Albeck ( sl, Št. Rupert ) is a municipality in the district of Feldkirchen 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 ...

Geography

The municipal area stretches along the valley of the Sirnitzbach creek, a tributary of the Gurk river, within the Gurktal Alps. In the northwest, Albeck borders on the state of

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

near Mt Eisenhut and Turracher Höhe Pass. In the west, the road leads from Sirnitz to Reichenau via Hochrindl Pass. The upper Gurk valley and its sources, two small

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...

lakes (Gurksee and Torersee), are a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

since 1981. Albeck 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 Albeck proper, Großreichenau, Sankt Leonhard, and Sirnitz. The main settlement is the village of Sirnitz.

Neighbouring municipalities

History

Sirnitz Burgruine Alt-Albeck 16072013 943

Albeck is a settlement area since the 10th century, when the surrounding estates were held by the Counts of

Friesach Friesach ( sl, Breže) is a historic town in the Sankt Veit an der Glan district of Carinthia, Austria. First mentioned in an 860 deed, it is known as the oldest town in Carinthia. Geography Location Friesach covers an area of 120.83 km2 a ...

, ancestors of Saint Hemma of Gurk. In 1043 Hemma granted the Lordship of Albeck to the short-lived

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nunnery of Gurk. When Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg had the abbey dissolved in 1072, he ceded the estates to the newly established

Diocese of Gurk The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt (german: Diözese Gurk-Klagenfurt, sl, Krška škofija) is a Catholic diocese covering the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is part of the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg. Though named after Gurk ...

. Albeck Castle (present-day Alt-Abeck) was first mentioned in 1155. Located high above the narrow Gurk valley, it was the residence of the local landlords; one Dietrich of Albeck, a canon at

Gurk Cathedral Gurk Cathedral (german: Dom zu Gurk, officially ''Pfarr- und ehemalige Domkirche Mariae Himmelfahrt'', sl, Bazilika v Krki) is a Romanesque pillar basilica in Gurk, in the Austrian state of Carinthia. The former cathedral and current co-cathed ...

, was even appointed bishop by Archbishop Conrad III of Salzburg in 1179. When the line became extinct in 1194, protracted inheritance disputes arose with the Styrian counts of

Peggau Peggau is a municipality in the district of Graz-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of ...

- Pfannberg. Nevertheless, from 1264 the area was again held by the Gurk bishops, represented by local '' ministeriales''. In the late 17th century, Alt-Abeck was demolished and a new

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

castle was erected on the road to Sirnitz.

Politics

Albeck Sirnitz 1 Gemeindeamt NO-Ansicht 22062007 01

Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2015 local elections: * Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ): 7 *

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is currentl ...

(ÖVP): 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): 2

Twin towns

Albeck is twinned with: * Langenau, Germany *

Fiume Veneto Fiume Veneto ( vec, Fiume; Standard Friulian: ; Western Friulian: or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pordenone in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about southeast of Pordenone ...

, Italy

References

External links

Municipal website

Tourist site
Cities and towns in Feldkirchen District {{Carinthia-geo-stub