Feldkirchen in Kärnten
Encyclopedia
Feldkirchen in Kärnten is a town in the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n state of Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...

 and the capital of the district of the same name
Feldkirchen (district)
Bezirk Feldkirchen is a district of the state of Carinthia in Austria.-Municipalities:Towns are indicated in boldface; suburbs, hamlets and other subdivisions of a municipality are indicated in small characters.* Albeck Bezirk Feldkirchen is a district of the state of Carinthia in...

. It consists of the Katastralgemeinden Fasching, Feldkirchen, Glanhofen, Gradisch, Hoefling, Klein Sankt Veit, Pernegg, Rabensdorf, Sankt Ulrich, Sittich, Tschwarzen and Waiern.

Location

Feldkirchen is located on the northern edge of the Klagenfurt Basin at the junction of the federal highways (Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...

n
) B 93 Gurktal Straße toward Friesach
Friesach
Friesach is a historic town in the Sankt Veit an der Glan district of Carinthia, Austria. First mentioned in a 860 deed, it is known as the oldest town in Carinthia.-Location:...

, B 94 Ossiacher Straße to Villach
Villach
Villach is the second largest city in the Carinthia state in the southern Austria, at the Drava River and represents an important traffic junction for Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 58,480.-History:...

 and B 95 Turracher Straße to Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...

. Both the Glan
Glan (Gurk)
The Glan is a river in Carinthia, Austria, a right tributary of the Gurk.It rises north of the Wörthersee in the Ossiacher Tauern mountains, then running through Feldkirchen, going northeastwards passing Glanegg Castle until it reaches Sankt Veit where it bends sharply towards south...

 river and the small Tiebel, main inflow of Lake Ossiach
Lake Ossiach
Lake Ossiach is a lake in the Austrian state of Carinthia, situated in the Nock Mountains between the towns of Villach and Feldkirchen. It is the third largest lake in Carinthia, superseded only by Lake Wörth and Lake Millstatt....

, run though the town.

Neighbouring municipalities

Himmelberg
Himmelberg
Himmelberg is a town in the district of Feldkirchen in Carinthia in Austria.-Neighboring municipalities:-References:...

Steuerberg
Steuerberg
Steuerberg is a town in the district of Feldkirchen in Carinthia in Austria.-Neighboring municipalities:...

Sankt Urban
Sankt Urban
Sankt Urban is a town in the district of Feldkirchen in Carinthia in Austria.-Neighboring Municipalities:-References:...

Steindorf
Steindorf am Ossiacher See
Steindorf am Ossiacher See is a municipality in the district of Feldkirchen in Carinthia in Austria.-Neighboring municipalities:-External links:*...

Glanegg
Glanegg
Glanegg is a town in the district of Feldkirchen in Carinthia in Austria.- Neighboring municipalities :...

Ossiach
Ossiach
Ossiach is a municipality in the Feldkirchen district in Carinthia, Austria. It is located at the southern shore of Lake Ossiach, on the slope of the small Ossiacher Tauern range within the Nock Mountains at the road between Villach and Feldkirchen...

   Velden
Velden am Wörther See
Velden am Wörthersee is a market town in the district of Villach-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Situated at the western shore of the Wörthersee lake it is one of the most popular holiday resorts of Austria....

Techelsberg Moosburg

History

The settlement may have developed at the site of the former Beliandrum mansio
Mansio
In the Roman Empire, a mansio was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or via, maintained by the central government for the use of officials and those on official business whilst travelling.-Background:The roads which traversed the Ancient World, were later surveyed,...

 along the Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...

 from Teurnia near Spittal an der Drau
Spittal an der Drau
Spittal an der Drau is located in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia and the administrative centre of the federal state's second largest district, Spittal an der Drau. It lies between the Lurnfeld area and the Lower Drava Valley. The city consists of the seven...

 to Virunum, capital of the Noricum
Noricum
Noricum, in ancient geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and a part of Slovenia. It became a province of the Roman Empire...

 province. A Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 tombstone of the 2nd century is included into the walls of the Saint Michael
Michael (archangel)
Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...

 filial church. The earliest mention of Feldkirchen is as Ueldchiricha ("Church in the Fields") in a 888 document by Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia was the Carolingian King of East Francia from 887, the disputed King of Italy from 894 and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor from February 22, 896 until his death.-Birth and Illegitimacy:...

. The parish church Maria im Dorn, a Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

 basilica with a Carolingian choir, is one of the oldest sacred buildings in Carinthia.

Feldkirchen, once an estate of the Eppenstein
Adalbero, Duke of Carinthia
Adalbero of Eppenstein was Duke of Carinthia from 1011 or 1012 until 1035. He succeeded Duke Conrad I from the Salian dynasty....

 noble family, was bequeathed to the Diocese of Bamberg in 1166. The bishops had the Amthof erected, the former seat of the local administration, today a place for cultural events and a small museum. Finally Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...

 acquired Feldkirchen in 1759. The village of Markstein south of the town centre is a former checkpoint at the border between the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...

 and the Upper Carinthian part of the short-lived Napoleonic Illyrian Provinces
Illyrian provinces
The Illyrian Provinces was an autonomous province of the Napoleonic French Empire on the north and east coasts of the Adriatic Sea between 1809 and 1816. Its capital was established at Laybach...

. The building of a customs station and a border stone remained. Feldkirchen received town privileges
Town privileges
Town privileges or city rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium.Judicially, a town was distinguished from the surrounding land by means of a charter from the ruling monarch that defined its privileges and laws. Common privileges were related to trading...

 in 1930.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, Feldkirchen has 14,030 inhabitants. Of that, 77.1% admit themselves to the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

, 12.0% are Evangelist
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

, 0.8% belong to the Orthodox Church, and 5.1 % are Muslims. 2.0% are non-religious.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (Gemeinderat) as of 2003 elections:
  • Social Democratic Party of Austria
    Social Democratic Party of Austria
    The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...

     (SPÖ): 13
  • Freedom Party of Austria
    Freedom Party of Austria
    The Freedom Party of Austria is a political party in Austria. Ideologically, the party is a direct descendant of the German national liberal camp, which dates back to the 1848 revolutions. The FPÖ itself was founded in 1956 as the successor to the short-lived Federation of Independents , which had...

     (FPÖ): 9
  • Austrian People's Party
    Austrian People's Party
    The Austrian People's Party is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Austria. A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is similar to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in terms of ideology...

     (ÖVP): 8
  • Greens: 1

Twin towns — sister cities

Feldkirchen in Kärnten is twinned
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with:
  • Bamberg
    Bamberg
    Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...

    , Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

    , since 1993
  • Ahrensburg
    Ahrensburg
    Ahrensburg is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, situated in Stormarn. Its population around 31,700 . Its outstanding sight is the Renaissance castle dating from 1595....

    , Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

    , since 1998

Notable residents

  • Otto Maria Polley (1910–1984), writer
  • Sven Klimbacher, ice hockey player
  • Siegfried Grabner
    Siegfried Grabner
    Siegfried Grabner is an Austrian professional snowboarder. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy he won bronze in the Parallel Giant Slalom competition....

    , snowboarder
  • Herbert Gantschacher
    Herbert Gantschacher
    Herbert Gantschacher is an Austrian director and producer and writer.- Education :...

    , director, producer, writer
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