Sankt Michael im Lungau is a

market town A market town is a 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 market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

in the district of

Tamsweg Tamsweg () is a market town in the Austrian state of Salzburg near the border with Styria. It is the administrative centre of the eponymous Tamsweg District ('' Bezirk'') and the largest town of the Salzburg Lungau region. Geography Tamsweg is loc ...

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

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

Geography

It is located in the historic Lungau region, in the valley of the upper Mur river, north of

Katschberg Pass Katschberg Pass (el. ) is a high mountain pass in the Central Eastern Alps in Austria between Rennweg am Katschberg in the state of Carinthia and Sankt Michael im Lungau in Salzburg. Geography It connects the Carinthian Katsch Valley in the s ...

on the border with the state of Carinthia. With a population of about 3,500, Sankt Michael is the second largest municipality in Tamsweg District. The municipal area comprises the cadastral communities of Höf, Oberweissburg, Sankt Martin im Lungau, Sankt Michael im Lungau, and Unterweissburg. Sankt Michael has access to the

Tauern Autobahn The Tauern Autobahn (A 10) is an autobahn (motorway) in Austria. It starts at the Salzburg junction with the West Autobahn (A1), runs southwards, crosses the Tauern mountain range on the main chain of the Alps and leads to the Süd Autobahn (A2) a ...

(A10) running from

Villach Villach (; sl, Beljak; it, Villaco; fur, Vilac) 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 p ...

and is the site of a large toll booth. The parallel ''Katschberg Straße'' (B99) highway leads from

Radstadt Radstadt (Central Bavarian: ''Rodstoud'' or ''Rodstod'') is a historic town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Geography The town is part of the Salzburg Pongau region. It is located in the valley of the ...

and

Radstädter Tauern Pass Radstädter Tauern Pass (el. 1,738 m or 5,702 ft) is a high mountain pass in the Austrian state of Salzburg, connecting the town of Radstadt in the Pongau region with Mauterndorf in Lungau. Geography The pass separates the Radstadt Tauern ...

in the north to

Spittal an der Drau Spittal an der Drau is a town in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia. It is the administrative centre of Spittal an der Drau District, Austria's second largest district ('' Bezirk'') by area. Geography The town is located ...

, Carinthia via Katschberg Pass in the south. The ''Murtal Straße'' (B96) branch-off leads eastwards down the Mur valley to the district capital

and

Murau Murau is a town in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Styria. It is the administrative seat of Murau District. Geography The historic town is located in mountainous Upper Styria in the valley of the Mur river between the Lower Ta ...

in Styria.

History

The Lungau region has been continuously settled at least since the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

; the local Hallstatt culture was gradually assimilated by

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 Fo ...

immigrants about 450 BC. After the Celtic kingdom of ''

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...

'' became a

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

province in 15 BC, a

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

was laid out across Katschberg Pass, leading to the city of ''

Teurnia Teurnia (later Tiburnia) was a Roman city (''municipium''). Today its ruins lie in western Carinthia. In late antiquity it was also a bishop's see, and towards the end of Roman times it was mentioned as the capital of the province of Noricum me ...

'' in the south. In the 6th century AD,

Slavic tribes This is a list of Slavic peoples and Slavic tribes reported in Late Antiquity and in the Middle Ages, that is, before the year AD 1500. Ancestors *Proto-Indo-Europeans (Proto-Indo-European speakers) ** Proto-Balto-Slavs (common ancestors of B ...

moved into the area, succeeded by Bavarian settlers 200 years later. The

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

parish church dedicated to

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

was first mentioned in an 1147 deed. Together with the Lungau region it became a part of the

Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg (german: Fürsterzbistum Salzburg; Erzstift Salzburg; Erzbistum Salzburg) was an ecclesiastical principality and state of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the secular territory ruled by the archbishops of ...

in the late 13th century, ruled from nearby

Mauterndorf Mauterndorf (Southern Bavarian: ''Mautndorf'') is a market town of the Tamsweg District in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The municipality also comprises the Katastralgemeinden ''Faningberg, Neuseß'' and ''Steindorf''. Geography It is located in ...

, later from

Moosham Castle Moosham Castle (german: Schloss Moosham) is a medieval castle near Unternberg in the Lungau region of Salzburg, Austria. The spur castle is situated at a height of . History Possibly built on the foundations of a Roman ''castrum'' fortress, t ...

. The ''Heihsgut'' manor house in the village of Sankt Martin, first documented in 1478, is one of the oldest preserved dwellings in the Salzburg Alps. Like several other Lungau municipalities, Sankt Michael is known for its annual

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

parades.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2014 elections: * Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 13 * Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 6 *

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"Aus ...

(FPÖ): 2

Twin town

Sankt Michael is twinned with: *

Bad Leonfelden Bad Leonfelden is a municipality in the district of Urfahr-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Steven Beller, author of ''A Concise History of Austria'', who has family links to Bad Leonfelden, cites episodes from the town's histor ...

, Austria

Notable people

Dagobert Peche Dagobert Peche (3 April 1887, Sankt Michael im Lungau, Sankt Michael/Lungau, ''Land Salzburg'' – 16 April 1923, Modling) was an Austrians, Austrian artist and metalworker designer. Career He joined the Wiener Werkstätte in 1915 and exhibited ...

(1887-1923), artist and designer *

Rudi Wilfer Rudi, born Albert Rudolph (January 24, 1928 – February 21, 1973), also known as Swami Rudrananda, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Rudi was a spiritual teacher and an antiquities entrepreneur in New York City.Swami Rudrananda udi ''Spiri ...

(born 1936), pianist and composer.

References

External links

Municipal site
Cities and towns in Tamsweg District Ankogel Group Radstadt Tauern {{Salzburg-geo-stub