Lurnfeld 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

Spittal an der Drau Spittal an der Drau is a town in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. It is the administrative centre of Spittal an der Drau District, Austria's second largest district (''Districts of Austria, Bezirk'') b ...

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 municipality consists of the two

Katastralgemeinde A cadastral community (or cadastre community, cadastral r cadastremunicipality, cadastral r cadastrecommune,Problémy s překladem termínu „katastrální území“ do angličtiny. in: Geodetický a kartografický Obzor. Český úřad zeměm� ...

n: Möllbrücke and Pusarnitz, comprising several small villages. It is located within the eponymous valley of the

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

river, on the southern slope of the

Ankogel Group The Ankogel Group () is a sub-group of the Central Eastern Alps. Together with the Goldberg Group, the Glockner Group, the Schober Group, the Kreuzeck Group, the Granatspitze Group, the Venediger Group, the Villgraten Mountains and the Rieserfern ...

of the

Hohe Tauern The High Tauern ( pl.; , ) are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of Salzburg, Carinthia and East Tyr ...

range, west of the district's capital

. At Möllbrücke is the confluence of the Drava with the

Möll The Möll (; presumably from , "rubble") is a river in northwestern Carinthia in Austria, a left tributary of the Drava. Its drainage basin is . Course The river rises in the High Tauern range of the Central Eastern Alps on the Pasterze Glacie ...

tributary. In the west the valley is confined by the mountains of the Kreuzeck group and in the south by the

Gailtal Alps The Gailtal Alps ( or ''Drauzug''), is a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria. It rises between the River Drava (''Drau'') and the Gail (river), Gail valley (in southwestern Carinthia (state), Carinthia) and through the southe ...

History

The Lurnfeld valley around the

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 ...

city of

Teurnia Teurnia (later Tiburnia) was a Roman Empire, Roman city (''municipium''). Today its ruins lie in western Carinthia (state), Carinthia. In Late Antiquity, late antiquity it was also a bishop's see, and towards the end of Roman times it was mention ...

is a very old settlement area, in ancient times called ''vallis Lurna''. In an 891 deed mentioned as ''Liburnia'', it became the centre of the Upper Carinthian counts in the mediæval Lurn'' gau'', who resided at Hohenburg Castle. Their dominions then stretched from west of

Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...

up the Drava to

Lienz Lienz (; Southern Bavarian: ''Lianz'') is a medieval town in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative centre of the Lienz district, which covers all of East Tyrol. The municipality also includes the cadastral subdivision of ''Pat ...

and the Tyrolean border. Pusarnitz already appeared in a 1072 deed. After the Counts of Lurn became extinct in 1135, it was among the Carinthian possessions of the Salzburg archbishops. The remaining estates were inherited by the

Counts of Ortenburg The Counts of Ortenburg () were a comital family in the mediaeval Duchy of Carinthia. Though they had roots in Bavarian nobility, an affiliation with the Imperial Counts of Ortenburg, a branch line of the Rhenish Franconian House of Sponheim, ...

, while the Tyrolean

Meinhardiner The House of Gorizia, also called the Meinhardiner, were a comital, princely and ducal dynasty in the Holy Roman Empire. Named after Gorizia Castle in Gorizia (now in Italy, on the border with Slovenia), they were originally "advocates" (''Vo ...

dynasty, Counts of Görz since 1127, expanded their possessions in the west. The main village Möllbrücke was first mentioned as ''mölnprukke'' in 1253. In 1307 it was denoted as a possession of the Meinhardiner counts of Görz and seat of a county court. When the Carinthian counts of Ortenburg became extinct in 1418, their estates were bequested to the

Counts of Celje The Counts of Celje () or the Counts of Cilli (; ) were the most influential late medieval noble dynasty on the territory of present-day Slovenia. Risen as vassals of the Habsburg dukes of Styria in the early 14th century, they ruled the County ...

. Count Ulrich II was even elevated to a

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...

by the Emperor

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

, but left no heirs when he was killed by his bitter rival

Ladislaus Hunyadi László Hunyadi or Ladislaus Hunyadi ( Slovak: ''Ladislav Huňady''; 1431Bánhegyi 2008, p. 17. – 16 March 1457) was a Hungarian nobleman. Ladislaus Hunyadi was the elder of the two sons of John Hunyadi, voivode of Transylvania and later reg ...

in 1456. He had signed an inheritance treaty with the

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, also Duke of Carinthia since 1424. However, the Meinhardiner count John II of Görz also claimed the former Ortenburg dominions. He marched against Carinthia from his Tyrolean residence at Bruck Castle, crossing the border at Oberdrauburg and occupying Spittal to lay siege to the Ortenburg fortress. He was finally defeated in 1460 and had to sign the Treaty of Pusarnitz at episcopal Feldsberg Castle, whereby he renounced all Carinthian estates in favour of the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

House of Habsburg.

Politics

The Lurnfeld municipality was created by the merger of Möllbrücke, Pusarnitz and neighbouring

Sachsenburg Sachsenburg is a market town in the district of Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia, Austria. Geography The municipal area stretches along the valley of the Drava river, where it enters the Lurnfeld plain between the Kreuzeck group of the Hohe Ta ...

in 1973; the citizens of Sachsenburg decided to split off again in 1992. Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2009 elections: *

Freedom Party in Carinthia The Freedom Party in Carinthia (, FPK, alternative English translations: Carinthian Freedom Party, Freedom Party of Carinthia, The Freedomites in Carinthia, or Carinthia Freedom Party) was a political party in Austria, operating in the federal s ...

(FPK): 10 *

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): 6 *

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): 2 * Greens: 1

Gallery

file:Maria in Hohenburg 27012007 02.jpg, St Maria in Hohenburg pilgrimage church File:Moellbruecke Hoher Stand 27012007 01.jpg, Moellbruecke with "Hoher Stand" mountain in the background File:Lurnfeld Pusarnitz 01.jpg, Pusarnitz in the community of Lurnfeld File:Möllbrücke, die Pfarrkirche Sankt Leonhard Dm62564 IMG 1722 2019-08-09 15.04.jpg, Möllbrücke, church: Pfarrkirche Sankt Leonhard File:Lurnfeld Moellbruecke roemischer Meilenstein 23012011 113.jpg, Roman milestone near Moellbruecke File:Lurnfeld Feldsberg 02.jpg, Ruin of Feldsberg castle File:Moellbruecke Drauhofen 04.jpg, Drauhofen castle

References

{{authority control Cities and towns in Spittal an der Drau District