Reichenau () is a municipality in the district of Feldkirchen 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

The municipal area is situated in the upper valley of the Gurk River within the

Nock Mountains The Nock Mountains ( or ''Nockgebirge'') are the westernmost and highest mountain range of the Gurktal Alps in Austria, spread over parts of the federal states of Carinthia, Salzburg and Styria. Their appearance is characterised by numerous dome ...

range (part of the

Gurktal Alps The Gurktal Alps (, ) is a mountain range in the Central Eastern Alps in Austria which is named after the valley of the Gurk river. The range stretches west to Lake Millstatt and east to Neumarkter Sattel (north-northwest of Neumarkt in Steie ...

). In the north, the road from Feldkirchen leads up to

Turracher Höhe Pass Turracher Höhe, also called Turracherhöhe, refers to a village, a pass across the Alps, and a countryside in the Gurktal Alps in Austria. The village and the Turracher Lake at the pass, which both share the same name, are separated by the bor ...

and Turracher See at a height of AA on the border with

Predlitz-Turrach Predlitz-Turrach is a former municipality in the district of Murau in Styria, Austria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Stadl-Predlitz. Geography The municipality lies in the upper valley of the Mu ...

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 ...

and further down into the Mur Valley. Another small mountain lake is Falkertsee at in the west. Reichenau is the eastern terminus of the ''Nockalmstraße''

scenic route A scenic route, tourist road, tourist drive, scenic byway, or holiday road is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoints. The designation is usually de ...

through the Nock Mountains to Krems. Reichenau consists of the cadastral communities Ebene Reichenau, Sankt Lorenzen, Sankt Margarethen, Wiedweg, and Winkl.

Neighboring municipalities

History

The remote and densely forested area of the upper Gurk Valley was settled by

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

colonists when the region was part of the

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the 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 north, R ...

kingdom, which in 15 BC was incorporated as a province of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. From about 590

Alpine Slavs The settlement of the Eastern Alps region by early Slavs took place during the 6th to 8th centuries CE. It formed part of the southward expansion of early Slavs which would result in the South Slavic group, and would ultimately result in the ethno ...

immigrated into the lower parts of the valley, followed by Bavarian settlers in the 10th century. In the High Middle Ages, when the area was part of the

Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (; ; ) 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 State after the original German stem duchies. Car ...

, the valley belonged to the estates 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), ...

. From about 1300 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 had large parts of the woodland cleared. The village of ''Reichenau'' (possibly derived from , "smoke" referring to

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...

agriculture) was first mentioned in a 1332 deed. A chapel in the neighbouring village of Sankt Lorenzen at a height of (today the highest situated parish church in Carinthia) was already documented in 1216. A

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

prayer house ('' Toleranzbethaus'') in Wiedweg was first mentioned in 1787. About 16% of the local population confess to the Protestant Church.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2009 elections: *

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): 9 *

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): 7 *

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): 3

Twin towns — sister cities

Reichenau is twinned with: *

Nersingen Nersingen is a municipality in the District of Neu-Ulm in Bavaria, Germany. The neighbours are Neu-Ulm, Elchingen, Bibertal and Pfaffenhofen an der Roth. Geography Geographic location Through the area of Nersingen flow three rivers: The Da ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, since 2009

Notable people

* Siegfried Grabner (born 1975), snowboarder

References

Gallery

Image:Sankt_Margarethen,_kerk_foto4_2011-07-25_16.17.jpg, Sankt Margarethen, church Image:Wiedweg, kerk foto12 2011-07-25 16.42.JPG, Wiedweg, church

External links

*
Municipal site
Cities and towns in Feldkirchen District {{Carinthia-geo-stub