Straßburg () is a town in the district of Sankt Veit an der Glan in Carinthia,

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 ...

Geography

Location

The municipality lies in Northern Carinthia in the Gurk Valley among the Nock Mountains and the Gurk.

Municipal arrangement

Straßburg is divided into the following boroughs: St. Georgen, Straßburg-Land, and Straßburg-Stadt. It is further divided into the districts of Bachl, Buldorf, Dörfl, Dielach, Dobersberg, Drahtzug, Edling, Gassarest, Glabötsch, Gruschitz, Gundersdorf, Höllein, Hackl, Hausdorf, Herd, Hohenfeld, Kraßnitz, Kreuth, Kreuzen, Kulmitzen, Langwiesen, Lees, Lieding, Machuli, Mannsdorf, Mellach, Mitterdorf, Moschitz, Olschnögg, Olschnitz, Olschnitz-Lind, Pöckstein-Zwischenwässern, Pölling, Pabenberg, Ratschach, Sankt Georgen, Sankt Jakob, Sankt Johann, Sankt Magdalen, Sankt Peter, Schattseite, Schmaritzen, Schneßnitz, Straßburg-Stadt.

History

Straßburg was first mentioned in 864, when King

Louis the German Louis the German (German language, German: ''Ludwig der Deutsche''; c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany (German language, German: ''Ludwig II. von Deutschland''), was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 8 ...

gave the Archdiocese of Salzburg a seat there. The Straßburg Fortress was erected in 1147 under the fourth Bishop of Gurk Roman I. In the 15th century, it was expanded into a castle and it served as the seat of

Prince-Bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...

s of Gurk until the 18th century. As the bishop's seat, Straßburg was the most important town in the Gurk Valley and was thus elevated to 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 1229 and to a city in 1382. It received its city rights in 1402 from Prince-Bishop Conrad III von Helfenberg. The seat of the Gurk Bishops was moved in the 18th century to the nearby Pöckstein Castle in Zwischenwässern and then later to Klagenfurt, so the city lost its importance. The castle received extensive damage from the 1767

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

and was not rebuilt until the late 20th century.

Population

According to the 2001 Census, Straßburg has 2,335 inhabitants. Of these, 90.8% said they were

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, 1.0%

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 ...

, and 2.2%

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. 3.3% of the population did not declare a belief.

Politics

Municipal Council

The Straßburg Municipal Council has 19 seats and the following party mandates: *8

FPÖ 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 par ...

*6 ÖVP *5 SPÖ Mayor Ferdinand Wachernig's (FPÖ) greatest competition is Councilman Hubert PUTZ.

Twin cities

* Strasburg,

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 ...

* Treppo Grande,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Culture and landmarks

Museums

*The Folk Art Museum and the Hunting Museum in Straßburg Castle.

Buildings

* Straßburg Castle, the former residence of the Prince-Bishops of Gurk * Pöckstein Castle *St. Nikolaus Church, the parish church of Straßburg *St. Margaretha zu Lieding Church: a romanesque church built around 1200 around with a quire and spire from the 14th century.

References

Cities and towns in Sankt Veit an der Glan District {{Carinthia-geo-stub