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27-485: The cave is located in the eastern Karawanks in northern Slovenia, on the southern slope of Mount Olševa above Solčava , at an elevation of 1,675 m (5,495 ft) in the Triassic limestone . It is 115 m (377 ft) long and varies from 17 m (56 ft) wide at the mouth to 40 m (130 ft) wide in the interior. Its entry opens toward the south. There are two explanations of its role. According to

54-513: A cool summer humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfb ). The oldest human traces found in Villach date back to the late Neolithic . Many Roman artifacts have been discovered in the city and its vicinity, as it was near an important Roman road (today called Römerweg ) leading from Italy into the Noricum province established in 15 BC. At the time, a mansio named Sanctium was probably located at

81-545: The Carolingian ruler Carloman of Bavaria , mentioned a bridge ( ad pontem Uillach ) near the royal court of Treffen , in what is today Villach. In 979 Emperor Otto II enfeoffed Bishop Albuin of Brixen with the Villach manor. After his death, King Henry II in 1007 ceded the settlement to the newly established Bishopric of Bamberg . The bishops also held the adjacent estates along the strategically important route to Italy up to Pontafel , which they retained until 1759 while

108-562: The Drava Valley in the north (called Rosental/Rož ) and the Sava in the south, separating it from the adjacent Julian Alps . In the east, they border on the Kamnik–Savinja Alps and Pohorje ranges. A number of mountain passes on important trade routes cross the range, like Wurzen ( Koreno ), Loibl ( Ljubelj ) or Seeberg ( Jezero ), which have been used since prehistory . Nowadays

135-605: The Gail tributary, at the western rim of the Klagenfurt basin. The municipal area stretches from the slopes of the Gailtal Alps (Mt. Dobratsch) down to Lake Ossiach in the northeast. The Villach city limits comprise the following districts and villages: In 1905 a part of the municipal area St. Martin was incorporated. In 1973 the city area was further enlarged through the incorporation of Landskron, Maria Gail and Fellach. Villach has

162-583: The Italian front was the seat of the 10th Army command of the Austro-Hungarian Army . The town obtained statutory city status during the interwar period on 1 January 1932. After the Austrian Anschluss to Nazi Germany in 1938, the mayor of Villach was Oskar Kraus, an enthusiastic Nazi . On 9 November 1938 Villach was a site of the nationwide Kristallnacht pogroms with violent attacks on

189-511: The Jewish population. A memorial for the 1919 border conflict that led to the Carinthian Plebiscite caused controversy when it was inaugurated in 2002, as Kraus, who had not been especially prominent in the conflict, was the only person named. During World War II , allied forces bombed Villach 37 times. About 42,500 bombs killed 300 people and damaged 85% of the buildings. Nevertheless,

216-679: The Klagenfurt basin on the Austrian side and the Ljubljana basin on the Slovene side. The northern Austrian side is rocky and precipitous while the Slovenian side is less steep, covered with spruce forests and low bushy pine at lower elevations with grass higher up. The Karawanks were settled already in the Stone Age , as indicated particularly by findings from Potok Cave . In Roman times, they represented

243-519: The Logar Valley . The other finds can be seen at the Celje Regional Museum . Unfortunately much of the collection was destroyed during World War II in 1945 Allied bombing raids. Karawanks The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks ( Slovene : Karavanke ; German : Karawanken , German pronunciation: [kaʁaˈvaŋkŋ̍] ) are a mountain range of

270-574: The Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia to the south and Austria to the north. With a total length of 120 kilometres (75 mi) in an east–west direction, the Karawanks chain is one of the longest ranges in Europe . It is traversed by important trade routes and has a great tourist significance. Geographically and geologically, it is divided into the higher Western Karawanks and

297-620: The hot spring in the present-day Warmbad quarter south of the city centre. After the Migration Period and the Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps about 600 AD, the area became part of the Carantania principality. When about 740 Prince Boruth enlisted the aid of Duke Odilo of Bavaria against the invading Avars , he had to accept Bavarian overlordship. An 878 deed of donation, issued by

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324-688: The Austrian Karawanken Autobahn (A11) runs from Villach to the Karavanke motorway tunnel , which traverses the Western Karawanks connecting it with the Slovenian A2 motorway at Jesenice . A parallel railway line crosses the range through the Karawanks railway tunnel . The Karawanks are a popular mountaineering area with numerous mountain huts . Many of the peaks offer a good view of

351-564: The Karawanks remained the border between Austria and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , and finally the independent Slovenia from 1991. Since the entry of Slovenia to the Schengen Area in 2007, a free movement of people and goods across the Karawanks has been allowed, and the two countries started to aim for an economic integration of their border areas. The place names have German as well as Slovenian names, and today

378-471: The cave included the bones of more than 40 animal species, including cave bears , wolves , alpine marmots , hares , red foxes , weasels , lynx , red deer , and chamois , and muskox teeth, as well as 123 arrowheads , one of the world's oldest sewing needles , and a bone flute made from a bear mandible. In a village near the cave, a permanent exhibit is open for tourists at the Firšt Inn and Museum in

405-477: The city quickly recovered. Today, Villach is a bustling city with commerce and recreation, yet it retains its historic background. The municipal council ( Gemeinderat ) consists of 45 members, with the mayor as president, and following the 2015 elections: The city government of Villach (Stadtsenat) consists of seven members. It is chaired by the mayor, who is directly elected by the people. The other members—two vice-mayors and four town councillors—are appointed by

432-521: The crest was the border between the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia ); only the municipality of Jezersko had already passed from Carinthia to Yugoslavia. In the final weeks of the Second World War the Karawanks passes witnessed intense fighting. The 24th SS Kampfgruppe (battlegroup) commanded by SS- Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen -SS (Brigadier) Heinz Harmel

459-764: The lower-lying Eastern Karawanks. It is traversed by the Periadriatic Seam , separating the Apulian tectonic plate from the Eurasian Plate . Near the summit of the Dreiländereck (1,508 m) is the tripoint of the three countries: Austria, Italy and Slovenia. The Karawanks form the continuation of the Carnic Alps east of the Slizza stream near the tripoint of Austria, Slovenia and Italy at Arnoldstein . They are confined by

486-474: The original explanation, the cave was a hunting station. According to the newer one, it was a ritual place. After amateur excavations by Josef Gross, a medical student from Austria , the area was bought by the Museum Society of Celje . Systematic excavations were carried out on its behalf by archaeologist Srečko Brodar , starting in 1928 and continuing until 1935. The finds from eight layers excavated from

513-476: The peaks along the main chain of the Karawanks are usually displayed in Slovene and German on hiking maps: Villach Villach ( German pronunciation: [ˈfɪlax] ; Slovene : Beljak ; Italian : Villaco ; Friulian : Vilac ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia . It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and

540-601: The short-lived Illyrian Provinces from 1809, until it was re-conquered by the forces of the Austrian Empire in 1813 and incorporated into the Austrian Kingdom of Illyria by 1816. The city's economy was decisively promoted by a western branch of the Southern Railway line, which finally reached Villach in 1864, providing growth and expansion. By 1880, the town had a population of 6,104. In World War I , Villach near

567-514: The southern border of the Noricum province, and later, of the Slavic principality of Carantania . The ancient geographer Claudius Ptolemy mentioned the Karwankas mountains about 150 AD. The name probably is derived from Celtic karv ' deer ', a connection that has survived in the Košuta (Slovene for 'hind') massif. From the first half of the 11th century, the Karawanks formed the border between

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594-517: The surrounding Carinthian ducal lands passed to the Austrian House of Habsburg in 1335. Villach received market rights in 1060, though it was not mentioned as a town in records until about 1240. The parish church dedicated to St. James was first documented in 1136. Emperor Frederick II conferred the citizens the right to hold an annual fair on the feast of 25 July ( Jakobitag ) in 1222. The 1348 Friuli earthquake devastated large parts of

621-581: The territory of the Duchy of Carinthia and the adjacent March of Carniola in the south. After Carniola had been elevated to a duchy in 1364, both lands became part of Inner Austria and were crown lands of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526 up to World War I . The northern slopes of the Karawanks had been historically settled by Carinthian Slovenes , nevertheless in October 1920, the Carinthian Plebiscite decided that

648-577: The town, precipitating an economic decline. In 1759 the Habsburg empress Maria Theresa formally purchased the Bamberg territories in Carinthia for a price of one million florins . Villach was incorporated into the "hereditary lands" of the Habsburg monarchy and became the administrative seat of a Carinthian district. During the Napoleonic Wars , the city was occupied by French troops and became part of

675-526: The town; another devastating earthquake occurred in 1690. There were also several fires in Villach, which destroyed many buildings. The first documented mayor took office in the 16th century. From 1526 onwards, many citizens turned Protestant and the Villach parish became a centre of the new faith within the Carinthian estates, which entailed harsh Counter-Reformation measures by the ecclesiastical rulers. From about 1600, numerous residents were forced to leave

702-759: The whole Alpe-Adria region. As of January 2018 , the population is 61,887. Together with other Alpine towns Villach engages in the Alpine Town of the Year Association for the implementation of the Alpine Convention to achieve sustainable development in the Alpine Arc. In 1997, Villach was the first town to be awarded Alpine Town of the Year. Villach is a statutory city , on the Drau River near its confluence with

729-511: Was ordered to keep the Karawanken passes open between Yugoslavia and Austria. This task was critical in allowing German forces to withdraw from Yugoslavia in order to surrender to British rather than Yugoslav forces. The Kampfgruppe succeeded in its final task, and was one of the last German units to surrender, when it encountered the British 6th Armoured Division on 9 May 1945. After World War II

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