Eisenkappel-Vellach ( sl, Železna Kapla-Bela) is 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 rural ...

in the Völkermarkt District in the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n state of

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...

. The

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, B ...

is the southernmost municipality of Austria, close to the border with

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

Geography

The municipal area covers the valley of the Vellach creek, which runs in north–south direction from the heights of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the

Karavanke The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks ( sl, Karavanke; german: Karawanken, ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia to the south and Austria to the north. With a total length of in an east–west di ...

range down to the

Drava The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

River. The Obir massif in the west contains a large dripstone

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

system. Two

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migr ...

roads lead to Slovenia: the Seebergsattel in the southwest connecting it with Jezersko and the less frequented Pavlič Pass in the southeast on the road to

Solčava Solčava (; German: ''Sulzbach'') is a village in the Upper Savinja Valley in northern Slovenia close to the Austrian border. It is the largest settlement and the seat of the Municipality of Solčava. Traditionally it belonged to the region of S ...

. Eisenkappel-Vellach consists of the main locality Bad Eisenkappel and several smaller settlements located in lateral valleys, subdivided into the ''

Katastralgemeinde A cadastral community or cadastral municipality, is a cadastral subdivision of municipalities in the nations of Austria,Cadastral Template for Austria, web-pageCT-AT Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Slovakia, Sloven ...

n'' of Bad Vellach (''Bela''), Blasnitzen (''Spodnja Plaznica''), Ebriach (''Obirsko''), Eisenkappel (''Železna Kapla''), Koprein Petzen (''Pod Peco''), Koprein Sonnseite (''Koprivna''), Leppen (''Lepena''), Lobnig (''Lobnik''), Rechberg (''Reberca''), Remschenig (''Remšenik'') and Trögern (''Korte''). According to the 2001 census, 38% of the population are

Carinthian Slovenes Carinthian Slovenes or Carinthian Slovenians ( sl, Koroški Slovenci; german: Kärntner Slowenen) are the indigenous minority of Slovene ethnicity, living within borders of the Austrian state of Carinthia, neighboring Slovenia. Their status of ...

, distributed over the 15 localities as follows:

History

The Seeberg Pass was already part of a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

in the

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the nor ...

province from 15 BC onwards. A ''Capella'' settlement in the

Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (german: Herzogtum Kärnten; sl, Vojvodina Koroška) 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 Sta ...

, named after a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

(german: Kapelle, sl, Kapela) held by the

Bishop of Brixen The Diocese of Bolzano-Brixen (german: Diözese Bozen-Brixen, it, Diocesi di Bolzano-Bressanone, la, Dioecesis Bauzanensis-Brixinensis) is a Catholic diocese in northern Italy, with its seat in the city of Bolzano. Its territory corresponds wi ...

, was first mentioned about 1050. The market was probably established in the early 13th century under the rule of Duke

Bernhard von Spanheim Bernhard von Spanheim (or Sponheim; 1176 or 1181 – 4 January 1256), a member of the noble House of Sponheim, was Duke of Carinthia for 54 years from 1202 until his death. A patron of chivalry and minnesang, Bernhard's reign marked the emerg ...

. Market rights were officially confirmed in a 1267/68 deed, when the Seebergsattel was an important trade route for

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

and

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the ...

(German: ''Eisen''). From the 15th century onwards, the valley was the site of several

ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloomer ...

. Fortifications were built against the invasions by the Ottoman forces, nevertheless Kappel was devastated in 1473. Emperor Frederick III had the town rebuilt and granted it the present-day coat of arms in 1493. The Kappel municipality was established in 1850, it was renamed Eisenkappel in 1890, while the iron industries declined. The Eisenkappel citizens had to rely on

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

and summer

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

around several mineral springs, promoted by the opening of the Vellachtalbahn

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller struct ...

line in 1902. Eisenkappel and Vellach finally merged in 1939. In the late days of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the remote Peršman farm in Koprein Petzen was a strongpoint of the Slovene Partisans, the only ever-existing Anti-Nazi military resistance of Austria. On 25 April 1945, a Nazi '' SS'' unit stormed the building killing eleven residents, among them seven children.

Politics

Seats in the municipal ''Gemeinderat'' assembly as of March 2019 : *

Social Democratic Party of Austria The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) unti ...

(SPÖ): 8 * Enotna Lista (EL): 8 *

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is curre ...

(ÖVP): 2 * The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ): 1 Since March 2009, Eisenkappel-Vellach has been run by a Carinthian Slovene mayor, Franc Jožef Smrtnik. It is currently the only municipality in Carinthia with a mayor of the Slovene minority party Enotna Lista.

References

{{authority control Cities and towns in Völkermarkt District