Wolfsberg () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

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 ...

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 ...

, the capital of Wolfsberg District.

Geography

The town is situated within the

Lavanttal Alps The Lavanttal Alps (, ) are part of the Central Eastern Alps in Austria and Slovenia, between the river Mur in the north and the Drava in the south. The mountains are named after the central valley of Lavanttal and the Lavant River which runs i ...

, west of the Koralpe range in the valley of the Lavant River, a left tributary of the

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

. In the northeast, the road up to the Packsattel mountain pass connects Wolfsberg with

Voitsberg Voitsberg () is a small city in the district of Voitsberg in Styria, Austria, with a population of c. 9,400 . It grew upon the St. Margaret church at the Tregistbach river and was first mentioned in 1220 as Civitas. Remains of the Greisenegg pa ...

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 ...

. Wolfsberg's municipal area of is the fourth largest in Austria. Wolfsberg Markuskirche

The municipality comprises 40 cadastral communities (Surface area in hectares 31. Dezember 2019): The municipal area is divided into 65 villages (population in brackets as of 1 January 2020):

History

The area of Wolfsberg belonged to the estates within the medieval

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 ...

that were ceded to the

Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg The Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg () was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire. It goes back to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamberg, Roman Catholic Diocese of Bamberg established at the 1007 synod in Frankfurt, at the behest of Ki ...

, probably already by Emperor

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

in 1007. The castle above the town was first mentioned as ''Wolfsperch'' in an 1178 deed of St. Paul's Abbey in the Lavanttal. The adjacent settlement became the administrative centre of Bamberg's Carinthian territories and in 1331 received

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

by Prince-Bishop Werntho Schenk von Reicheneck. During the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

the Bayerhofen Castle residence, first mentioned in 1239 and rebuilt in the 16th century, became a center of

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, which nevertheless was suppressed by the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

. In 1759 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 ...

empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

acquired all Bamberg lands in Carinthia. Wolfsberg Castle was purchased by Count

Hugo Henckel von Donnersmarck Count Hugo Karl Anton Lazarus Henckel von Donnersmarck (26 April 1811 – 4 October 1890) was a German-Austrian entrepreneur, landowner, and industrialist. He was active in agriculture, livestock, and the metal industry and built the first Puddlin ...

in 1846 and rebuilt in a Tudorbethan style. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the village of Priel south of the town center was the site of the Stalag XVIII-A prisoner-of-war camp with about 7,000 inmates. After the war it served as a detention camp run by the British occupation forces.

Politics

Seats in the municipal council (''Gemeinderat'') local elections: *

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): 20 *

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): 5 *

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): 5 *NEOS: 3 *

The Greens – The Green Alternative The Greens – The Green Alternative (, ) is a green political party in Austria. The Greens currently sit in opposition. Formerly, they were part of the Schallenberg government, the Second Kurz government, and the Nehammer government. It won ...

: 2 Amt der Kärntner Landesregierung

Twin towns

Wolfsberg is twinned with: * Flag of Germany

Herzogenaurach Herzogenaurach (; ) is a town in the district of Erlangen-Höchstadt, in Bavaria, Germany. It is home to two major international sporting goods companies, Adidas and Puma, and Schaeffler Group, a car parts manufacturer. Geography Herzogenaura ...

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 ...

Várpalota Várpalota (; German: Burgschloß) is a town in Western Hungary, in the Transdanubian county of Veszprém (county), Veszprém. It was a mining town during the Socialism, Socialist era, but the mines have been closed. Most of the citizens work in t ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Notable people

* Michael Tangl (1864–1921), scholar of history and

historical documents Historical documents are original documents that contain important historical information about a person, place, or event and can thus serve as primary sources as important ingredients of the historical methodology. Significant historical docume ...

(

diplomatics Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents, especially historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, pr ...

). *

Christine Lavant Christine Lavant (born Christine Thonhauser, mar. Christine Habernig; 4 July 1915 – 7 June 1973) was an Austrian poet and novelist. Life Lavant was born in the hamlet of Großedling (today part of Wolfsberg, Carinthia, Wolfsberg) in the ...

(1915 in Großedling – 1973), poet and novelist * Hermann Schmid, (DE Wiki) (born 1939), actor and director * Ulrich Habsburg-Lothringen (born 1941), nobleman and politician, formerly The Greens * Erwin Friedrich Wagner (born 1950), biochemist in cancer and molecular biology * Dietmar W. Winkler (born 1963), scholar of

patristics Patristics, also known as Patrology, is a branch of theological studies focused on the writings and teachings of the Church Fathers, between the 1st to 8th centuries CE. Scholars analyze texts from both orthodox and heretical authors. Patristics e ...

and ecclesiastical history. *

Elisabeth Köstinger Elisabeth Köstinger (born 22 November 1978) is an Austrian politician who served as Minister for Agriculture, Sustainability and Tourism in the government of Chancellors Sebastian Kurz, Alexander Schallenberg, and Karl Nehammer from 7 January ...

(born 1978), politician (ÖVP)

Sport

* Hubert Baumgartner (born 1955), former football player and manager, played 408 games. * Walter Kogler (born 1967), football player and coach; played over 430 games and 28 for

* Heinz Arzberger (born 1972), football goalkeeper, played 200 games * Patrick Friesacher (born 1980), racing driver * Kai Schoppitsch (born 1980), football player, played over 200 games * Christian Prawda (born 1982), football player, played over 350 games * Marlies Hanschitz (born 1986), retired footballer who played 45 games for Austria women * Eva Wutti (born 1989), triathlete and cyclist

References

External links

Official websiteStatistical overview (Census 2001)

Pictures of Wolfsberg
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Wolfsberg District