist, translator, columnist and esperantist from the Austrian state of Carinthia. Ošlak was born in the town of Slovenj Gradec, then part of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia in fo ...
, essayist, translator, and Christian thinker *
Andrej Pečnik Andrej Pečnik (born 27 September 1981) is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as a defender. International career Pečnik played 4 times for the Slovenia national team between 2005 and 2006. Personal life He is the brother ...
, football player *
Nejc Pečnik Nejc Pečnik (born 3 January 1986) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays for Dravograd. Primarily an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a winger or forward. He represented Slovenia at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Prior to tha ...
, football player * Danilo Pudgar, skier * Renata Salecl, philosopher *
Mirnes Šišić Mirnes Sead Šišić (born 8 August 1981) is a former Slovenian footballer. Club career Early career Šišić began his professional footballing career in Slovenia with NK Rudar Velenje in 2001. In 2003, Šišić signed with Ilisiakos F.C. in ...
, football player * Adi Smolar, singer-songwriter * Katarina Srebotnik, tennis player * Marko Šuler, football player * Tine Urnaut, volleyball player *
Prežihov Voranc Prežihov Voranc (10 August 1893 – 18 February 1950) was the pen name of Lovro Kuhar, a Slovene writer and communist political activist. Voranc's literary reputation was established during the 1930s with a series of Slovene novels and short ...
, writer *
Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Ro ...
, composer


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control Historical regions in Slovenia