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Weißenstein ( Slovene : Bilšak ) is a town in the district of Villach-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia .

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35-589: Weißenstein lies in the lower Drau valley northwest of Villach . The highest point in the municipality is the Spitzeck at 1517 m, and the lowest at 500 m. The scenery around Weißenstein has been attracting artists for years, and their work is presented in the town's Wachaumuseum. The other main attraction is its Church of the Virgin Mary , on a hilltop to protect against the Turks . This Carinthia location article

70-513: 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

105-466: A long time. The Habsburgs divided up their territories within the family twice, according to the 1379 Treaty of Neuberg and again in 1564. Each time, the Duchy of Carinthia became part of Inner Austria and was ruled jointly with the adjacent duchies of Styria and Carniola . Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and her son Joseph II attempted to create a more unitary Habsburg state, and in 1804 Carinthia

140-496: A relatively high number of war deaths: thirty-seven for every 1,000 inhabitants. This was higher than in most other German-speaking areas of Austria-Hungary (except German South Moravia ). Following the end of the war and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain stipulated the Carinthian Canal Valley stretching from Tarvisio as far as Pontafel (187 square miles) go to Italy and that

175-480: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 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 the whole Alpe-Adria region. As of January 2018 ,

210-695: The Bohemian king Ottokar II Přemysl . In spite of being supported by the Habsburg king Rudolf I of Germany , who defeated Ottokar II at the Battle on the Marchfeld in 1278, Philip never gained actual power. The duchy was seized by Rudolph and Philip died a year later in 1279. Rudolf, after being elected King of the Romans and defeating King Ottokar II, at first gave Carinthia to Count Meinhard II of Gorizia-Tyrol . In 1335, after

245-545: 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

280-781: The German king Henry the Fowler . After Berthold became Duke of Bavaria in 938, both territories were ruled by him. Upon his death in 948 the Luitpoldings, though heirs of the royal Ottonian dynasty , were not able to retain their possessions, as King Otto I bought the loyalty of his younger brother Henry I with the Bavarian lands. Duke Henry's son Henry II "the Quarreller" from 974 onwards, revolted against his cousin Emperor Otto II , whereupon he

315-692: The Habsburg monarchy and of the Austrian Empire , it remained a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary until 1918. By the 1920 Carinthian plebiscite in October 1920, the main area of the duchy formed the Austrian state of Carinthia . In the seventh century the area was part of the Slavic principality of Carantania , which fell under the suzerainty of Duke Odilo of Bavaria in about 743. The Bavarian stem duchy

350-536: The House of Sponheim , who ruled as Henry IV, from 1122 to his early death the following year. The most outstanding of the Spanheim dukes was Bernhard , the first Carinthian duke who was actually described and honoured in documents as "prince of the land". The last Spanheim duke was Ulrich III ; he signed an inheritance treaty with his brother Archbishop Philip of Spanheim of Salzburg , who, however, could not prevail against

385-583: 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

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420-511: 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,

455-620: 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

490-634: The Carinthian March (later Styria) since about 1000, was vested with the duchy by the last Ottonian emperor Henry II , while the Istrian march was separated and given to Count Poppo of Weimar . Adalbero was removed from office in 1035 after he had fallen out of favour with the Salian Emperor Conrad II . In 1039 Carinthia was inherited by Emperor Henry III himself, who split off the Carniolan march

525-673: The Slovene-speaking areas of the Meža Valley, the Drava Valley area around Unterdrauburg , which was afterwards renamed Dravograd , and the Jezersko area (128 square miles of territory) be ceded to the new SHS State. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes , however, was not satisfied with these parts of the former duchy and also occupied land north of the Karawanks mountain range, including

560-450: The area that was ceded to Italy as a part of the claimed " Julian March " belongs to the autonomous region of Friuli–Venezia Giulia . Most of the area awarded to Yugoslavia (cf. Slovenian Carinthia ) now forms part of the larger Carinthia Statistical Region in Slovenia . Area: Population (1910 Census): According to the last Austrian Imperial census of 1910, the Duchy of Carinthia

595-485: The capital city of Klagenfurt. The Entente powers decided on a two-stage referendum, of which the first stage, the Carinthian Plebiscite was held on 10 October 1920 to determine the fate of Carinthia. The outcome in favour of Austria did not change the borders as decided upon in the Treaty of Saint-Germain. The Austrian part of the former duchy today forms the federal state of Carinthia ( German : Land Kärnten ), while

630-566: The centuries, the name 'Carinthia' ( Kärnten ) gradually replaced former 'Carantania'. The realm of the Carinthian dukes initially comprised a vast territory including the marches of Styria ( marchia Carantana ), Carniola and Istria ; they also ruled over the Italian March of Verona in the south. Nevertheless, Henry the Younger was the first and also the last Luitpolding duke; as he chose to join

665-477: 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

700-496: The death of Henry , the last male of this line, Emperor Louis the Bavarian gave Carinthia and the southern part of the Tyrol as an imperial fief to the Habsburg family on 2 May in Linz . The Habsburgs would continue to rule Carinthia until 1918. As with the other component parts of the Habsburg monarchy , Carinthia remained a semi-autonomous state with its own constitutional structure for

735-617: The following year and granted it to Margrave Poppo of Istria. In 1077, the duchy was given to Luitpold , again a member of the Eppensteiner family, which, however, became extinct with the death of Luitpold's younger brother Henry III of Carinthia in 1122. Upon his death the duchy was further reduced in area: a large part of the Eppenstein lands in what is today Upper Styria passed to Margrave Ottokar II of Styria . The remainder of Carinthia passed from Duke Henry III to his godchild Henry from

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770-464: The municipal council, with party affiliations according to the election results. In the March 2015 elections, Günther Albel was elected with 55.46 per cent of the votes cast. Villach is twinned with: There are several festivals throughout the year: Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia ( Latin : Ducatus Carinthiae ; German : Herzogtum Kärnten ; Slovene : Vojvodina Koroška )

805-773: 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 the Gail tributary, at

840-544: 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

875-517: 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

910-577: 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

945-473: 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

980-714: The unsuccessful War of the Three Henries against Emperor Otto II , he lost Carinthia two years later and was succeeded by the Emperor's nephew Otto I , a scion of the Salian dynasty . Though Henry once again managed to regain the ducal title in 985, Carinthia upon his death in 989 fell back to the Imperial Ottonian dynasty in Bavaria. Carinthia, however, remained a separate entity, and in 1012 Count Adalbero I of Eppenstein , Margrave of

1015-525: The western part of Austria-Hungary (see History of Austria ). Over the centuries, the German language , which carried more prestige, expanded at the expense of Slovene , but the fact that in the 16th century the Estates of Carinthia could still point out that Carinthia was "a Windic Archduchy ", i.e. a sovereign Slovene principality, shows that the Carinthian people were aware of their ancient and pre-German roots. During World War I , Carinthia experienced

1050-534: 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

1085-575: 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 . Carinthia remained a State of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, though from 1335 it was ruled within the Austrian dominions of the Habsburg dynasty. A constituent part of

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1120-625: Was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: 396,228 The Austrian censuses did not count ethnic groups , nor the mother tongue , but the "language of daily interaction" ( Umgangssprache ). Total: 396,228 Luitpoldings Salian dynasty Luitpoldings Ottonian dynasty Salian dynasty House of Eppenstein Salian dynasty Elder House of Welf Ezzonids House of Zähringen House of Eppenstein Přemyslid dynasty House of Habsburg Carinthia

1155-412: Was deposed as Duke of Bavaria in favour of Otto's nephew Duke Otto I of Swabia . At the same time Emperor Otto II created a sixth duchy in addition to the original stem duchies , the new Duchy of Carinthia. He reverted the possession of the territories to the Luitpoldings, when he split Carinthia from the Bavarian lands and installed the former Duke Berthold's son Henry the Younger as duke in 976. Over

1190-678: Was incorporated into the Carolingian Empire when Charlemagne deposed Odilo's son Duke Tassilo III in 788. In the 843 partition by the Treaty of Verdun , Carinthia became part of East Francia under King Louis the German . From 889 to 976 it was the Carinthian March of the renewed Bavarian duchy, though in 927 the local Count Berthold of the Luitpolding dynasty was vested with ducal rights by

1225-523: Was integrated into the newly established Austrian Empire under Francis II/I . According to the 1809 Treaty of Schönbrunn , the Upper Carinthian territories around Villach formed part of the short-lived Napoleonic Illyrian Provinces ; Carinthia as a whole remained a part of the Habsburg Kingdom of Illyria until its dissolution in 1849. In 1867, the duchy became a crown land of Cisleithania ,

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