Völkermarkt (; sl, Velikovec) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of about 11,000 inhabitants 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 ...

, the administrative capital of

Völkermarkt District Völkermarkt District is an administrative district in the Austrian State of Carinthia. Municipalities Völkermarkt is divided into 13 municipalities, of which 2 are towns and 3 market towns. Towns *Bleiburg ( sl, Pliberk) (4,083) **Aich, Bl ...

. It is located within the

Drava The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

valley east of the Carinthian capital

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

, north of the Karawanken mountain range.

Subdivisions

The municipality of Völkermarkt comprises 26

Katastralgemeinde A cadastral community or cadastral municipality, is a Cadastre, cadastral subdivision of Municipality, municipalities in the nations of Austria,Cadastral Template for Austria, web-pageCT-AT Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Ser ...

n (Slovene names in brackets): * Admont-Lassein (''Volmat-Lesine'') * Bei der Drau (''Pri Dravi'') * Greuth (''Rute'') * Gurtschitschach (''Gurčiče'') * Haimburg (''Vovbre'') * Höhenbergen (''Homberk'') * Kaltenbrunn (''Mrzla Voda'') * Klein St. Veit (''Mali Šentvid'') * Korb (''Korpiče'') * Mittertrixen (''Srednje Trušnje'') * Mühlgraben (''Mlinski Graben'') * Neudenstein (''Črni Grad'') * Niedertrixen (''Spodnje Trušnje'') * Ob der Drau (''Na Dravo'') * Rakollach (''Rakole'') * Ritzing (''Ricinje'') * Ruhstatt (''Ruštat'') * St. Jakob (''Šentjakob'') * St. Peter am Wallersberg (''Šentpeter na Vašinjah'') * St. Ruprecht (''Šentrupert'') * Tainach (''Tinje'') * Töllerberg (''Telenberk'') * Völkermarkt (''Velikovec'') * Waisenberg (''Važenberk'') * Wandelitzen (''Vodovnica'') * Weinberg (''Vinograd'')

History

The area, once part of the ancient ''

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

'' province, in the 7th century was resettled by Slavic tribes, who lived within the 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-eastern ...

. The migration concentrated around the former

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 letter ...

settlement of ''Juenna'' (near present-day

Globasnitz Globasnitz ( Slovene: ''Globasnica'') is a town in the district of Völkermarkt in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Population A considerable percentage (42.1%) of the population are Carinthian Slovenes, and Slovene is a second official language ...

in an area later called ''Podjuna'' in Slovene or ''Jauntal'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. Up to today, significant parts of the population refer to themselves as

Carinthian Slovenes Carinthian Slovenes or Carinthian Slovenians ( sl, Koroški Slovenci; german: Kärntner Slowenen) are the indigenous minority of Slovene ethnicity, living within borders of the Austrian state of Carinthia, neighboring Slovenia. Their status of t ...

The descendants of Count Siegfried I of

Sponheim Sponheim is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany. History Sponheim was the capital of the County of Sponheim. Sponheim Abbey There was a Benedictine abbey which was founded in 1101 by Step ...

, who about 1035 had come to the

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 Sta ...

as a follower of Emperor

Conrad II Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...

, had a trading post erected at the site about 1090, where a church was built soon afterwards at the behest of the archbishop of

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

. In 1217 Duke Bernhard von Spanheim gave orders to build a bridge across the Drava River and had the settlement rebuilt in 1231. Völkermarkt was granted

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in the 13th century already and developed quickly as an important centre for trade in iron from the surrounding ore mines. In the Carinthian Plebiscite of 1920, a majority of the population voted for adhesion to the

Republic of 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 of Austria, states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, th ...

. On 18 September 1979, the Yugoslav

Department of State Security The State Security Service ( hr, Služba državne sigurnosti, sr, Служба државне безбедности; mk, Служба за државна безбедност; sl, Služba državne varnosti), also known by its original name ...

firebombed the Völkermarkt town hall, severely injuring three men, including two of the agents, and causing heavy damages.

Population

According to the 2001 census 2.6% of the population were

Voelkermarkt - Stadtpfarrkirche Maria Magdalena

Voelkermarkt alter Herzoghof Rathaus 09102006 10

Transport

The town has access to the Austrian

Süd Autobahn The Süd Autobahn (A2) ('South Motorway') is a motorway (''Autobahn'') in Austria. Completed in 1999, it runs from the outskirts of Vienna south via the cities of Graz and Klagenfurt to the border of Italy at Arnoldstein, where it joins the Autost ...

(A2) with two junctions. The projected

Koralm Railway The Koralm Railway (german: Koralmbahn) is an Austrian 127 km-long (79 mi)Johannes Fleckl-Ernst: ''Geodätische Herausforderungen beim Projekt „Koralmtunnel“''. In: ''Felsbau'', Heft 5/2010, S. 315–321, . double-track, electri ...

is expected to improve the area's transport facilities.

Personalities

* Markus Hansiz (1683-1766), Jesuit and historian * Johann Joseph Peyritsch (1835-1889), physicician and botanist * Julius Ringel (1889-1967), general of the Gebirgstruppe (Mountain troops) of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

Stephanie Graf Stephanie Graf (born 26 April 1973, in Klagenfurt) is an Austrian former middle distance runner who won silver medals in the 800 metres at both the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships. In June 2010 Graf was suspen ...

(born 1973), athlete *

Elmar Lichtenegger Elmar Lichtenegger (born 25 May 1974 in Klagenfurt) is an Austrian hurdler. His personal best time is 13.33 seconds, achieved in June 1999 in Athens. Since 2003 he has been a member of the National Council of Austria, originally for the Freedom ...

(born 1974), hurdler *

Magdalena Lobnig Magdalena Lobnig (born 19 July 1990 in Sankt Veit an der Glan) is an Austrian rower. She won the double scull World U23 Championship in 2012 and the singles European Championship in 2016. In 2021, at the 2020 Summer Olympics The , off ...

(born 1990), rower

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Völkermarkt is twinned with: *

San Giorgio di Nogaro San Giorgio di Nogaro ( fur, Sant Zorç di Noiâr, Central Eastern Friulian: ''San Zorz'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about south of ...

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 ...

References

External links

Official site
(German)
Pictures of Völkermarkt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volkermarkt Cities and towns in Völkermarkt District