Geography
It consists of the ''Katastralgemeinden'' Irschen, Ritterdorf, and Simmerlach. It is situated on the northern slope of the Upper Drava Valley, near the ''B 100 Drautal Straße'' Bundesstraße, highway and the ''Drautalbahn'' ÖBB, railway line.History
A settlement area since the Early Iron Age (Hallstatt Culture), Irschen may be identical to the ''Idunum'' polis in the former Celts, Celtic kingdom of Noricum, as mentioned in Geographia (Ptolemy), Ptolemy's Geographia. In Roman Empire, Roman times a mansio laid on the Roman roads, road leading over the Gailbergsattel mountain pass to Italia (Roman Empire), Italia. Ursus I, Patriarch of Aquileia probably built the first church about 810 in the place then called ''Ursen'', which was mentioned as ''Castrum Ursen'' in a 1086 deed. In Middle Ages, medieval times Irschen was a mining area, especially for gold. It was recently revealed that English actress Billie Piper has a home in this region.References
Cities and towns in Spittal an der Drau District Kreuzeck group Gailtal Alps {{Carinthia-geo-stub