Pörtschach am Wörthersee ( sl, Poreče) is a municipality in the district of
Klagenfurt-Land
Bezirk Klagenfurt-Land is a district of the state of
Carinthia in Austria. :de:Bezirk Klagenfurt-Land
Municipalities
Towns (''Städte'') are indicated in boldface; market towns (''Marktgemeinden'') in ''italics''; suburbs, hamlets and other sub ...
in
Carinthia,
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 ...
. It is an established summer
resort and lakeside town on
Wörthersee
Wörthersee (; Slovene: ''Vrbsko jezero'', en, Lake WörthTesch, F. W. 1977. ''The Eel: Biology and Management of Anguillid Eels''. Transl. Jennifer Greenwood. London: Chapman and Hall, p. 195.) is a lake in the southern Austrian state of Cari ...
.
Geography

Pörtschach is located at above mean sea level, on the northern shore of
Lake Wörth, about west 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 ...
.
The municipal territory is subdivided into the two
cadastral communities
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 ...
of Pörtschach on the Lake () and Sallach. Unique locality of the municipality is Pörtschach on Lake Wörth.
Pörtschach's neighbouring communities include
Moosburg
Moosburg an der Isar ( Central Bavarian: ''Mooschbuag on da Isa'') is a town in the ''Landkreis'' Freising of Bavaria, Germany.
The oldest town between Regensburg and Italy, it lies on the river Isar at an altitude of 421 m (1381 ft) ...
to the north,
Techelsberg
Techelsberg ( Slovene: ''Teholica'') is a municipality in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in the Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the ...
to the west,
Krumpendorf
Krumpendorf am Wörthersee ( sl, Kriva Vrba) is a municipality in Klagenfurt-Land District, in Carinthia, Austria. It is situated on the Wörthersee.
Geography
Krumpendorf stretches along the northern shore of Wörthersee, Carinthia's larg ...
to the east, and
Maria Wörth
Maria Wörth is a municipality in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. The centre of the resort town is situated on a peninsula at the southern shore of the Wörthersee. In the east, the municipal area borders the ...
to the south.
History

Basin stones with
cup marks
Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of prehistoric art found in the Atlantic seaboard of Europe (Ireland, Wales, Northern England, Scotland, France (Brittany), Portugal, and Spain ( Galicia) – and in Mediterranean Europe – Italy (in Al ...
most presumably come from the
Stone Age and can still be seen in many parts of Carinthia. There is also one to be seen in Pörtschach, just next to a basswood tree with a park bench and next to a wooden cross. During the cultic ceremony the sacrifice, most probably blood, was placed in the little basin hole of the rock.
According to archaeological findings, the
Noricum
Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the nort ...
main road from
Velden to Krumpendorf already led across the community's territory in 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 ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
period. During the
Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps The settlement of the Eastern Alps region by early Slavs took place during the 6th to 8th centuries.
It is part of the southward expansion of the early Slavs which would result in the characterization of the South Slavic group, and would ultimatel ...
about 600 a settlement was founded, based on onomastic evidence (
Slavic
Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to:
Peoples
* Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia
** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples
** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples
** West Slavi ...
''porecah'' = 'at the people who live by the brook'). In 1150 Pörtschach 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 St ...
was first attested in written sources. In those days a lake castle was set up, of which little else than some scant remains of a wall can be seen to this day. A parish church was first mentioned in 1328, initially a
filial church A filial church, in the Roman Catholic Church, is a church to which is annexed the cure of souls, but which remains dependent on another church. The term comes from the Latin ''filialis'', from ''filia'', “daughter”.
Description
The term ''fil ...
of
Maria Wörth
Maria Wörth is a municipality in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. The centre of the resort town is situated on a peninsula at the southern shore of the Wörthersee. In the east, the municipal area borders the ...
, the present-day building was erected in 1787 and restored in a
Neo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ...
style in 1904/06.
The nearby medieval
Leonstein Castle had already fallen into disrepair by the late 17th century, but it has recently benefited from a restoration programme. It was replaced around 1490, when neighbouring Leonstain Castle was erected close to Pörtschach's centre. Today part of the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...
castle has been reborn as a hotel.
A growing tourism industry started in the mid-19th century, accelerating after the establishment of the Lake Wörth navy in 1853. Shortly after that, in 1864, Pörtschach received a railway station on the new
Southern Railway Southern Railway or Southern Railroad may refer to:
Argentina
* Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway, Argentina
* Southern Fuegian Railway, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Australia
* Main Southern railway line, New South Wales, Australia
* Southern r ...
line from
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
to
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
; this made it a favoured tourist destination. Famous tourists from Vienna included Emperor
Franz Josef I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the Grand title of the Emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg m ...
,
Gustav Mahler, and
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
, who worked on his
Second Symphony and his
Violin Concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque music, Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first dev ...
here. After the tourism boom years in Carinthia of the 1960s and 1970s, a revival in Pörtschach as an events centre is under way. The goal is to develop as a "
sustainable tourist attraction
Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...
" affiliated to nature, culture and history.
Population
According to the census of 2001, the community of Pörtschach has 2,670 inhabitants. 90.3% have Austrian citizenship, the biggest groups among the foreign nationalities are
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
ns (3.0%),
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
(2.3%), and
Bosnia-Herzegovinians (1.3%).
In terms of religion, the majority of the people are
Roman Catholic
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 ...
s (75%), followed by 10%
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
s and 1.6%
Muslims. About 10% of the people do not affiliate with any religion.
Lake villas

In the late 19th and early 20th century, numerous villas were erected in the so-called
Wörthersee style, according to
Friedrich Achleitner
Friedrich Achleitner (23 May 1930 – 27 March 2019) was an Austrian poet and architecture critic. As a member of the Wiener Gruppe, he wrote concrete poems and experimental literature. His magnum opus is a multi-volume documentation of 20th-cen ...
a mix of
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Moder ...
,
German Romanticism,
Baroque and
mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
architecture. The most important representants of this specific building style were Franz Baumgartner (1876–1946), Wilhelm Heß (1846–1916), Josef Victor Fuchs, and Carl Langhammer (1840–1906).
Politics
Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2015 local elections:
*
Austrian People's Party
The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria.
Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is curr ...
(ÖVP): 7
*
Freedom Party of Austria
The Freedom Party of Austria (german: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Austria. It was led by Norbert Hofer from September 2019 to 1 June 2021.Staff (1 June 2021"Au ...
(FPÖ): 6
*
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) unti ...
(SPÖ): 4
*
Green Party of Austria
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combina ...
(Grüne): 2
Twin towns — sister cities
Pörtschach is
twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:
*
Rivignano
Rivignano was a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about southwest of Udine.
Since January 1, 2014 Rivignano has been merged with Teor, forming ...
,
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 ...
Notable people
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
spent the summers of 1877 to 1879 in Pörtschach. In a letter to
Clara Schumann
Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...
he recounted how he stopped off on his voyage to Vienna for overnight lodging and found the next day so pleasant that on the second day he decided to stay for the time being. Pörtschach is the site of an annual
International Johannes Brahms Competition
The International Johannes Brahms Competition ("Brahms Competition") is an international competition for the performers of piano, violin, viola, cello, chamber music, and singers.
The competition has taken place annually since 1993. The event is h ...
.
Literature
* ''Österreichische Kunst-Topographie. (Austrian art topography) Volume I.: Herzogthum Karnten'' (Dutchy Carinthia), Wien 1889, S. 284; in Commission bei Kubasta & Voigt, of the K. K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei.
* ''DEHIO Kärnten - Topographisches Denkmälerinventar'' (Topografic monument inventory), S. 636–644. Editorial Anton Schroll & Co, Wien 2001,
* ''Kärntner Sagen'' (Carinthian sagas), a selection by Dr. Georg Graber, 1949; S. 50–52, Kärntner Heimatverlag (Carinthian homeland editorial).
* ''Die Kärntner Gemeindewappen'' (The Carinthian community coat of arms) by Dr. Wilhelm Deuer, S. 216–217; Klagenfurt 2006, Editorial of the Carinthian country archive,
References
External links
*
Municipal site*
Tourist siteInternational Johannes Brahms CompetitionPörtschach Info&News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portschach am Worthersee
Cities and towns in Klagenfurt-Land District