Carinthia ( sl, Koroška ; german: Kärnten), also Slovene Carinthia or Slovenian Carinthia (''Slovenska Koroška''), is a
traditional region
Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing social ...
in northern
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, a ...
. The term refers to the small southeasternmost area of the former
Duchy of Carinthia
The Duchy of Carinthia (german: Herzogtum Kärnten; sl, Vojvodina Koroška) 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 ...
, which after
World War I was allocated to the
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( sh, Država Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba / ; sl, Država Slovencev, Hrvatov in Srbov) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( ...
according to the 1919
Treaty of Saint-Germain
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal per ...
. It has no distinct centre, but a local centre in each of the three central river valleys among the heavily forested mountains.
Since the entry of Slovenia into the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
in May 2004, much effort has been made to re-integrate Carinthia as a cultural, tourism, and economic unit.
The historic region has no official status as an administrative district within Slovenia, although the association with an informal province (''pokrajina'') is quite common.
Geography
The region lies in the
Karawanks
The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks ( sl, Karavanke; german: Karawanken, ) 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 d ...
mountain range of the
Southern Limestone Alps and comprises two spatially divided areas totalling :
* the
Meža Valley (''Mežiška dolina'') down to the confluence with the
Valley (''Dravska dolina''), including the
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Črna na Koroškem,
Mežica,
Prevalje and
Ravne na Koroškem, and
Dravograd
Dravograd (; german: Unterdrauburg) 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 i ...
.
* the
Municipality of Jezersko south of the
Seeberg Saddle mountain pass.
All these municipalities border on 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 populou ...
n state of
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...
in the north.
In 2005, the
Carinthia Statistical Region
The Carinthia Statistical Region ( sl, Koroška statistična regija) 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 env ...
was established, which covers a larger area of about , parts of which encompass a number of adjacent municipalities belonging to the traditional region 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 ...
like the town of
Slovenj Gradec in the Mislinja Valley or
Muta and
Radlje down the Drava River,
though not Jezersko, which is part of the
Upper Carniola Statistical Region.
The landscape of Carinthia is very diverse, with predominance of hilly and mountainous relief, in the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed i ...
transformed by glaciers. The climate is partially an
alpine climate
Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate.
Definition
There are multiple definitions of ...
, and partially a transitional
continental climate. An important element is
temperature inversion
In meteorology, an inversion is a deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude. It almost always refers to an inversion of the air temperature lapse rate, in which case it is called a temperature inversion. No ...
. Over two thirds of Carinthia is covered by forest and the percentage is still increasing. The predominant tree species are beech, fir, and spruce. The lower areas have been polluted by
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, l ...
due to a lead mine. Despite this, Carinthia is home to much game (hare, deer, roe deer) and alpine animal species above the timberline, like at
Mount Peca or Mount
Raduha. The Drava River is home to many fish.
History
The name derives from the early medieval
Slavic principality of
Carantania
Carantania, also known as Carentania ( sl, Karantanija, german: Karantanien, in Old Slavic '), was a Slavic principality that emerged in the second half of the 7th century, in the territory of present-day southern Austria and north-easter ...
, whose territory stretched from the present-day Austrian state of Carinthia down to the Styrian lands on the
Sava
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...
river. The area was part of the
Imperial Carinthian duchy established in 976 and ruled by 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 ...
from 1335, which in 1867 became a
Cisleithania
Cisleithania, also ''Zisleithanien'' sl, Cislajtanija hu, Ciszlajtánia cs, Předlitavsko sk, Predlitavsko pl, Przedlitawia sh-Cyrl-Latn, Цислајтанија, Cislajtanija ro, Cisleithania uk, Цислейтанія, Tsysleitaniia it, Cislei ...
n crown land of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with t ...
. Upon the Austrian defeat in World War I, the newly established Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
) in 1919 occupied southern Carinthia. The Meža Valley, the area around Dravograd and Jezersko, which are today the territory of Slovenia, were split off without a referendum, while in the occupied region north and west of this, on 10 October 1920 the voters in the
Carinthian Plebiscite
The Carinthian plebiscite (german: Kärntner Volksabstimmung, sl, Koroški plebiscit) was held on 10 October 1920 in the area in southern Carinthia predominantly settled by Carinthian Slovenes. It determined the final border between the Republi ...
determined that those parts should become part of the newly founded
First Austrian Republic
The First Austrian Republic (german: Erste Österreichische Republik), officially the Republic of Austria, was created after the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 September 1919—the settlement after the end of World War I w ...
.
During the 1941
Balkan Campaign of
World War II, the area was annexed by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and put under the administration of the ''
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 ...
'' of Carinthia, led by
Friedrich Rainer
Friedrich W. Rainer (28 July 1903 – November 1950)Miller, Michael & Andreas Schulz, (2017). ''Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925-1945'', Volume II (Georg Joel - Dr. Bernhard Rust). R. James B ...
. Upon the
German Instrument of Surrender
The German Instrument of Surrender (german: Bedingungslose Kapitulation der Wehrmacht, lit=Unconditional Capitulation of the "Wehrmacht"; russian: Акт о капитуляции Германии, Akt o kapitulyatsii Germanii, lit=Act of capit ...
in May 1945,
Yugoslav Partisans
The Yugoslav Partisans, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобо� ...
entered the region, killing numerous alleged
collaborators during the
Bleiburg repatriations. The area around
Dravograd
Dravograd (; german: Unterdrauburg) 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 i ...
(
Otiški Vrh,
Selovec,
Bukovska Vas,
Šentjanž) and
Prevalje (
Leše,
Poljana) is the site of several
mass graves
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...
. After the war, the region formed part of the Yugoslav
Socialist Republic of Slovenia
The Socialist Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Socialistična republika Slovenija, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Sociali ...
, it became part of independent Slovenia after the
Breakup of Yugoslavia
The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
in 1991.
Demographics
The Carinthia Statistical Region had 73,754 inhabitants in 2008, with an uneven settlement and relatively young population. Nonetheless, due to low birth rate and shorter life span, the number of inhabitants is decreasing. The biggest employer is the processing industry. Many people are commuters, working in
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the a ...
,
Maribor
Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, the seat of the Drava sta ...
,
Velenje
Velenje (; german: Wöllan''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 4: ''Štajersko''. 1904. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 272.) is Slovenia's sixth-largest city, and the seat of the Municipality ...
and Austria. In 2008, there was relatively high unemployment, 10.5% in the mining town of
Črna na Koroškem and 11.8 in
Ravne na Koroškem,
known for its steel industry. Other large settlements are the mining towns
Mežica and
Prevalje,
Dravograd
Dravograd (; german: Unterdrauburg) 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 i ...
along the
Maribor-Klagenfurt railway, Slovenj Gradec, the administrative centre of the
Mislinja Valley and a cultural centre, Muta with a metal industry based on its blacksmith tradition, Radlje ob Dravi, a lively business and commercial centre.
Economy
In the 1990s, the lead and
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic t ...
mine in the Meža Valley, the most highly industrialized valley of the region, and the lead
smelter
Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ...
in
Žerjav were closed down. The only factory in the area around the mine still operating is TAB, a manufacturer of
batteries. Metal Ravne, the
steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finishe ...
at Ravne, which was one of the largest employers in the Duchy of Carinthia in the 19th century, managed to survive and now specializes in
alloy steel
Alloy steel is steel that is alloyed with a variety of elements in total amounts between 1.0% and 50% by weight to improve its mechanical properties. Alloy steels are broken down into two groups: low alloy steels and high alloy steels. The differ ...
and machinery components. There are five
hydroelectric plant
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
s in the Carinthian stretch of the Drava Valley, with a total capacity of about 60
megawatts
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
, and metal products are produced in different places.
Environment
After the shut-down of the zinc mine, the extremely poor environmental situation in the narrow Meža Valley with its centuries-long lead and zinc ore exploitation has slowly been improving. However, the entire area of the Slovene Carinthia continues to suffer from severe damage to its forests. In some areas, up to 40% of the trees are damaged due to heavy
sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic ac ...
emissions from the
Šoštanj Power Plant and the iron works in Ravne.
Despite the pollution of the Meža and Drava rivers, water supply has never been a problem. Clean water is abundant due to the mountainous terrain with its impermeable rock. Almost every farm in the mountains has its own water supply system, and the settlements in the valleys are connected to municipal water supply systems.
Education and culture
The Dr Franc Sušnik Central Carinthian Library and the Carinthian museum are in Ravne na Koroškem, but the Carinthian Regional Museum, the Carinthian Gallery of Fine Arts, and the regional radio station are located in Slovenj Gradec (historically part 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 ...
).
In the past, educational establishments and other activities were dispersed among several small towns. There are high schools in Ravne and Muta. Students who wish to continue their tertiary education mostly choose the universities in Maribor and Ljubljana. In Črna na Koroškem, there is a centre for the protection and vocational education of physically and mentally handicapped youth.
Notable people
*
Aleš Gorza, skier
*
Robert Koren, football player
*
Lado Kralj, writer, theatre critic and literary historian
*
Alojzij Kuhar, historian, diplomat, journalist and politician
*
Mitja Kunc, skier
*
Nataša Lačen, cross country skier
*
Tina Maze, skier
*
Boštjan Nachbar, basketball player
*
Vinko Ošlak, essayist, translator, and Christian thinker
*
Andrej Pečnik, football player
*
Nejc Pečnik
Nejc Pečnik (born 3 January 1986) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays for Dravograd. Primarily an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a winger or forward.
He represented Slovenia at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Prior to that, ...
, football player
*
Danilo Pudgar, skier
*
Renata Salecl
Renata Salecl (born 1962) is a Slovene philosopher, sociologist and legal theorist. She is a senior researcher at the Institute of Criminology, Faculty of Law at the University of Ljubljana, and holds a professorship at Birkbeck College, Unive ...
, philosopher
*
Mirnes Šišić, football player
*
Adi Smolar, singer-songwriter
*
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik (born 12 March 1981) is a Slovenian retired professional tennis player. She reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 20 on 7 August 2006. On 4 July 2011, she reached No. 1 of the WTA doubles rankings, holding this ...
, tennis player
*
Marko Šuler, football player
*
Tine Urnaut
Tine Urnaut (born 3 September 1988) is a Slovenian volleyball player who plays for JTEKT Stings and the Slovenian national team. With Slovenia, he was the runner-up of the European Volleyball Championship three times, in 2015, 2019 and 2021.
...
, volleyball player
*
Prežihov Voranc, writer
*
Hugo Wolf
Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Rom ...
, composer
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Historical regions in Slovenia