Hermagor-Pressegger See ( sl, Šmohor-Preseško jezero) is a town 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. It is the administrative centre of the

Hermagor District The Bezirk Hermagor is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in Carinthia, Austria. The district has an area of and a population of (as of 1 January 2016). The administrative center of the district is Hermagor-Pressegger See. History Its nam ...

.The town is named after Saint Hermagoras of Aquileia, the first

bishop of Aquileia A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Geography

Location

Hermagor is located in the lower

Gail Gail may refer to: People *Gail (given name), list of notable people with the given name Surname * Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829), French Hellenist scholar * Max Gail (born 1943), American actor * Sophie Gail (1775–1819), French singer and ...

valley at the northern foot of the

Carnic Alps The Carnic Alps ( it, Alpi Carniche; german: Karnische Alpen; sl, Karnijske Alpe; fur, Alps Cjargnelis) are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Itali ...

, close to the border with

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In the south, the Naßfeld Pass connects it with the Italian municipality of

Pontebba Pontebba ( fur, Ponteibe, german: Pontafel, sl, Tablja) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Geography Pontebba, named after it, ponte meaning "bridge", is situated at the confluenc ...

. In the north, the road leads via

Gitschtal Gitschtal ( Slovene: ''Višprijska dolina'') is a town in the district of Hermagor in the Austrian state of Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for i ...

into the

Gailtal Alps , ''Drauzug'' , photo=Grosse Sandspitze 1.jpg , photo_size= , photo_caption=Große Sandspitze, the highest peak in the range , country= Austria , subdivision1_type= States , subdivision1= , parent= , geology= Limestone , orogeny=Alpine o ...

, across

Kreuzberg Saddle Kreuzberg Saddle (german: Kreuzbergsattel) is a high mountain pass across the Gailtal Alps in the Austrian state of Carinthia. The high pass is part of the B 87 ''Weißensee Straße'' highway connecting the market town of Greifenburg in the Dra ...

to the Weissensee lake and further down to

Greifenburg Greifenburg is a market town in the district of Spittal an der Drau in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography The settlement stretches in the upper Drava Valley (''Drautal'') between the Kreuzeck mountain range in the north, part of the High ...

in the Drava valley. Hermagor station is a stop on the Gailtal Railway line from

Arnoldstein Arnoldstein ( sl, Podklošter, it, Oristagno) is a market town in the district of Villach-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography Location Arnoldstein is located at Austria's southern border between the Carnic Alps and the Karawan ...

Kötschach-Mauthen Kötschach-Mauthen ( sl, Koča-Muta) is a market town in the district of Hermagor in Carinthia in Austria. Geography The municipality lies in the west of Hermagor at the transition of the upper Gail Valley into the Lesachtal, between the Gai ...

. The municipal area comprises shallow Pressegger See, one of the warmest lakes in Austria with extensive reed banks.

Municipal arrangement

Hermagor-Pressegger See is divided into the following cadastral communities: It is further divided into the following settlements: Achleiten (4), Aigen (4), Bergl (24), Braunitzen (12) (''Boronica''), Brugg (31) (''Moste''), Burgstall (9), Danz (26), Dellach (94) (''Dole''), Egg (178) (''Brdo''), Eggforst (10), Förolach (162), Fritzendorf (58) (''Limarče''), Görtschach (173), Götzing (22) (''Gocina''), Grafenau (0) (''Kazla''), Grünburg (70), Guggenberg (34), Hermagor (1.527) (''Šmohor''), Jenig (178) (''Jenik''), Kameritsch (80) (''Kamerče''), Khünburg (247), Kleinbergl (30), Kraß (14), Kraschach (57) (''Krošani''), Kreuth ob Möschach (19) (''Rut(e)''), Kreuth ob Mellweg (60) (''Rut(e)''), Kreuth ob Rattendorf (76) (''Rute(e)''), Kühweg (202), Kühwegboden (156), Latschach (86) (''Loče''), Liesch (7), Möderndorf (223) (''Modrinja vas/ves''), Mellach (49) (''Mele''), Mellweg (45) (''Melviče, Maloviše''), Micheldorf (167) (''Velika vas/ves''), Mitschig (79) (''Mičiče''), Nampolach (27) (''Napole''), Neudorf (271), Neuprießenegg (36), Obermöschach (38), Obervellach (243), Paßriach (143)(''Pažirje''), Podlanig (51) (''Podlanig''), Postran (123) (''Postran''), Potschach (61) (''Potoče''), Presseggen (222) (''Preseka''), Presseggersee (130) (''Preseško jezero''), Radnig (203), Radnigforst (0), Rattendorf (343) (''Radnja vas''), Schinzengraben (26), Schlanitzen (41) (''Zelenica''), Schmidt (1), Siebenbrünn (2), Sonnenalpe Naßfeld (27)(''Mokrine''), Sonnleitn (17), Süßenberg (20) (''Planja''), Toschehof (0) (''Tesinje''), Tröpolach (535) (''Dobropolje, Dropolje''), Untermöschach (48), Untervellach (229), Watschig (129) (''Vočiče''), Wittenig (50), Zuchen (3) (''Suha'').

History

Archaeological finds have shown that the historic iron ore mining area was already settled around 1800-1200 BC. It later was part of the Celtic kingdom of

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 north, ...

, which was incorporated into the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

in 15 BC. The parish of Saint Hermagoras in the Duchy of Carinthia was first mentioned in an 1169 document, probably a foundation of the

Patriarchs of Aquileia The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

. Due to its strategic location, it quickly prospered, obtained

market rights 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 1288, and became the main settlement of the Gail valley. In 1779 the botanist Franz Xaver von Wulfen discovered '' Wulfenia carinthiaca'' on the slopes of the Gartnerkofel peak. Hermagor became capital of the eponymous

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in 1868 and was home of an Imperial-Royal Landwehr garrison. The Gailtal Railway line was built from 1894, it was extended in 1915 for military purposes on the Italian Front of World War I. Hermagor obtained

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

on 10 October 1930, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the

Carinthian plebiscite The Carinthian plebiscite (german: Kärntner Volksabstimmung, sl, Koroški plebiscit) was held on 10 October 1920 in the area in southern Carinthia predominantly settled by Carinthian Slovenes. It determined the final border between the Republi ...

. The present-day municipality of Hermagor-Pressegger See was established by a merger of several formerly independent communes in the course of a 1973 administrative reform.

Population

Points of interest

* Möderndorf Castle, including the Gail Valley Museum *Garnitzenklamm, canyon with numerous waterfalls *Egger Alm, seasonal mountain pasture with regional cheese production (Gailtaler Almkäse) *Wurzer Dirndl, local production of alpine style traditional clothing (Dirndl)

Economy

The economy of Hermagor today largely depends on tourism, especially

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

around Nassfeld Pass, the largest ski area in Carinthia. Pressegger See and the surrounding mountains are also a traditional summer retreat and a popular destination for hikers.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (''Stadtrat'') as of 2015 local elections: * Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 11 * Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 9 *

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 * ''Karl Tillian - Pro Hermagor'' (

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 * Independ ...

): 2 *

The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' *Greens of Andorra * Greens of Bosnia and Herzegovina *Greens of Burkina * Greens (Greece) * Greens of Montenegro *Greens of Serbia *Gree ...

: 1

International relations

Hermagor is twinned with: *

(since 1998)

Notable people

Matija Majar Matija Majar, also spelled Majer (7 February 1809 – 31 July 1892), pseudonym Ziljski, was a Carinthian Slovene Roman Catholic priest and political activist, best known as the creator of the idea of a United Slovenia. Biography Majar was born ...

(1809–1892), Catholic priest and Carinthian Slovene political activist * Roland Assinger (born 1973), skier

References

External links

*http://www.hermagor.at/ *http://www.nassfeld.at/ {{Authority control Cities and towns in Hermagor District Gailtal Alps Carnic Alps