Mallnitz is a municipality in the Spittal an der Drau District in

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

, Austria.

Geography

It is situated in a high valley of the Hohe Tauern mountain range stretching southwards down to Obervellach on the Möll river and separating the Ankogel Group in the east from the

Goldberg Group The Goldberg Group is a sub-group of the Hohe Tauern mountain range within the Central Eastern Alps. It is located in Austria, in the states of Salzburg and Carinthia. Its highest peak is the Hocharn, . Other well known summits are the Hoher Sonn ...

in the west. In the north the Alpine crest marks the border with the Austrian state of Salzburg. At Mallnitz the Tauern Railway enters into the south portal of the

Tauern Tunnel The word ''Tauern'' () is German and originally meant 'high mountain pass' in the Austrian Central Alps, referring to the many bridleways and passes of the parallel side valleys of the River Salzach that cut into the mountain ranges. From the Mid ...

. The municipal area consists of 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 Mallnitz proper and Dösen. The northern parts belong to the High Tauern National Park territory.

History

A trade route across the

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

es to the

Gastein Bad Gastein (; formerly ''Badgastein''; Southern Bavarian: ''Bod Goschdei'') is a spa town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Picturesquely situated in a high valley of the Hohe Tauern mountain range, it i ...

Valley in the north may already existed in the Bronze Age. It was used by the Celts from about 400 BC, and when the area was incorporated into the Roman Noricum province about 15 BC, these

bridle path A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider r ...

s were rebuilt as a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

. A first settlement on the ancient route was probably established during the Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps from about 600 onwards; the locality of ''Malinica'', however, was not mentioned before 1299. The surrounding estates around Falkenstein Castle then were held by the Imperial Counts of Görz residing at

Lienz Lienz (; Southern Bavarian: ''Lianz'') is a Town privileges, medieval town in the Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol. It is the administrative centre of the Lienz (district), Lienz district, which covers all of East Tyrol. The municipality a ...

. Throughout the Middle Ages, Mallnitz was a strategically-important outpost on the trade route to Salzburg, especially for the transport of salt and gold mined in the Hohe Tauern ranges. The present-day municipality was split from Obervellach in 1895. The local economy was decisively promoted by the building of the Tauern Tunnel from 1901 to 1907 and the inauguration of the Tauern Railway line in 1909. Car shuttle trains have passed through the tunnel to Mallnitz–Obervellach station since 1920.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2015 local elections: *''Gemeinsam für Mallnitz'' ( Independent): 6 *

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

Twin town

Mallnitz is twinned with: * Witten, Germany, since 1979

References

Cities and towns in Spittal an der Drau District Goldberg Group {{Carinthia-geo-stub