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Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated Austrian state, in the
Eastern Alps The Eastern Alps are usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley, up to the Splügen Pass at the Main chain of the Alps, Alpine divide, and down the Liro (Como), Liro River to Lake Como in the south. ...
, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The
Lake Wolayer The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the , near the Plöcken Pass. It is the centrepiece of the Wolayer See and surrounding area nature reserve. Notable plant species include Alpine eryngo (''Eryngium alpestre''), sweet ...
is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main Ridge, near the Plöcken Pass.The main language is
Austrian German Austrian German (), Austrian Standard German (ASG), Standard Austrian German (), Austrian High German (), or simply just Austrian (), is the variety of Standard German written and spoken in Austria and South Tyrol. It has the highest prestige ( ...
, with its non-standard dialects belonging to the
Southern Bavarian Southern Bavarian or South Bavarian, is a cluster of Upper German dialects of the Bavarian group. They are primarily spoken in Tyrol (i.e. the Austrian federal state of Tyrol and the Italian province of South Tyrol), in Carinthia and in t ...
group; Carinthian Slovene dialects, forms of a South
Slavic language The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ear ...
that predominated in the southeastern part of the region up to the first half of the 20th century, are now spoken by a small minority in the area. Carinthia's main industries are
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
,
electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...
,
engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
,
forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
, and
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
.


Name

The etymology of the name "Carinthia", similar to Carnia or
Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...
, has not been conclusively established. The ''
Ravenna Cosmography The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' (,  "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a work describing the Ecumene, known world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. It consists of five books describing ...
'' (about AD 700) referred to a Slavic "Carantani" tribe as the eastern neighbours of the
Bavarians Bavarians are a Germans, German ethnographic group native to Bavaria, a state in Germany. The group's dialect or speech is known as Bavarian language, Bavarian, native to Altbayern ("Old Bavaria"), roughly the territory of the historic Electo ...
. In his ''
History of the Lombards The ''History of the Lombards'' or the ''History of the Langobards'' () is the chief work by Paul the Deacon, written in the late 8th century. This incomplete history in six books was written after 787 and at any rate no later than 796, maybe at ...
'', the 8th-century chronicler
Paul the Deacon Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, sc ...
mentions "Slavs in
Carnuntum Carnuntum ( according to Ptolemy) was a Roman legionary fortress () and headquarters of the Roman navy, Pannonian fleet from 50 AD. After the 1st century, it was capital of the Pannonia Superior province. It also became a large city of app ...
, which is erroneously called Carantanum" (''Carnuntum, quod corrupte vocitant Carantanum'') for the year 663. "Carantani" may have been formed from a toponymic base ''carant-'' which ultimately derives from pre-
Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
root *''karra'' 'rock'. (cf. ), or that it is of
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
origin and derived from *''karantos'' 'friend, ally'. Likewise, the Slovene name may have been adopted from the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
*''carantanum''. The toponym ''Carinthia'' (Slovene: <
Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium BC through the 6th ...
''*korǫt’ьsko'') is also claimed to be etymologically related, deriving from pre-Slavic *''carantia''. Carinthia is known as ''Koruška/ Корушка'' in Croatian and Serbian, ''Korutany'' in Czech, ''Kärnten'' in German, ''Karintia'' in Hungarian, ''Carinzia'' in Italian, ''Carintia'' in Spanish, ''Karyntia'' in Polish, ''Korutánsko'' in Slovak, and ''Koroška'' in Slovene.


Geography

The state stretches about from east to west, and in a north–south direction. With , it is the fifth-largest Austrian state by area. Most of the larger Carinthian towns and lakes are situated within the Klagenfurt Basin in the southeast, an inner Alpine
sedimentary basin Sedimentary basins are region-scale depressions of the Earth's crust where subsidence has occurred and a thick sequence of sediments have accumulated to form a large three-dimensional body of sedimentary rock They form when long-term subsidence ...
covering about one-fifth of the area. These Lower Carinthian lands differ from the mountainous Upper Carinthian region in the northwest, stretching up to the Alpine crest. The Carinthian lands are confined by mountain ranges: the
Carnic Alps The Carnic Alps (; ; ; ) are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Italian Friuli (Province of Udine) and marginally in Veneto. Etymology They are ...
and the
Karawanks The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks (; , ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia to the south and Austria to the north. With a total length of in an east–west direction, the Karawanks chain is o ...
form the border to Italy (
Friuli-Venezia Giulia Friuli-Venezia Giulia () is one of the 20 regions of Italy and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste, a bay of the Adriatic Sea. Friuli-Venezia Giulia has an area of and a ...
) and Slovenia (
Carinthia Statistical Region The Carinthia Statistical Region () is a statistical region in northern Slovenia along the border with Austria. The region is difficult to access and is poorly connected with the central part of Slovenia. The environment has been strongly affect ...
,
Savinja Statistical Region The Savinja Statistical Region () is a Statistical regions of Slovenia, statistical region in Slovenia. The largest town in the region is Celje. It is named after the Savinja River. The region is very diverse in natural geography; it mainly compr ...
and
Upper Carniola Statistical Region The Upper Carniola Statistical Region () is a Statistical regions of Slovenia, statistical region in northwest Slovenia. It is a region with high mountains, including Mount Triglav, and is almost entirely Alpine. A large part of this statistical r ...
). The
High Tauern The High Tauern (plural, pl.; , ) are a mountain range on the Main chain of the Alps, main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of Salz ...
mountain range with Mt Grossglockner, , separates it from the state of
Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
in the northwest. To the northeast and east beyond the
Pack Saddle ] A pack saddle is any device designed to be secured on the back of a horse, mule, or other working animal so it can carry heavy loads such as luggage, firewood, small cannons, or other things too heavy to be carried by humans. Description Ide ...
mountain pass is the state of
Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
. The main river of Carinthia is the
Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.
(''Drau''), it makes up a continuous valley with
East Tyrol East Tyrol, occasionally East Tirol (), is an exclave of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, separated from North Tyrol by parts of Salzburg State and parts of Italian South Tyrol (''Südtirol'', ). It is coterminous with the administrative ...
,
Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...
to the west. Tributaries are the Gurk, the Glan, the Lavant, and the Gail rivers. Carinthia's lakes including Wörther See,
Millstätter See Lake Millstatt (, sometimes written "Millstättersee") is a lake in Carinthia (state), Carinthia, Austria. Geography It is situated at 588 metres above the Adriatic (1,929 ft), north of the Drava Valley within the Gurktal Alps (Nock Mountains ...
, Lake Ossiach, and Lake Faak are a major tourist attraction. The capital city is Klagenfurt. The next important town is
Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...
, both strongly linked economically. Other major towns include Althofen, Bad Sankt Leonhard im Lavanttal,
Bleiburg Bleiburg () is a small town in the south Austrian state of Carinthia (''Koroška''), south-east of Klagenfurt, in the district of Völkermarkt, some four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the border with Slovenia. The municipality consists of the twel ...
, Feldkirchen,
Ferlach Ferlach () in the district of Klagenfurt-Land District, Klagenfurt-Land in Carinthia is the southernmost town in Austria. It is known for its centuries-old gunsmith tradition, part of the Austrian intangible cultural heritage since 2010. Geography ...
, Friesach, Gmünd, Hermagor,
Radenthein Radenthein () is a town in Spittal an der Drau District, in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography The town is situated in the Gegend valley (''Gegendtal'') of the Nock Mountains range (part of the Gurktal Alps), stretching to the eastern sh ...
, Sankt Andrä, Sankt Veit an der Glan,
Spittal an der Drau Spittal an der Drau is a town in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. It is the administrative centre of Spittal an der Drau District, Austria's second largest district (''Districts of Austria, Bezirk'') b ...
,
Straßburg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin department and the official seat of the European Parliament. The cit ...
, Völkermarkt, Wolfsberg. Carinthia has a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
), with hot and moderately wet summers and long harsh winters. In recent decades, winters have been exceptionally
arid Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...
. The summer
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
maxima often takes the form of heavy rain and
thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...
s, especially in the mountainous regions. The main Alpine ridge in the north is a meteorological divide with pronounced
windward and leeward In geography and seamanship, windward () and leeward () are directions relative to the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e., towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point o ...
sides where foehn occurs regularly. Due to the diversified
terrain Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...
, numerous distinct microclimates exist. Nevertheless, the average amount of sunshine hours is the highest of all states in Austria. In autumn and winter, temperature inversion often dominates the climate, characterized by air stillness, a dense
fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...
covering the frosty valleys and trapping pollution to form
smog Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words ''smoke'' and ''fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odour. The word was then inte ...
, while mild sunny weather is recorded higher up in the foothills and mountains.


History

The settlement history of Carinthia dates back to the
Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
era. Archaeological findings of stone artifacts in a stalactite cave near Griffen are older than 30,000 years; larger settlements in the
Lavanttal The Lavanttal ('Lavant Valley', , Gams, Ivan. 1992. "Labotska dolina." ''Enciklopedija Slovenije'', vol. 6. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, pp. 87–87. or ; Southern Bavarian: ''Lovnthol'') lies in the Lavanttal Alps in southern Austria in the eas ...
,
Maria Saal Maria Saal () is a market town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is located in the east of the historic Zollfeld plain (''Gosposvetsko polje''), the wide valley of the Glan River. The municipality includes ...
and
Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...
regions are documented from about 3000 BC. Remains of a prehistoric
stilt house Stilt houses (also called pile dwellings or lake dwellings) are houses raised on Stilts (architecture), stilts (or piles) over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding; they als ...
settlement were discovered at Lake Keutschach, today part of the Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps World Heritage Site. Skeleton finds from about 2000 BC (near Friesach) denote a permanent population, and intensive arable farming, as well as trading with salt and Mediterranean products, was common already during the periods of the
Urnfield The Urnfield culture () was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and placing their ashes in urns, which ...
and
Hallstatt culture The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western Europe, Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallst ...
. Hallstatt
grave field A grave field is a prehistoric cemetery, typically from Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe. Grave fields are distinguished from necropoleis by the former's lack of remaining above-ground structures, buildings, or grave markers. Types Grave fields c ...
s were discovered near Dellach (Gurina), Rosegg (Frög), and on the Gracarca mountain southeast of Lake Klopein.


Noricum

About 300 BC, several Illyrian and
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
tribes joined in the Kingdom of Noricum, centered on the capital Noreia, possibly located in the Zollfeld basin near the later Roman city of
Virunum Claudium Virunum was a Roman Empire, Roman city in the province of Noricum, on today's Zollfeld in the Austrian State of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. Virunum may also have been the name of the older Celtic-Roman settlement on the hilltop of Magd ...
. Known for the production of salt and iron, the Kingdom maintained intensive trade relations with
Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...
peoples and over the centuries extended the borders of its realm up to the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
in the north. The
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
incorporated Noricum in 15 BC. Besides the administrative seat of Virunum, the cities of
Teurnia Teurnia (later Tiburnia) was a Roman Empire, Roman city (''municipium''). Today its ruins lie in western Carinthia (state), Carinthia. In Late Antiquity, late antiquity it was also a bishop's see, and towards the end of Roman times it was mention ...
, Santicum (Villach) and Iuenna (
Globasnitz Globasnitz ( Slovene: ''Globasnica'') is a town in the district of Völkermarkt in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Population A considerable percentage (42.1%) of the population are Carinthian Slovenes, and Slovene is a second official language ...
) arose as centres of Roman culture. The Noricum
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
remained strategically important as a mining area for iron, gold, and lead and as an agricultural region. In the reign of the Emperor
Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...
(245–313) Noricum split into two provinces: ''Noricum ripense'' ("Noricum along the river", the northern part southward from the Danube), and ''Noricum mediterraneum'' ("landlocked Noricum", the district south of the Alpine crest). Teurnia became the administrative seat of the latter, as well as an
Early Christian Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and be ...
episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...
. As the Roman Empire declined in the 5th century AD, the Noricum region was exposed to recurring campaigns of Germanic tribes, whereupon the population retired to hilltop settlements. In 408
Visigoth The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...
troops under King
Alaric I Alaric I (; , 'ruler of all'; ; – 411 AD) was the first Germanic kingship, king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades earlier by a combine ...
entered Noricum from Italy across the
Carnic Alps The Carnic Alps (; ; ; ) are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Italian Friuli (Province of Udine) and marginally in Veneto. Etymology They are ...
and allied with the Roman commander
Stilicho Stilicho (; – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was partly of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosius I. He b ...
, who as a result was deposed and executed for high treason (August 408). From 472
Ostrogoth The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...
and
Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...
c forces campaigned in Noricum, which became a province of
Odoacer Odoacer ( – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a barbarian soldier and statesman from the Middle Danube who deposed the Western Roman child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became the ruler of Italy (476–493). Odoacer' ...
's
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
in 476 and of the
Ostrogothic Kingdom The Ostrogothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of Italy (), was a barbarian kingdom established by the Germanic Ostrogoths that controlled Italian peninsula, Italy and neighbouring areas between 493 and 553. Led by Theodoric the Great, the Ost ...
from 493. On the death of King
Theoderic the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal, was king of the Ostrogoths (475–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy between 493 and 526, regent of the Visigoths (511–526 ...
in 526, the Italian kingdom finally collapsed and the East Roman
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
empire under
Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
temporarily conquered the Noricum region in the course of the Gothic War of 535 to 554.


Carantania

From 591 onwards, the
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...
king Theudebert I tried to break into the former Noricum region, and Bavarian settlers entered the area from the
Puster Valley The Puster Valley ( ; , ) is one of the largest longitudinal valleys in the Alps that runs in an east-west direction between Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria, and Mühlbach near Brixen in South Tyrol, Italy. The South Tyrolean municipalities of th ...
in the west. They were however repulsed by Slavic tribes, who, beset by Avar horsemen moved into present-day Carinthia from the east. About 600 the Slavic principality of Carantania arose, stretching along the valleys of the
Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.
, Mur and
Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...
rivers. The remaining Celto-Roman population was largely assimilated, jointly challenging Avar and Frankish advance. The name ''Carontani'' was first mentioned about 700; the lands of ''Carantanum'' were documented by the chronicler
Paul the Deacon Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, sc ...
(d. 799). The principality was again centered on the historic Zollfeld valley, where the Prince's Stone bears witness to the ritual of the investiture of the Carantanian rulers exclusively in Slovene. While the Carantanian rulers initially joined the tribal union of
Samo's Empire Samo's Empire (also known as Samo's Kingdom or Samo's State) is the historiographical term for the West Slavic tribal union established by Samo who is called King (" Rex") according to Fredegarius, the only contemporary source. It existed betwe ...
, Prince Boruth turned to Duke Odilo of
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
in around 743 to ask for support against the Avar invaders. Aid was granted, however at the price of Bavarian overlordship. The Carantanian principality became part of the Bavarian
stem duchy A stem duchy (, from '':wikt:Stamm, Stamm'', meaning "tribe", in reference to the Franks, Saxons, Baiuvarii, Bavarians and Alemanni, Swabians) was a constituent duchy of the Kingdom of Germany at the time of the extinction of the Carolingian dyna ...
, while the area was Christianised for the second time by missionaries from the Salzburg diocese. Bishop Vergilius had Prince Boruth's son Cacatius and his nephew Cheitmar brought up in the Christian faith. In 767, at their request, the bishop sent Modestus to Carantania as a
vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...
and had churches built at Teurnia and
Maria Saal Maria Saal () is a market town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is located in the east of the historic Zollfeld plain (''Gosposvetsko polje''), the wide valley of the Glan River. The municipality includes ...
. Upon a pagan uprising in 772, the forces of Odilo's son Duke
Tassilo III of Bavaria Tassilo – also spelled Thassilo – is a male name of West Germanic The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic languages, Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic langua ...
again subdued the Carantanian lands. In 788, Duke Tassilo III was finally deposed by the Frankish king
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
, and his territories were incorporated into the
Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Franks, Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as List of Frankish kings, kings of the Franks since ...
. By the 843
Treaty of Verdun The Treaty of Verdun (; ), agreed to on 10 August 843, ended the Carolingian civil war and divided the Carolingian Empire between Lothair I, Louis the German, Louis II and Charles the Bald, Charles II, the surviving sons of the emperor Louis the ...
, the former Carantanian lands fell to the kingdom of
East Francia East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...
ruled by Charlemagne's grandson
Louis the German Louis the German (German language, German: ''Ludwig der Deutsche''; c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany (German language, German: ''Ludwig II. von Deutschland''), was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 8 ...
. The ritual of installation of the Carantanian dukes at the Prince's Stone near Karnburg in Slovenian was preserved until 1414, when Ernest the Iron was enthroned as Duke of Carinthia.


Duchy of Carinthia

The
March of Carinthia March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 ...
arose in 889 from the territory bequeathed by Louis's son Carloman, king of
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
from 865 to 880, to his natural son
Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf of Carinthia ( – 8 December 899) was the duke of Carinthia who overthrew his uncle Emperor Charles the Fat to become the Carolingian king of East Francia from 887, the disputed king of Italy from 894, and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor, ...
. Arnulf had already assumed the title of a Carinthian duke in 880 and followed his uncle
Charles the Fat Charles the Fat (839 – 13 January 888) was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was t ...
as King of East Francia in 887. The
Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (; ; ) 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 State after the original German stem duchies. Car ...
was finally split from the vast Bavarian duchy in 976 by Emperor Otto II, having come out victorious from his quarrels with Duke Henry II the Wrangler. Carinthia, therefore, was the first newly created duchy of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
and for a short while comprised lands stretching from the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
almost to the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
. In 1040, the
March of Carniola March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 ...
was separated from it, and c. 1180 Styria, the Carinthian March, became a duchy in its own right. After the death of Duke Henry VI of Gorizia-Tyrol in 1335, Carinthia passed to the Habsburg brothers Albrecht II. and Otto IV, and was ruled by this dynasty until 1918. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, Carinthia was incorporated in the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
's
Kingdom of Illyria The Kingdom of Illyria was a crown land of the Austrian Empire from 1816 to 1849, the successor state of the Napoleonic Illyrian Provinces, which were reconquered by Austria in the War of the Sixth Coalition. It was established according to th ...
which succeeded Napoleon's
Illyrian Provinces The Illyrian Provinces were an autonomous province of France during the First French Empire that existed under Napoleonic Rule from 1809 to 1814. The province encompassed large parts of modern Italy and Croatia, extending their reach further e ...
, but recovered its previous status in 1849 and in 1867 became one of the
Cisleithania Cisleithania, officially The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council (), was the northern and western part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in the Compromise of 1867—as distinguished from ''Transleithania'' (i.e., ...
n
crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...
s of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
.


Formation of the state

In late 1918, the breakup of the Habsburg monarchy was imminent, and on 21 October 1918 the members of the Reichsrat for the German-speaking territories of Austria met in Vienna to constitute a "Provisional National Council for German-Austria". Before the meeting, the delegates agreed that German-Austria should not include "Yugoslav areas of settlement", which referred to
Lower Styria Styria (, ), also known as Slovenian Styria (; ) or Lower Styria (; ) to differentiate it from Austrian Styria, is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of Styria. The population of St ...
and the two Slovene-speaking Carinthian valleys south of the Karawanken range, Seeland (Slovenian: Jezersko) and ''Mießtal'' (
Meža The Meža (Slovene language, Slovene) or Mieß (German language, German; ) is a river in the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia and in Slovenia, a right tributary of the Drava. It is long, of which are in Slovenia. Its catchment area ...
Valley). On 12 Nov. 1918, when the Act concerning the foundation of the State of German-Austria was formally passed by the Provisional National Assembly in Vienna this was worded by the State Chancellor,
Karl Renner Karl Renner (14 December 1870 – 31 December 1950) was an Austrian politician and jurist of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. He is often referred to as the "Father of the Republics" because he ...
, "...to encounter the prejudices of the world as though we wanted to annex alien national property" The day before, on 11 Nov. 1918 the Provisional Diet of Carinthia had formally declared Carinthia's accession to the State of German-Austria. The Federal Act concerning the Extent, the Borders and the Relations of the State Territories of 22 Nov. 1918 then clearly stated in article 1: "...the duchies of Styria and Carinthia with the exclusion of the homogenous Yugoslav areas of settlement". Apart from one Social-Democrat, Florian Gröger, all the other delegates from Carinthia—Hans Hofer, Jakob Lutschounig, Josef Nagele, Alois Pirker, Leopold Pongratz, Otto Steinwender, Viktor Waldner—were members of German national parties and organizations.


Disputed frontiers

After the end of the
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, however, Carinthia became a contested region. On 5 November 1918, the first armed militia units led by the Slovene volunteer
Franjo Malgaj Franjo Malgaj (November 10, 1894 – May 6, 1919) was a Slovenian soldier, military leader and poet. He was an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I, he became one of the comm ...
invaded Carinthia and were then joined by Slovene troops under
Rudolf Maister Rudolf Maister (pen name: Vojanov; 29 March 1874 – 26 July 1934) was a Slovene officer (armed forces), military officer, poet and activism, political activist. The soldiers who fought under Maister's command in northern Slovenia became k ...
. With the subsequent assistance of the regular Yugoslav army, they occupied southern Carinthia claiming the area for the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (''Kraljevina Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca'', or SHS) also known as
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
. The provisional state government of Carinthia had fled to
Spittal an der Drau Spittal an der Drau is a town in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. It is the administrative centre of Spittal an der Drau District, Austria's second largest district (''Districts of Austria, Bezirk'') b ...
and given the ongoing fighting between local volunteers and invaders on 5 December decided to declare armed resistance. The resistance encountered by the Yugoslav forces especially north of the
Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.
River around the town of Völkermarkt with its violent fighting alarmed the victorious
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
at the Paris Peace Conference. An Allied Commission headed by U.S. Lt.Col. Sherman Miles inspected the situation in situ and recommended the Karawanken main ridge as a natural border to keep the Klagenfurt basin intact but, in agreement with item no. 10 of
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
's
Fourteen Points The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms to the United States Congress ...
, suggested a referendum in the disputed area. An armistice was agreed upon on 14 January and by 7 May 1919 the Yugoslav forces had left the state, but Slovene troops under
Rudolf Maister Rudolf Maister (pen name: Vojanov; 29 March 1874 – 26 July 1934) was a Slovene officer (armed forces), military officer, poet and activism, political activist. The soldiers who fought under Maister's command in northern Slovenia became k ...
returned to occupying Klagenfurt on 6 June. Upon the intervention of the Allied Supreme Council in Paris, they retreated from the city but remained in the disputed part of Carinthia until 13 September 1920. In the
Treaty of Saint-Germain A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, conventi ...
of 10 September 1919, the two smaller Slovene-speaking Carinthian valleys south of the Karawanken range, Jezersko and the
Meža The Meža (Slovene language, Slovene) or Mieß (German language, German; ) is a river in the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia and in Slovenia, a right tributary of the Drava. It is long, of which are in Slovenia. Its catchment area ...
Valley, together with the town of
Dravograd Dravograd (; ) is a small town in northern Slovenia, close to the border with Austria. It is the seat of the Municipality of Dravograd. It lies on the Drava River at the confluence with the Meža and the Mislinja. It is part of the traditional ...
—together 128 square miles or —were attached to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...
): These areas are today part of Slovene Carinthia. The Canale Valley (, ) as far south as Pontebba, at that time an ethnically mixed German–Slovene area, with the border town of
Tarvisio Tarvisio ( German and ; ) is a (municipality) in the Regional Decentralization Entity of Udine, in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. Geography The town is in the Canal Valley (''Val Canale'') between the Carnic Alps and Ka ...
(, ) and its holy place of pilgrimage of Maria Luschari () (172 square miles”Kärnten". Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago 2010. or 445 km2), was ceded to
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and included in the
Province of Udine The province of Udine (; ; ; ; ) was a province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, bordering Austria and Slovenia, with the capital in the city of Udine. Abolished on 30 September 2017, it was reestablished in 2019 as the Re ...
. According to the same treaty, a
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
was to be held in southern Carinthia as suggested by the Allied Commission, which was to determine whether the area claimed by the SHS-State was to remain part of Austria or go to Yugoslavia. Much of southern Carinthia was divided into two zones. Zone A was formed out of predominantly Slovene-inhabited zones (approximately corresponding to today's District of Völkermarkt, the district of
Klagenfurt-Land Bezirk Klagenfurt-Land () is a Districts of Austria, district of the States of Austria, state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia in Austria.:de:Bezirk Klagenfurt-Land Municipalities Towns (''Städte'') are indicated in boldface; market towns (''Ma ...
south of lake Wörthersee, and the south-eastern part of the present district of Villach-Land), while Zone B included the City of Klagenfurt, Velden am Wörthersee and the immediately surrounding rural areas where German speakers formed a vast majority. If the population in Zone A had decided for Yugoslavia, another referendum in Zone B would have followed. On 10 October 1920, the Carinthian Plebiscite was held in Zone A, with almost 60% of the population voting to remain in Austria, which means that about 40% of the Slovene-speaking population must have voted against a division of Carinthia. Given the close supervision of the referendum by foreign observers, as well as the Yugoslav occupation of the area until four weeks before the referendum, irregularities alleged by the deeply disappointed Yugoslav supporters would not have substantially altered the overall decision. Yet, after the plebiscite, the SHS-State again made attempts to occupy the area, but owing to demarches by the United Kingdom, France, and Italy it removed its troops from Austria so that, by 22 November 1920, the State Diet of Carinthia was at last able to exercise its sovereignty over the entire state.


After World War I to present

Originally an agrarian country, Carinthia made efforts to establish a touristic infrastructure such as the Grossglockner High Alpine Road and Klagenfurt Airport as well as the opening up of the
Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...
through the Austrian Alpine Club in the 1920s. It was, however, hard hit by the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
around 1930, which pushed the
political system In political science, a political system means the form of Political organisation, political organization that can be observed, recognised or otherwise declared by a society or state (polity), state. It defines the process for making official gov ...
in Austria more and more towards
extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied sha ...
. This phenomenon culminated at first in the years of Austrofascism and then in 1938 in the
annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...
of Austria by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
(''
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...
''). At the same time the Nazi Party took power everywhere in Carinthia, which became, together with
East Tyrol East Tyrol, occasionally East Tirol (), is an exclave of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, separated from North Tyrol by parts of Salzburg State and parts of Italian South Tyrol (''Südtirol'', ). It is coterminous with the administrative ...
, a ''
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 ...
'', and
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
leaders such as Franz Kutschera, Hubert Klausner, and Friedrich Rainer held the office of
Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...
and
Reichsstatthalter The ''Reichsstatthalter'' (, ''Reich lieutenant'') was a title used in the German Empire and later in Nazi Germany. ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (1879–1918) The office of ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (otherwise known as ''Reichsstatthalter'' ...
. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Slovene Partisan resistance was active in the southern areas of the region, reaching around 3,000 armed men. The cities of Klagenfurt and
Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...
suffered from air raids, but the Allied forces did not reach Carinthia before May 8, 1945. Toward the end of the war, Gauleiter Rainer tried to implement a Nazi plan for Carinthia to become part of the projected Nazi national redoubt, the '' Alpenfestung''; these efforts failed and the forces under Rainer's control surrendered to the forces of the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
. Once again at the end of World War II, Yugoslav troops occupied parts of Carinthia, including the capital city of Klagenfurt, but were soon forced to withdraw by the British forces with the consent of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. Carinthia, East Tyrol, and Styria then formed the UK occupation zone of Allied-administered Austria. The area was witness to the turnover of German-allied Cossacks to the Red Army in 1945. The Allied occupation was terminated in 1955 by the
Austrian State Treaty The Austrian State Treaty ( ) or Austrian Independence Treaty established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on 15 May 1955 in Vienna, at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the Uni ...
, which restored Austria's sovereignty. The relations between the German- and the Slovene-speaking Carinthians remained somewhat problematic. Divergent views over the implementation of minority protection rights guaranteed by Article 7 of the Austrian State Treaty have created numerous tensions between the two groups in the past fifty years.


Demographics

The largest part of Carinthia's population settles in the Klagenfurt Basin between
Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...
and Klagenfurt. In 2008, the proportion of the population with a
migration background In the Germanosphere, ''migration background'' () is a term used to describe people on the basis of Identity politics, identity and ancestry. Migration background is a variably defined Social structure, socio-demographic characteristic that desc ...
in Carinthia was 9.3% of the total population, about half the Austrian figure of 17.5%. By 2020, the proportion of the population with a
migration background In the Germanosphere, ''migration background'' () is a term used to describe people on the basis of Identity politics, identity and ancestry. Migration background is a variably defined Social structure, socio-demographic characteristic that desc ...
in Carinthia had risen to 14.5%, yet this figure remains lower than the Austrian average, where close to a quarter of the population has a
migration background In the Germanosphere, ''migration background'' () is a term used to describe people on the basis of Identity politics, identity and ancestry. Migration background is a variably defined Social structure, socio-demographic characteristic that desc ...
. The majority of Carinthia's population is today German-speaking. In the south of the province (mainly in the districts of Villach-Land
Klagenfurt-Land Bezirk Klagenfurt-Land () is a Districts of Austria, district of the States of Austria, state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia in Austria.:de:Bezirk Klagenfurt-Land Municipalities Towns (''Städte'') are indicated in boldface; market towns (''Ma ...
and Völkermarkt) live Carinthian Slovenes where they speak Slovene and are recognized as an autochthonous ethnic minority. The discussion about ethnic group rights (e.g. bilingual place-name signs) can be very emotional and the rights of Slovenes in Carinthia are still not fully implemented.


Population development

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:28 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:600 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:50 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:10 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo PlotData= color:skyblue width:22 shift:(-60,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till bar:1880 from:0 till:325 text:324,857 bar:1890 from:0 till:337 text:337,013 bar:1900 from:0 till:344 text:343,531 bar:1910 from:0 till:371 text:371,372 bar:1923 from:0 till:371 text:371,227 bar:1934 from:0 till:405 text:405,129 bar:1939 from:0 till:416 text:416,268 bar:1951 from:0 till:475 text:474,764 bar:1961 from:0 till:495 text:495,226 bar:1971 from:0 till:527 text:526,759 bar:1981 from:0 till:536 text:536,179 bar:1991 from:0 till:548 text:547,798 bar:2001 from:0 till:559 text:559,404 bar:2011 from:0 till:558 text:558,271 bar:2021 from:0 till:562 text:562,089 TextData= fontsize:M pos:(35,20) text:"Source: Statistik Austria"


Administrative divisions

The state is divided into eight rural and two urban
districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
(''Bezirke''), the latter being the statutory cities (''Statutarstädte'') of Klagenfurt and Villach. There are 132
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
, of which 17 are incorporated as
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
s and 40 are of the lesser
market towns A market town is a Human settlement, settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular marketplace, market; this distinguished it from a village or ...
(''Marktgemeinden'') status.


Statutory cities

* Klagenfurt ( licence plate code: K) *
Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...
(VI)


Rural districts

* Feldkirchen (FE) ** Administrative seat: Feldkirchen ** Municipalities: AlbeckGlaneggGnesauHimmelbergOssiachReichenauSankt UrbanSteindorf am Ossiacher SeeSteuerberg * Hermagor (HE) ** Administrative seat: Hermagor-Pressegger See ** Market towns: KirchbachKötschach-Mauthen ** Municipalities: DellachGitschtalLesachtalSankt Stefan im Gailtal *
Klagenfurt-Land Bezirk Klagenfurt-Land () is a Districts of Austria, district of the States of Austria, state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia in Austria.:de:Bezirk Klagenfurt-Land Municipalities Towns (''Städte'') are indicated in boldface; market towns (''Ma ...
(KL) ** Administrative seat: Klagenfurt (not part of the district) ** Town:
Ferlach Ferlach () in the district of Klagenfurt-Land District, Klagenfurt-Land in Carinthia is the southernmost town in Austria. It is known for its centuries-old gunsmith tradition, part of the Austrian intangible cultural heritage since 2010. Geography ...
** Market towns: EbenthalFeistritz im RosentalGrafenstein
Magdalensberg Magdalensberg ( Slovene: ''Štalenska gora'') is a market town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in Carinthia in Austria. Geography Magdalensberg lies at the foot of the Magdalensberg in the Klagenfurt basin in the lower Gurk valley. The Gurk an ...
Maria Saal Maria Saal () is a market town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is located in the east of the historic Zollfeld plain (''Gosposvetsko polje''), the wide valley of the Glan River. The municipality includes ...
Moosburg Moosburg an der Isar ( Central Bavarian: ''Mooschbuag on da Isa'') is a town in the ''Landkreis'' Freising of Bavaria, Germany. The oldest town between Regensburg and Italy lies on the river Isar at an altitude of 421 m (1381 ft). It ...
PoggersdorfSchiefling am See ** Municipalities:
Keutschach am See Keutschach am See () is a municipality in the district of Klagenfurt-Land District, Klagenfurt-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. Geography The municipality lies in a glacial valley between the Wörthersee Lake and Mt. P ...
KöttmannsdorfKrumpendorfLudmannsdorfMaria RainMaria WörthPörtschachSankt Margareten im RosentalTechelsbergZell * Sankt Veit an der Glan (SV) ** Administrative seat: Sankt Veit an der Glan ** Towns: AlthofenFriesach
Straßburg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin department and the official seat of the European Parliament. The cit ...
** Market towns: BrücklEbersteinGurkGuttaringHüttenbergKlein Sankt PaulLiebenfelsMetnitz
Weitensfeld im Gurktal Weitensfeld im Gurktal () is a market town in the district of Sankt Veit an der Glan in the Austrian state of Carinthia. First settlemenets were established when the Romans built a connecting road through the Gurk valley to Salzburg. Between 105 ...
** Municipalities: Deutsch-GriffenFrauensteinGlödnitzKappel am KrappfeldMicheldorfMölblingSankt Georgen am Längsee *
Spittal an der Drau Spittal an der Drau is a town in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. It is the administrative centre of Spittal an der Drau District, Austria's second largest district (''Districts of Austria, Bezirk'') b ...
(SP) ** Administrative seat:
Spittal an der Drau Spittal an der Drau is a town in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. It is the administrative centre of Spittal an der Drau District, Austria's second largest district (''Districts of Austria, Bezirk'') b ...
** Towns: Gmünd
Radenthein Radenthein () is a town in Spittal an der Drau District, in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography The town is situated in the Gegend valley (''Gegendtal'') of the Nock Mountains range (part of the Gurktal Alps), stretching to the eastern sh ...
** Market towns: GreifenburgLurnfeldMillstattOberdrauburgObervellachRennweg am KatschbergSachsenburgSeebodenSteinfeldWinklern ** Municipalities:
Bad Kleinkirchheim Bad Kleinkirchheim is a municipality and spa town in the district of Spittal an der Drau, in Carinthia, Austria. Until the middle of the 20th century, agriculture was the dominant focus, but it is now a renowned spa and ski resort. Although recor ...
BaldramsdorfBerg im DrautalDellach im DrautalFlattachGroßkirchheimHeiligenblut am GroßglocknerIrschenKleblach-LindKremsLendorfMallnitz
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
Mörtschach
Mühldorf Mühldorf am Inn (, ; Central Bavarian: ''Muihdorf am Inn'') is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Mühldorf (district), district Mühldorf on the river Inn (river), Inn. It is located at , and had a population of ab ...
Rangersdorf
Reißeck Reißeck is a municipality in the district of Spittal an der Drau District, Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia, Austria. Geography Situated within the valley of the Möll river, a tributary to the Drava, Reißeck is located about northwest of the ...
StallTrebesingWeissensee * Villach-Land (VL) ** Administrative seat:
Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...
(not part of the district) ** Market towns:
Arnoldstein Arnoldstein (, ) is a market town in the district of Villach-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography Location Arnoldstein is located at Austria's southern border between the Carnic Alps and the Karawanken mountain range, near the c ...
Bad Bleiberg Bad Bleiberg () is a market town in the district of Villach-Land District, Villach-Land, in Carinthia, Austria. Originally a mining area, especially for lead (), Bad Bleiberg today due to its hot springs is a spa town. Geography Bad Bleiberg is ...
Finkenstein am Faaker SeeNötsch im GailtalPaternionRoseggSankt Jakob im RosentalTreffen
Velden am Wörther See Velden am Wörther See (Slovenian language, Slovene: ''Vrba na Koroškem'') is a market town in Villach-Land District, in the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. Situated on the western shore of the Wörthersee lake, it is one of the co ...
Weißenstein ** Municipalities:
Afritz am See Afritz am See () is a municipality in Villach-Land District in the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. Name The name ''Afritz'' is ultimately derived from the Slovene prepositional phrase ''za brdce'' 'behind the small hill'. The Slove ...
Arriach
Feistritz an der Gail Feistritz an der Gail (), often referred to as simply Feistritz (), is a town in the district of Villach-Land in Carinthia (state), Carinthia in Austria. It is close to the borders with both Italy and Slovenia. The Black Forest to the south of th ...
Feld am SeeFerndorfFresachHohenthurnStockenboiWernberg * Völkermarkt (VK) ** Administrative seat: Völkermarkt ** Town:
Bleiburg Bleiburg () is a small town in the south Austrian state of Carinthia (''Koroška''), south-east of Klagenfurt, in the district of Völkermarkt, some four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the border with Slovenia. The municipality consists of the twel ...
** Market towns:
Eberndorf Eberndorf (, archaically ''Dobrla ves'') is a market town of the Völkermarkt District in Carinthia (state), Carinthia, Austria. Geography It is the main settlement in the Jaun (''Podjuna'') Valley of the Drava River, east of the Carinthian capit ...
Eisenkappel-VellachFeistritz ob BleiburgGriffen ** Municipalities:
Diex Diex (; ) is a town in the district of Völkermarkt (district), Völkermarkt in Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. It is known for its Gothic fortified church on a hilltop. Geography Diex lies in southeast Carinthia on the southern s ...
Gallizien
Globasnitz Globasnitz ( Slovene: ''Globasnica'') is a town in the district of Völkermarkt in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Population A considerable percentage (42.1%) of the population are Carinthian Slovenes, and Slovene is a second official language ...
NeuhausRudenSankt Kanzian am Klopeiner SeeSittersdorf * Wolfsberg (WO) ** Administrative seat: Wolfsberg ** Towns: Bad Sankt Leonhard im LavanttalSankt Andrä ** Market towns: Frantschach-Sankt Gertraud
Lavamünd Lavamünd () is a market town in the district of Wolfsberg (district), Wolfsberg in the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. The Drava#Hydroelectric power plants, Lavamünd hydroelectric power plant on the Drava River and the Soboth res ...
ReichenfelsSankt Paul im Lavanttal ** Municipalities: PreiteneggSankt Georgen im Lavanttal


Politics

The state assembly ''Kärntner
Landtag A ''Landtag'' (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence ...
'', ("Carinthian State Diet"), is a
unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...
legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...
. Its 36 members are elected from
party lists An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...
according to the principle of
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
and serve five-year terms, with elections held every five years. Austrian nationals over the age of 16 residing in Carinthia are eligible to vote. The ''Landtag'' has a threshold of 5%. The most recent election, the 2023 Carinthian state election, was held on 5 March 2023. The
SPÖ The Social Democratic Party of Austria ( , SPÖ) is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (, SDAPÖ) and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria () from 1945 unt ...
, the party of the incumbent governor
Peter Kaiser Peter Kaiser (born 4 December 1958) is an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, Social Democratic Party. Since March 2013 he is List of governors of Carinthia, governor of Carinthia and since March 2010 also chairman of ...
, won a plurality of the vote at 38.9%, giving them a plurality of seats. This makes Carinthia one of only 3 regions of Austria not to have an ÖVP-led government (alongside
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and
Burgenland Burgenland (; ; ; Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland''; Slovene language, Slovene: ''Gradiščanska''; ) is the easternmost and least populous Bundesland (Austria), state of Austria. It consists of two statutory city (Austria), statut ...
), although the ÖVP is the junior coalition member in Kaiser's government. The legislature also elects the state government, composed of a minister-president or Governor, whose ancient title is ''
Landeshauptmann The Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute,'' ) is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Ty ...
'' ("State Captain"), his two deputies, and further four ''Landesräte'' ministers. The members of the cabinet used to form an all-party government elected under a system of proportional representation based on the number of representatives of the political parties in the ''Landtag'' in a system known as Proporz, however this system was abolished in Carinthia in 2017.


Economy

The
Gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...
(GDP) of the state was 20.9 billion € in 2018, accounting for 5.4% of Austria's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €33,000 or 110% of the EU27 average in the same year.


Language

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
is the official language. The people are predominantly German-speaking with a unique (and easily recognizable) Southern Austro-Bavarian
dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...
typical of which is that all short German vowels before double consonants have been lengthened ("Carinthian vowel stretching"). A Slovene-speaking minority, known as the
Carinthian Slovenes Carinthian Slovenes or Carinthian Slovenians (; ; ) are the Indigenous peoples, indigenous minority of Slovenes, Slovene ethnicity, living within borders of the Austrian state of Carinthia, neighboring Slovenia. Their status of the minority group ...
, is concentrated in the southern and southeastern parts of the state. Its size cannot be determined precisely because the representatives of the ethnic group reject a count. Recommendations for a boycott of the 2001 census, which asked for the language used in everyday communication, reduced the count of Slovene speakers to 12,554 people, 2.38% of a total population of 527,333.


Tourist attractions

Major sights include the cities of Klagenfurt and
Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...
and medieval towns like Friesach or Gmünd. Carinthia features numerous monasteries and churches such as the Romanesque Gurk Cathedral or
Maria Saal Maria Saal () is a market town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is located in the east of the historic Zollfeld plain (''Gosposvetsko polje''), the wide valley of the Glan River. The municipality includes ...
in the Zollfeld plain, the abbeys of St. Paul's, Ossiach, Millstatt, and Viktring as well as castles and palaces like large-scale Hochosterwitz, Griffen, or Porcia. Scenic highlights are the main bathing lakes Wörthersee,
Millstätter See Lake Millstatt (, sometimes written "Millstättersee") is a lake in Carinthia (state), Carinthia, Austria. Geography It is situated at 588 metres above the Adriatic (1,929 ft), north of the Drava Valley within the Gurktal Alps (Nock Mountains ...
, Ossiacher See and Faaker See as well as a variety of smaller lakes and ponds. In winter Carinthia offers
ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...
s such as the
Nassfeld Nassfeld or Naßfeld (, ) is a town and ski resort in the district Hermagor-Pressegger See, Hermagor of the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. It is located below the Nassfeld Pass. Lake Pressegg is nearby, where it is possible to ...
near Hermagor, Gerlitzen mountain,
Bad Kleinkirchheim Bad Kleinkirchheim is a municipality and spa town in the district of Spittal an der Drau, in Carinthia, Austria. Until the middle of the 20th century, agriculture was the dominant focus, but it is now a renowned spa and ski resort. Although recor ...
, Flattach, and Heiligenblut at Austria's highest mountain, the Grossglockner as well as the Hohe Tauern and Nock Mountains
national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
s for all kind of alpine sports and
mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...
.


Culture


Customs and traditions

One of many customs that still subsists all over Carinthia are Kirchtage, a traditional type of
fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...
. The most famous is Villacher Kirchtag in
Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...
, which was first held in 1936 and is very popular among locals and tourists.


Museums

The museums in Carinthia include the Carinthian State Museum with its locations in Klagenfurt, the Maria Saal open-air museum, the Magdalensberg Archaeological Park, and the Teurnia Roman Museum. One of the most important city museums is the City Museum of Villach, which documents, among other things, the life story of its temporary citizen
Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. H ...
.


Literature

Carinthia has produced several internationally renowned writers in recent decades. In the early 20th century,
Robert Musil Robert Musil (; 6 November 1880 – 15 April 1942) was an Austrian philosophical writer. His unfinished novel, ''The Man Without Qualities'' (), is generally considered to be one of the most important and influential modernist novels. Family M ...
, Josef Friedrich Perkonig, Dolores Viesèr, and Gerhart Ellert gained some notoriety. After the Second World War, the poets
Ingeborg Bachmann Ingeborg Bachmann (; 25 June 1926 – 17 October 1973) was an Austrian poet and author. She is regarded as one of the major voices of German-language literature in the 20th century. In 1963, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature b ...
, Michael Guttenbrunner, and
Christine Lavant Christine Lavant (born Christine Thonhauser, mar. Christine Habernig; 4 July 1915 – 7 June 1973) was an Austrian poet and novelist. Life Lavant was born in the hamlet of Großedling (today part of Wolfsberg, Carinthia, Wolfsberg) in the ...
first came to the fore. They were followed by
Peter Handke Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrians, Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has ...
, Gert Jonke, Josef Winkler, and Peter Turrini. Among other things, they took a very critical look at their homeland, like Josef Winkler in his trilogy "Das wilde Kärnten". Other important representatives of Carinthian literature include Janko Messner, Janko Ferk, Lydia Mischkulnig, Werner Kofler, Antonio Fian, and Florjan Lipus. The most important publishers are Johannes Heyn, Carinthia, and the Carinthian printing and publishing company. Slovenian literature is primarily promoted by the Carinthian publishers Mohorjeva/Hermagoras, Drava, and the Wieser-Verlag founded by Lojze Wieser. The most important literary event in Carinthia is the Days of German-language Literature in Klagenfurt, during which the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize is awarded, which has been held annually since 1977 and particularly supports younger authors. The Ingeborg Bachmann Prize is one of the most important literary awards in the German-speaking world.


Fine Arts

In the early 20th century, the Nötsch circle was active with the painters Sebastian Isepp, Franz Wiegele, Anton Kolig, and Anton Mahringer with its European orientation. The painter Herbert Boeckl was only loosely associated with the circle. An art-political controversy was the dispute over the Kolig frescoes in the Klagenfurt country house from 1931, which ended in the removal of the frescoes in 1938. In terms of architecture, Gustav Gugitz, the builder of the State Museum, should be mentioned, while the Wörthersee architecture with the villas and hotels is primarily characterized by Viennese architects. Switbert Lobisser is known for his woodcuts. Werner Berg made woodcuts and paintings, especially of his adoptive home in Bleiburg. After 1945, Maria Lassnig, Hans Staudacher, and Hans Bischoffshausen initiated a radical new beginning. Important sites were and are the Carinthian Art Association, the Hildebrand Gallery, the Nötscher-Kreis-Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art Carinthia, which opened in 2003. Two high-profile "art scandals" were the frescoes by Giselbert Hoke in Klagenfurt main station in 1950 and the redesign of the meeting room in the country house in 1998 by Anton Kolig's grandson, Cornelius Kolig. A fountain designed by Kiki Kogelnik stands near the country house. Other visual artists are Valentin Oman, Bruno Gironcoli, Meina Schellander, and Karl Brandstätter. In Carinthia, the architect Günther Domenig designed the Steinhaus am Ossiacher See, the building for the state exhibition in Hüttenberg and the extension for the Klagenfurt city theater.


Notable people


Born in Carinthia

*
Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf of Carinthia ( – 8 December 899) was the duke of Carinthia who overthrew his uncle Emperor Charles the Fat to become the Carolingian king of East Francia from 887, the disputed king of Italy from 894, and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor, ...
, Holy Roman Emperor, born about 850, grew up in
Moosburg Moosburg an der Isar ( Central Bavarian: ''Mooschbuag on da Isa'') is a town in the ''Landkreis'' Freising of Bavaria, Germany. The oldest town between Regensburg and Italy lies on the river Isar at an altitude of 421 m (1381 ft). It ...
, died December 8, 899 in
Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
. *
Pope Gregory V Pope Gregory V (; c. 972 – 18 February 999), born Bruno of Carinthia, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 3 May 996 to his death. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was made pope by his cousin, Emperor Otto III. Family ...
(né Bruno of Carinthia), born about 972, place unknown, died February 18, 999, in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. * Saint
Hemma of Gurk Hemma of Gurk (; 27 June 1045),29 June according t also called Emma of Gurk (), was a noblewoman and founder of several churches and monasteries in the Duchy of Carinthia. Buried at Gurk Cathedral since 1174, she was beatified on 21 November 12 ...
, born about 980, probably at Zeltschach, Friesach, died June 27, 1045, in Gurk. * Heinrich von dem Tuerlin,
minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. The term originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist enter ...
and epic poet, early 13th century, probably born at Sankt Veit an der Glan. * Ulrich von dem Türlin, a 13th-century epic poet, probably born at St. Veit an der Glan. * Henry of Carinthia, king of
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
''(Jindřich Korutanský)'' and titular king of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, born about 1265, died April 2, 1335, at Castle Tyrol. *
Josef Stefan Josef Stefan (; 24 March 1835 – 7 January 1893) was a Carinthian Slovene physicist, mathematician, and poet of the Austrian Empire. Life and work Stefan was born in the village of St. Peter (Slovene: ) on the outskirts of Klagenfurt) to A ...
, physicist, born March 24, 1835, in the vicinity of Klagenfurt, died January 7, 1893, in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. * Thomas Koschat, composer and bass singer, born August 8, 1845, in Klagenfurt. *
Robert Musil Robert Musil (; 6 November 1880 – 15 April 1942) was an Austrian philosophical writer. His unfinished novel, ''The Man Without Qualities'' (), is generally considered to be one of the most important and influential modernist novels. Family M ...
, author, born November 6, 1880, in Klagenfurt, died April 15, 1942, in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
. * Anton Wiegele, painter, born February 23, 1887, at Nötsch im Gailtal, died December 17, 1944, at Nötsch im Gailtal. * Herbert Boeckl, painter, born June 3, 1894, in Klagenfurt, died January 20, 1966, in Vienna. * Rudolf Kattnigg, composer, born April 9, 1895, in Treffen, died September 2, 1955, in Vienna. * Josef Klaus, politician, born August 15, 1910, at Kötschach-Mauthen, died July 25, 2001, in Vienna. *
Heinrich Harrer Heinrich Harrer (; 6 July 1912 – 7 January 2006) was an Austrian mountaineer, explorer, writer, sportsman, geographer, and briefly SS sergeant. He was a member of the four-man climbing team that made the first ascent of the North Face of the ...
, mountaineer and ethnographer, born July 6, 1912, at Obergossen, Hüttenberg, died January 7, 2006, at Friesach. *
Christine Lavant Christine Lavant (born Christine Thonhauser, mar. Christine Habernig; 4 July 1915 – 7 June 1973) was an Austrian poet and novelist. Life Lavant was born in the hamlet of Großedling (today part of Wolfsberg, Carinthia, Wolfsberg) in the ...
, poet, born July 4, 1915, in Großedling, Wolfsberg, died June 7, 1973, at Wolfsberg. * Maria Lassnig, painter, born September 9, 1919, in Kappel am Krappfeld. * Kathrin Glock, entrepreneur, born November 26, 1980, in Carinthia. *
Paul Watzlawick Paul Watzlawick (July 25, 1921 – March 31, 2007) was an Austrian-American family therapist, psychologist, communication theorist, and philosopher. A theoretician in communication theory and radical constructivism, he commented in the fields o ...
,
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
, born July 25, 1921, in
Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...
, died March 31, 2007, in
Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...
. * Felix Ermacora, specialist in international law, born October 13, 1923, in Klagenfurt, died February 24, 1995, in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. *
Ingeborg Bachmann Ingeborg Bachmann (; 25 June 1926 – 17 October 1973) was an Austrian poet and author. She is regarded as one of the major voices of German-language literature in the 20th century. In 1963, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature b ...
, poet and writer, born June 25, 1926, in Klagenfurt, died October 17, 1973, in Rome. * Gerhard Lampersberg, composer, born July 5, 1928, at Hermagor, died May 29, 2002, in Klagenfurt. * Günther Domenig, architect, born July 6, 1934, in Klagenfurt, died 15 June 2012. *
Udo Jürgens Jürgen Udo Bockelmann (30 September 1934 – 21 December 2014), generally known as Udo Jürgens, was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, ...
, singer and composer, born September 30, 1934, in Klagenfurt, died December 21, 2014, in Münsterlingen, Switzerland. * Kiki Kogelnik, painter, born January 22, 1935, at
Bleiburg Bleiburg () is a small town in the south Austrian state of Carinthia (''Koroška''), south-east of Klagenfurt, in the district of Völkermarkt, some four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the border with Slovenia. The municipality consists of the twel ...
, died February 1, 1997, in Vienna. * Bruno Gironcoli, sculptor, born September 27, 1936, at
Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...
, died February 19, 2010, in Vienna. * Engelbert Obernosterer, writer, born December 28, 1936, at Sankt Lorenzen, Lesachtal. * Dagmar Koller, actress and singer, born August 26, 1939, in Klagenfurt. *
Peter Handke Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrians, Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has ...
, playwright and writer, born December 6, 1942, at Griffen. * Arnulf Komposch, mirror artist, born 1942 in Klagenfurt. * Peter Turrini, playwright, born September 26, 1944, at St. Margarethen im Lavanttal, Wolfsberg. * Gert Jonke, playwright, born February 8, 1946, in Klagenfurt, died January 4, 2009. * Werner Kofler, writer, born July 23, 1947, in Villach. * Wolfgang Petritsch, diplomat, born August 26, 1947, in Klagenfurt. * Erik Schinegger, intersexed alpine skier, born June 19, 1948, at Agsdorf, Sankt Urban. *
Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian chef and restaurateur. Early life Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname of his stepfather, Jos ...
, celebrity chef, born July 8, 1949, in Sankt Veit an der Glan. * Josef Winkler, writer, born March 3, 1953, in Kamering. *
Franz Klammer Franz Klammer (born 3 December 1953) is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria. He dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons (1975– 78). He was the gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, ...
, alpine skier, born December 3, 1953, at Mooswald, Fresach. * Markus Müller, pharmacologist and rector of the
Medical University of Vienna The Medical University of Vienna (MedUni Wien, German language, German: ''Medizinische Universität Wien'') is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It is the direct successor to the faculty of medicine at the University of Vienna, foun ...
, born August 23, 1967, in Klagenfurt. * Patrick Friesacher, Formula one driver, born September 26, 1980, in Wolfsberg.


Died in Carinthia

* Modestus, missionary, born about 720 in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, died about 772 probably in
Maria Saal Maria Saal () is a market town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is located in the east of the historic Zollfeld plain (''Gosposvetsko polje''), the wide valley of the Glan River. The municipality includes ...
. * Bolesław II the Bold, king of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, born about 1042; according to legend, died in Ossiach March 22, 1081 (?). *
Carl Auer von Welsbach Carl Auer von Welsbach (1 September 1858 – 4 August 1929), who received the Austrian noble title of Freiherr Auer von Welsbach in 1901, was an Austrian scientist and inventor, who separated didymium into the elements neodymium and praseody ...
, chemist and inventor, born September 1, 1858, in Vienna, died August 4, 1929, in Möbling. * Anton Kolig, painter, born July 1, 1886, at Neutitschein (today
Nový Jičín Nový Jičín (; ) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic centre of Nový Jičín is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservati ...
, Czech Republic), died May 17, 1950, in Nötsch im Gailtal. * Werner Berg, painter, born April 4, 1911, in
Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the Germany, German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was ...
, now
Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...
, Germany, died September 7, 1981, in Sankt Veit im Jauntal, Sankt Kanzian am Klopeiner See. * Milivoj Ašner, born April 21, 1913, in
Daruvar Daruvar is a spa town and municipality in Slavonia, northeastern Croatia, with a population of 8,567. The area including the surrounding villages (Daruvarski Vinogradi, Doljani, Donji Daruvar, Gornji Daruvar, Lipovac Majur, Ljudevit Selo, Marko ...
, Croatia, died 14 June 2011, accused
Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...
war criminal.


See also

*
Slovenian Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ), 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, which after World War I ...
* Carinthia (statistical region in Slovenia) * Carinthian Plebiscite *
Carinthian Slovenes Carinthian Slovenes or Carinthian Slovenians (; ; ) are the Indigenous peoples, indigenous minority of Slovenes, Slovene ethnicity, living within borders of the Austrian state of Carinthia, neighboring Slovenia. Their status of the minority group ...
* Slovene field and house names in Carinthia


References


Notes


External links

*
Carinthia Tourism


{{DEFAULTSORT:Carinthia (State) States of Austria NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union