Mühldorf is a municipality 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 ...

Geography

It is situated in the lower

Möll Valley 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 Glacier a ...

, between the

High Tauern The High Tauern (plural, pl.; , ) are a mountain range on the Main chain of the Alps, 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 Salz ...

mountain ranges of the Reißeck group in the northeast and the Kreuzeck group in the southwest. The municipality has access to the

Tauern Railway The Tauern Railway () is an Austrian railway line between Schwarzach- Sankt Veit in the state of Salzburg and Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia. It is part of one of the most important north–south trunk routes (''Magistrale'') in Europe and als ...

line at Mühldorf- Möllbrücke station.

History

The settlement was first mentioned in an 1177 deed; the name ''Mühldorf'' referred to the numerous mills in the area. The village probably arose around an older

salt mine Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations. History Before the advent of the modern internal combustio ...

, once owned by the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monks of

Millstatt Abbey Millstatt Abbey () is a former monastery in Millstatt, Austria. Established by Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monks about 1070, it ranks among the most important Romanesque architecture, Romanesque buildings in the state of Carinthia (state), ...

, which soon was abandoned, however. In 1844 a

loden cape Loden may refer to: * Marilyn Loden, American writer who coined the phrase "glass ceiling" * Loden cape, water-resistant material (usually green) in Austrian traditional clothing made from sheep's wool, without removing the lanolin *Loden green, gr ...

production was established, the facility exists up to today. The present-day municipality was constituted in 1850. Incorporated into neighbouring

Reißeck Reißeck is a municipality in the district of Spittal an der Drau District, Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia, Austria. Geography Situated within the valley of the Möll river, a tributary to the Drava, Reißeck is located about northwest of the ...

from 1973, the Mühldorf citizens again voted for independence in 1992.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2025: *

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): 7 *

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): 4 * Independents: 4

References

External links

Cities and towns in Spittal an der Drau District Reisseck Group {{Carinthia-geo-stub