Eisenkappel-Vellach ( sl, Železna Kapla-Bela) 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
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 ...
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
spa town
A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits.
Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. H ...
is the southernmost municipality of Austria, close to the border with
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, an ...
.
Geography
The municipal area covers the valley of the Vellach creek, which runs in north–south direction from the heights of the
Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the
Karavanke range down to the
River. The Obir massif in the west contains a large dripstone
cave
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
system. Two
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 ...
roads lead to Slovenia: the
Seebergsattel
Seeberg Saddle (german: Seebergsattel, sl, Jezerski vrh), also just Seeberg (''Jezersko'') is a high mountain pass connecting Bad Eisenkappel in the Austrian state of Carinthia with Jezersko in the Slovenian region of Carinthia. It is located in ...
in the southwest connecting it with
Jezersko and the less frequented
Pavlič Pass
The Pavlič Pass, Paulitsch Pass or Paulitsch Saddle ( sl, Pavličevo sedlo, german: Paulitschsattel) or just Pavlič (german: Paulitsch) (elevation 1338 m) is a mountain pass that connects the Slovenian municipality of Solčava in the historical ...
in the southeast on the road to
Solčava.
Eisenkappel-Vellach consists of the main locality
Bad Eisenkappel
Bad Eisenkappel, also known as Eisenkappel, ( sl, Železna Kapla) is a municipality located in the Vellach Valley in the Karawanken mountain range with the nearby peaks: Obir, Peca, and Olševa. It is the population center of the market town ...
and several smaller settlements located in lateral valleys, subdivided into the ''
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'' of Bad Vellach (''Bela''), Blasnitzen (''Spodnja Plaznica''), Ebriach (''Obirsko''), Eisenkappel (''Železna Kapla''), Koprein Petzen (''Pod Peco''), Koprein Sonnseite (''Koprivna''), Leppen (''Lepena''), Lobnig (''Lobnik''), Rechberg (''Reberca''), Remschenig (''Remšenik'') and Trögern (''Korte'').
According to the 2001 census, 38% of the population are
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 ...
, distributed over the 15 localities as follows:
History
The Seeberg Pass was already part of 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 ...
in the
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 from 15 BC onwards. A ''Capella'' settlement in 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 ...
, named after a
chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
(german: Kapelle, sl, Kapela) held by the
Bishop of Brixen
The Diocese of Bolzano-Brixen (german: Diözese Bozen-Brixen, it, Diocesi di Bolzano-Bressanone, la, Dioecesis Bauzanensis-Brixinensis) is a Catholic diocese in northern Italy, with its seat in the city of Bolzano. Its territory corresponds wit ...
, was first mentioned about 1050. The market was probably established in the early 13th century under the rule of Duke Bernhard von Spanheim. Market rights were officially confirmed in a 1267/68 deed, when the Seebergsattel was an important trade route for salt and iron ore (German: ''Eisen''). From the 15th century onwards, the valley was the site of several ironworks. Fortifications were built against the invasions by the Ottoman Wars, Ottoman forces, nevertheless Kappel was devastated in 1473. Emperor Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick III had the town rebuilt and granted it the present-day coat of arms in 1493.
The Kappel municipality was established in 1850, it was renamed Eisenkappel in 1890, while the iron industries declined. The Eisenkappel citizens had to rely on forestry and summer tourism around several mineral springs, promoted by the opening of the Vellachtalbahn narrow gauge railway line in 1902. Eisenkappel and Vellach finally merged in 1939. In the late days of World War II the remote Peršman farm in Koprein Petzen was a strongpoint of the Slovene Partisans, the only ever-existing Anti-Nazi military resistance of Austria. On 25 April 1945, a Nazi ''Schutzstaffel, SS'' unit stormed the building killing eleven residents, among them seven children.
Politics
Seats in the municipal ''Gemeinderat'' assembly as of March 2019 :
* Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 8
* Enotna Lista (EL): 8
* Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 2
* The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ): 1
Since March 2009, Eisenkappel-Vellach has been run by a Carinthian Slovene mayor, Franc Jožef Smrtnik. It is currently the only municipality in Carinthia with a mayor of the Slovene minority party Enotna Lista.
References
{{authority control
Cities and towns in Völkermarkt District