Lavamünd () 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 rura ...

in the district of Wolfsberg in the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n state of

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

. The Lavamünd hydroelectric power plant on the Drava River and the Koralpe power plant are located in or near Lavamünd.

Geography

Lavamuend Ansicht ueber den Drau-Stausee 01012011 233

Lavamünd lies in the southeast of Carinthia, close to the border with

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

( Slovene Carinthia). It is situated at the confluence of the Lavant and

Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.

rivers. In the northeast, the Soboth Pass leads across the Koralpe range to

Eibiswald Eibiswald (; Slovene: ''Ivnik'') is a municipality in the district of Deutschlandsberg in the Austrian state of Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approxi ...

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

. At an elevation of AA, the area is the lowest part of Carinthia. The municipal area consists of the cadastral communities of Ettendorf, Großlamprechtsberg, Hart (''Dobrova''), Lamprechtsberg-Hartneidstein, Lavamünd proper, Lorenzenberg (''Šentlovrenc''), Magdalensberg, Rabenstein (''Rabštajn pri Labotu''), Weißenberg, and Wunderstätten (''Drumlje pri Labotu'').

History

The region in the Drava valley was already settled in

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times. The estates at the confluence with the Lavant River were mentioned in a 1091 deed of donation, issued by the local Sponheim count Engelbert I in favour of newly established Saint Paul's Abbey. The market town itself arose in the 13th century; it was first documented in 1334.

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

Emperor Frederick III vested the citizens with

high justice High, middle and low justices are notions dating from Western feudalism to indicate descending degrees of judicial power to administer justice by the maximal punishment the holders could inflict upon their subjects and other dependents. The scale ...

rights (''Blutgerichtsbarkeit'') in 1461. The present-day municipality was established in 1850. Upon the 1920 Carinthian plebiscite, the neighbouring area of

Dravograd Dravograd (; ) 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 is part of the traditional ...

(''Unterdrauburg'') fell to the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

. 96.9% of the Lavamünd citizens voted to remain with the Austrian Republic.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2015 local elections: *

Social Democratic Party of Austria The Social Democratic Party of Austria ( , SPÖ) is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (, SDAPÖ) and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria () from 1945 unt ...

(SPÖ): 12 *

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...

(ÖVP): 8 *

Freedom Party of Austria The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five part ...

(FPÖ): 3

References

External links

Municipal website
Cities and towns in Wolfsberg District {{Carinthia-geo-stub