Lesachtal ( sl, Lesna dolina) is a municipality in
Hermagor District
The Bezirk Hermagor is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in Carinthia, Austria.
The district has an area of and a population of (as of 1 January 2016). The administrative center of the district is Hermagor-Pressegger See.
History
Its nam ...
, in the
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n state of
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
. It comprises the western part of the eponymous valley formed by the upper
Gail
Gail may refer to:
People
*Gail (given name), list of notable people with the given name
Surname
* Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829), French Hellenist scholar
* Max Gail (born 1943), American actor
* Sophie Gail (1775–1819), French singer and ...
River, and stretches from the Carinthian border with
East Tyrol
East Tyrol, occasionally East Tirol (german: Osttirol), is an exclave of the Austrian state of Tyrol, separated from the main North Tyrol part by the short common border of Salzburg and Italian South Tyrol (''Südtirol'', it, Alto Adige). It i ...
down to
Kötschach-Mauthen
Kötschach-Mauthen ( sl, Koča-Muta) is a market town in the district of Hermagor in Carinthia in Austria.
Geography
The municipality lies in the west of Hermagor at the transition of the upper Gail Valley into the Lesachtal, between the Gai ...
in the east.
Geography
![Lesachtal Sankt Lorenzen 23052007 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Lesachtal_Sankt_Lorenzen_23052007_04.jpg)
The Lesach Valley is located in the southwest of Carinthia. In adjacent East Tyrol, the uppermost continuation of the Gail river course is called
Tilliach Valley. The lower eastern third of the Lesach Valley around the village of Sankt Jakob is part of the neighbouring Kötschach-Mauthen municipality.
The narrow valley borders the Lienz Dolomites range of the
Gailtal Alps , ''Drauzug''
, photo=Grosse Sandspitze 1.jpg
, photo_size=
, photo_caption=Große Sandspitze, the highest peak in the range
, country= Austria
, subdivision1_type= States
, subdivision1=
, parent=
, geology= Limestone
, orogeny=Alpine o ...
to the north and the
Carnic Alps
The Carnic Alps ( it, Alpi Carniche; german: Karnische Alpen; sl, Karnijske Alpe; fur, Alps Cjargnelis) are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Itali ...
up to high Mt.
Hohe Warte ( it, Coglians) to the south, forming the border with
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Most settlements and paths are on the northern slopes over above the Gail River gorge.
The municipality of Lesachtal (area 19.62 km², pop. 1,665) comprises the
cadastral communities
A cadastral community or cadastral municipality, is a cadastral subdivision of municipalities in the nations of Austria,Cadastral Template for Austria, web-pageCT-AT Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, ...
of Kornat, Liesing, Maria Luggau, and Sankt Lorenzen im Lesachtal.
Language
The language spoken in the Lesachtal valley is linguistically remarkable, because 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 the west ...
dialect is not Carinthian, but rather East-Tyrolean with slight variations. Slovenian elements have also survived in local common speech.
History
![Maria Luggau - Santuario2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Maria_Luggau_-_Santuario2.jpg)
The Lesach Valley (derived from
Slavic: ''Les'', "forest") was inhabited by
Slavs
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
about 600 AD. In the 8th century it was one of the first valleys in the Principality of
Carantania to be
Germanised
Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In ling ...
after Prince
Boruth
Boruth, also Borut (from cu, borъ, "fighter") or Borouth, (died about 750) was the first documented Slavic prince (''Knyaz'') of Carantania, ruling from about 740 until his death. He was one of the few pagan leaders of the Carantanians to conver ...
had acknowledged the overlordship of Duke
Odilo of Bavaria
Odilo, also Oatilo or Uatilo (died 18th January 748) of the Agilolfing dynasty was Duke of Bavaria from 737 until his death in 748. He had the ''Lex Baiuvariorum'' compilation edited, the first ancient Germanic law collection of the Bavarians.
...
about 740.
In 1380, the Lesach circuit (''Landgericht Lesach'') was transferred to the lordship of Pittersberg, named after a nearby rock castle, then an administrative seat held by the East Tyrolean ''Meinhardiner''
Counts of Gorizia
The County of Gorizia ( it, Contea di Gorizia, german: Grafschaft Görz, sl, Goriška grofija, fur, Contee di Gurize), from 1365 Princely County of Gorizia, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. Originally mediate ''Vogts'' of the Patriarchs of ...
. After their branch died out in the male line, the last countess
Margaret bequeathed the lordship to the reigning princes of the
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
in 1363. Later it fell to the Carinthian
Counts of Ortenburg
The Counts of Ortenburg (german: Grafen von Ortenburg) were a comital family in the mediaeval Duchy of Carinthia. Though they had roots in Bavarian nobility, an affiliation with the Imperial Counts of Ortenburg, a branch line of the Rhenish Fra ...
.
With the creation of the
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
municipalities (''Ortsgemeinden'') in 1850, the three municipalities Luggau, Sankt Lorenzen, and Liesing were constituted. The
cadastral communities
A cadastral community or cadastral municipality, is a cadastral subdivision of municipalities in the nations of Austria,Cadastral Template for Austria, web-pageCT-AT Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, ...
(''Katastralgemeinden'') Kornach and Strajach merged with the municipality of Mauthen, but in 1182 obtained independent status as the municipality of Unterlesach. Ten years later the two localities Birnbaum and Sankt Jakob became independent municipalities as well. Through Carinthian local government reform in 1973, the eastern Lesach municipality of Sankt Jakob merged with
Kötschach-Mauthen
Kötschach-Mauthen ( sl, Koča-Muta) is a market town in the district of Hermagor in Carinthia in Austria.
Geography
The municipality lies in the west of Hermagor at the transition of the upper Gail Valley into the Lesachtal, between the Gai ...
, while the four western municipalities were merged into the present municipality of Lesachtal.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the
Italian front between the
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...
and the
Royal Italian Army
The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...
was located on the ridge of the
Carnic Alps
The Carnic Alps ( it, Alpi Carniche; german: Karnische Alpen; sl, Karnijske Alpe; fur, Alps Cjargnelis) are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Itali ...
. Many old positions and fortifications bear witness to the attritional
mountain war
The Mountain War ( ar, حرب الجبل , ''Harb al-Jabal''), also known as the War of the Mountain and Guerre de la Montagne in French, was a subconflict between the 1982–83 phase of the Lebanese Civil War and the 1984–89 phase of the ...
from 1915 to 1918.
Population
According to the 2001 census, the municipality of Lesachtal has 1,560 inhabitants, of which 98.4% are Austrian citizens and 1.3% are German citizens. The size of the population has been declining sharply in recent decades.
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bar:1869 from:start till:2165
bar:1880 from:start till:2015
bar:1890 from:start till:2188
bar:1900 from:start till:2149
bar:1910 from:start till:1980
bar:1923 from:start till:1947
bar:1934 from:start till:1984
bar:1939 from:start till:1997
bar:1951 from:start till:2014
bar:1961 from:start till:1915
bar:1971 from:start till:1950
bar:1981 from:start till:1823
bar:1991 from:start till:1665
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bar:2009 from:start till:1490
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According to the 2001 census, 98.4% of the population are Roman Catholic and 1.2% are Protestant.
Politics
Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2009 local elections:
*
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 7
*
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) unti ...
(SPÖ): 5
*
Freedom Party of Austria
The Freedom Party of Austria (german: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Austria. It was led by Norbert Hofer from September 2019 to 1 June 2021.Staff (1 June 2021"Aust ...
(FPÖ): 2
*UBL (Independent): 1
Notable people
*
Matthias von Lexer (1830–92), lexicographer
Gallery
Lesachtal-Kleblas-Bauernhäuser2.JPG, Farmhouses in Klebas
Lesachtal Liesing Hauptplatz Holzhaus Ausschnitt 23052007 21.jpg, Liesing
File:Filialkirche Ulrich und Martin, Lesachtal 01.jpg, Ulrich und Martin Church, Lesachtal
Lesachtal Liesing Hauptplatz Volksmusik Akademie 23052007 42.jpg, Folk Music School in Liesing
Kirche Obergail4.JPG, Saint Ann's Church in Obergail
Lesachtal Sankt Radegund 23052007 02.jpg, Saint Radegund
Lesachtal-Tscheltsch-Kirche1.JPG, Saint Joseph's Church in Tscheltsch
Lesachtal Tuffbad 23052007 03.jpg, Tuffbad
Vierzehn Nothelferkapelle, Wiesen.JPG, Fourteen Holy Helpers Chapel in Wiesen
Xaveribergkapelle2.jpg, Chapell in Xaveriberg
Kapelle hl Dreifaltigkeit, Frohn.JPG, Holy Trinity Chapel in Frohn
References
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Hermagor District