Finkenstein am Faaker See ( sl, Bekštanj) 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 district of

Villach-Land Bezirk Villach-Land is a district of the state of Carinthia in Austria. Municipalities Towns (''Städte'') are indicated in boldface; market towns (''Marktgemeinden'') in ''italics''; suburbs, hamlets and other subdivisions of a municipality a ...

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 ...

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 ...

Geography

It is located south of

Villach Villach (; sl, Beljak; it, Villaco; fur, 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. , the p ...

and the

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

River, on the northern slope of the

Karawanks 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 dir ...

with Mt.

Mittagskogel The Mittagskogel (German) or Kepa (Slovenian) has an elevation of aA, Federal Agency of Metrology and Surveying, Austria, Map 1:50000 and is thus the third highest mountain in the Karawanks range, after Hochstuhl/Stol and the Vertratscha/ Vrta ...

(''Kepa''), 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 ...

. The municipal area comprises the southern shore of Lake Faak. The municipality includes the

cadastral community 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, Slov ...

of Faak am See (''Bače''), Ferlach (''Borovlje''), Fürnitz (''Brnca''), Greuth (''Rute''), Gödersdorf (''Vodiča vas''), Korpitsch (''Grpiče''), Latschach am Faakersee (''Loče''), Mallestig (''Malošče'') and Sankt Stefan (''Šteben''). According to the 2001 census, 5.6% 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 ...

History

Finkenstein Ruine Altfinkenstein 18052007 01

The municipality is named after Finkenstein Castle, a possession of the Carinthian dukes, which was first mentioned in an 1142 deed. Lend to the ducal

ministeriales The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire. The word and its German translations, ''Minist ...

, the Lords of Finkenstein, it was an important outpost overlooking the Gail valley and the Carinthian estates of the Bamberg prince-bishops around Villach and Federaun Castle vis-à-vis. In 1335 the ducal estates passed to the Austrian

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

. In 1508 Emperor Maximilian I, Duke of Carinthia since 1493, granted Finkenstein to his liegeman Siegmund von

Dietrichstein The House of Dietrichstein was the name of one of the oldest and most prominent Austrian noble families originating from Carinthia. The family belonged to the High Nobility, the Hochadel. The Nikolsburg (Mikulov) branch was elevated to the rank of ...

, whose descendants held the castle until 1861. From the 18th century on it decayed, only ruins remain. It is today the backdrop of the ''Burgarena Finkenstein'', an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

with 1150 seats mainly used for concerts. The Finkenstein municipality was established in 1850 at Mallestig, it became a market town in 1979. To advert to its location on the shore of Lake Faak, the official name is Finkenstein am Faaker See since 2000. The area largely depends on

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 ...

, moreover

Elan snowboards Elan is a Slovenian company, located in Begunje na Gorenjskem, specializing in the production of sporting goods. It is best known for its skis and snowboards. Other products include sailboats from length, motor yachts, apparel (mostly sports ...

operates a factory in Fürnitz. Finkenstein Altfinkenstein Mittagskogel 18052007 02

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2015 elections: *

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): 12 *

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): 6 *

Freedom Party of Austria The Freedom Party of Austria (german: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Austria. It was led by Norbert Hofer from September 2019 to 1 June 2021.Staff (1 June 2021"Aus ...

(FPÖ): 4 *Freie Liste Sitter (

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

): 2 * Greens: 2 * Unity List (EL): 1

Notable people

* Franc Treiber (1809–1878), priest, poet, and composer * Günther Porod (1919–1984), physicist *

Peter Wrolich Peter Wrolich (born 30 May 1974, in Vienna) is a retired Austrian professional road bicycle racer. He was known as a sprinter. He was in the top 10 of the last stage of the 2006 Tour de France, with a total of 65 points. Major results ;2002 : Ru ...

(born 1974), bicycle racer, grew up in Latschach.

References

Cities and towns in Villach-Land District {{Carinthia-geo-stub