Ferlach ( sl, Borovlje) in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in

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 ...

is the southernmost town in Austria. It is known for its centuries-old

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very h ...

tradition, part of the Austrian

intangible cultural heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. Int ...

since 2010.

Geography

It is situated in the ''Rosental''/''Rož'' Valley of the

Drava The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

River, about south of the Carinthian state capital Klagenfurt. In the south, the crest of the Karawanks mountain range forms the border with Slovenia. The municipal area comprises the

cadastral communities A cadastral community or cadastral municipality, is a cadastral subdivision of municipalities in the nations of Austria,Cadastral Template for Austria, web-pageCT-AT Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, ...

of Ferlach (''Borovlje''), Kappel an der Drau (''Kapla ob Dravi''), Kirschentheuer (''Kožentavra''), Unterloibl (''Podljubelj''), Waidisch (''Bajdiše''), Unterferlach (''Medborovnica''), Glainach (''Glinje''), Seidolach (''Ždovlje''), and Windisch Bleiberg (''Slovenji Plajberg''). The town centre lies at the junction of the ''Rosental Straße'' (B85) highway with ''Loiblpass Straße'' (B91), part of the European route E652, running from Klagenfurt to Tržič in Slovenia via Loibl Pass. The Ferlach Railway line from Weizelsdorf went out of service in 1951, but on summer weekends and special occasions a

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

service, the ''Rosentaler Dampfzug'' runs as far as Weizelsdorf, operated by the preservation group ''Nostalgiebahnen in Kärnten''.

History

Ferlach was first mentioned as ''Vörelach'' in a 1246 deed, named after the surrounding pine (''Föhre'', ''bor'' in Slovene) forests. The mountainous area is the site of large

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

deposits,

ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloomeri ...

and

forging Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which i ...

is documented since the 15th century. The relocation of the capital of the

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 ...

to nearby Klagenfurt under the rule of King

Maximilian I Maximilian I may refer to: *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1486/93–1519 *Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, reigned 1597–1651 *Maximilian I, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1636-1689) *Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, reigned 1795� ...

about 1518 decisively promoted the development of Ferlach as a centre of

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

manufacturing. Under Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

, its gunsmiths became the main armorers of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

. Ferlach firearms were also used by the Spanish,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

armies. The present-day municipality was established as ''Oberferlach'' in 1850. Ferlach received town privileges in 1930 and today is a centre for the production of hunting

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

s. The history of the town is depicted in its coat of arms: it features a pine tree with a cone, two crossed silver nails, and a rifle.

Population

According to the 2011 census has Ferlach 7.272 inhabitants. 8.0% of the population are

Carinthian Slovenes Carinthian Slovenes or Carinthian Slovenians ( sl, Koroški Slovenci; german: Kärntner Slowenen) are the indigenous minority of Slovene ethnicity, living within borders of the Austrian state of Carinthia, neighboring Slovenia. Their status of t ...

Climate

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2021

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

: *

Social Democratic Party of Austria The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) unti ...

(SPÖ): 16 *

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is currentl ...

(ÖVP): 4 * Enotna lista/Volilna skupnost: 3 * Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ): 3 * The Greens – The Green Alternative: 1

Notable people

Odo Josef Struger Odo Josef Struger (August 12, 1931 – December 8, 1998) was an Austrian pioneer in modern-day automation. Early life Struger was born in 1931 in Unterloibl. This is a town in the municipality of Ferlach in Carinthia of Austria. He moved to the ...

(1931–1998), engineer *

Wolfgang Petritsch Wolfgang Petritsch (born 26 August 1947) is an Austrian diplomat of Slovene ethnicity. Between 1999 and 2002 Petritsch served as the international High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Early life and studies Petritsch was born to a C ...

(born 1947), diplomat, honorary citizen

References

External links

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Klagenfurt-Land District