Flattnitz Pass (el. 1400 m.) is a high

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

in the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. The pass is located in the 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 ...

, connecting Glödnitz in the Gurk valley with Stadl on the Mur river, beyond the border with

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 ...

. The pass height comprises a dispersed settlement with a high-altitude sanatorium (''Luftkurort'') and an Alpine lake (''

Flattnitzer See Flattnitzer See, also known as Hemmasee, is a lake near Flattnitz Pass in the Gurktal Alps. It rests in the municipality of Glödnitz, in Carinthia, Austria. References

Lakes of Carinthia (state) Lakes of Austria {{Carinthia-geo-stub ...

''). It is a popular destination for

hikers Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

and for

cross-country skiers Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

in winter. The pass was possibly known in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times, it was first mentioned in an 898 deed issued by the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

emperor

Arnulf Arnulf is a masculine German given name. It is composed of the Germanic elements ''arn'' "eagle" and ''ulf'' "wolf". The ''-ulf, -olf'' suffix was an extremely frequent element in Germanic onomastics and from an early time was perceived as a mere ...

. In 1173 the Gurk bishops had a Romanesque chapel erected, dedicated to St John the Baptist, which was rebuilt as a parish church with an adjacent hospice building about 1330. The bishops used Flattnitz (from Slovene: ''blato'', "moss") as a summer residence. The pass height was devastated by invading Ottoman forces in 1478. In the 17th century, Flattnitz was a mining area for silver, iron ore, and lead.

External links

Profile on climbbybike.com
{{Authority control Mountain passes of the Alps Mountain passes of Carinthia (state) Mountain passes of Styria