Lurnfeld 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

Spittal an der Drau Spittal an der Drau is a town in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia. It is the administrative centre of Spittal an der Drau District, Austria's second largest district ('' Bezirk'') by area. Geography The town is located ...

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. The municipality consists of the two Katastralgemeinden: Möllbrücke and Pusarnitz, comprising several small villages. It is located within the eponymous valley of the Drava river, on the southern slope of the

Ankogel Group The Ankogel Group (german: Ankogelgruppe) is a sub-group of the Central Eastern Alps. Together with the Goldberg Group, the Glockner Group, the Schober Group, the Kreuzeck Group, the Granatspitze Group, the Venediger Group, the Villgraten Mounta ...

of the

Hohe Tauern The High Tauern ( pl.; german: Hohe Tauern, it, Alti Tauri) are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of ...

range, west of the district's capital

. At Möllbrücke is the confluence of the Drava with the

Möll The Möll (; presumably from sl, Mel, "rubble") is a river in northwestern Carinthia in Austria, a left tributary of the Drava. Its drainage basin is . Course The river rises in the High Tauern range of the Central Eastern Alps on the Pasterze ...

tributary. In the west the valley is confined by the mountains of the

Kreuzeck group The Kreuzeck Group is a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps. It may be considered either a separate range or part of the larger High Tauern chain. Administratively, the range belongs to the Austrian states of Carinthia and, in the westernm ...

and in the south by 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 ...

History

The Lurnfeld valley around the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

city of Teurnia is a very old settlement area, in ancient times called ''vallis Lurna''. In an 891 deed mentioned as ''Liburnia'', it became the centre of the Upper Carinthian counts in the mediæval Lurn'' gau'', who resided at Hohenburg Castle. Their dominions then stretched from west 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 ...

up the Drava to

Lienz Lienz (; Southern Bavarian: ''Lianz'') is a medieval town in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative centre of the Lienz district, which covers all of East Tyrol. The municipality also includes the cadastral subdivision of ''Pat ...

and the Tyrolean border. Pusarnitz already appeared in a 1072 deed. After the Counts of Lurn became extinct in 1135, it was among the Carinthian possessions of the Salzburg archbishops. The remaining estates were inherited by the

Counts of Ortenburg The Counts of Ortenburg (german: Grafen von Ortenburg) were a comital family in the mediaeval Duchy of Carinthia. Though they had roots in Bavarian nobility, an affiliation with the Imperial Counts of Ortenburg, a branch line of the Rhenish Fra ...

, while the Tyrolean

Meinhardiner The Counts of Gorizia (german: Grafen von Görz; it, Conti di Gorizia; sl, Goriški grofje), also known as the Meinhardiner, were a comital, princely and ducal dynasty in the Holy Roman Empire. Named after Gorizia Castle in Gorizia (now in I ...

dynasty, Counts of Görz since 1127, expanded their possessions in the west. The main village Möllbrücke was first mentioned as ''mölnprukke'' in 1253. In 1307 it was denoted as a possession of the Meinhardiner counts of Görz and seat of a county court. When the Carinthian counts of Ortenburg became extinct in 1418, their estates were bequested to the Counts of Celje. Count Ulrich II was even elevated to a

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors o ...

by the Emperor

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it '' Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

, but left no heirs when he was killed by his bitter rival

Ladislaus Hunyadi László Hunyadi or Ladislaus Hunyadi ( Slovak: ''Ladislav Huňady''; 1431Bánhegyi 2008, p. 17. – 16 March 1457) was a Hungarian nobleman. Ladislaus Hunyadi was the elder of the two sons of John Hunyadi, voivode of Transylvania and later rege ...

in 1456. He had signed an inheritance treaty with the Habsburg emperor Frederick III, also Duke of Carinthia since 1424. However, the Meinhardiner count John II of Görz also claimed the former Ortenburg dominions. He marched against Carinthia from his Tyrolean residence at Bruck Castle, crossing the border at Oberdrauburg and occupying Spittal to lay siege to the Ortenburg fortress. He was finally defeated in 1460 and had to sign the Treaty of Pusarnitz at episcopal Feldsberg Castle, whereby he renounced all Carinthian estates in favour of the Austrian House of Habsburg.

Politics

The Lurnfeld municipality was created by the merger of Möllbrücke, Pusarnitz and neighbouring

Sachsenburg Sachsenburg is a market town in the district of Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia, Austria. Geography The municipal area stretches along the valley of the Drava river, where it enters the Lurnfeld plain between the Kreuzeck group of the Hohe Tau ...

in 1973; the citizens of Sachsenburg decided to split off again in 1992. Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2009 elections: *

Freedom Party in Carinthia The Freedom Party in Carinthia (german: Die Freiheitlichen in Kärnten, FPK, alternative English translations: Carinthian Freedom Party, Freedom Party of Carinthia, The Freedomites in Carinthia, or Carinthia Freedom Party) was a political party ...

(FPK): 10 * Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 6 * Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 2 * Greens: 1

Gallery

file:Maria in Hohenburg 27012007 02.jpg, St Maria in Hohenburg pilgrimage church File:Moellbruecke Hoher Stand 27012007 01.jpg, Moellbruecke with "Hoher Stand" mountain in the background File:Lurnfeld Pusarnitz 01.jpg, Pusarnitz in the community of Lurnfeld File:Möllbrücke, die Pfarrkirche Sankt Leonhard Dm62564 IMG 1722 2019-08-09 15.04.jpg, Möllbrücke, church: Pfarrkirche Sankt Leonhard File:Lurnfeld Moellbruecke roemischer Meilenstein 23012011 113.jpg, Roman milestone near Moellbruecke File:Lurnfeld Feldsberg 02.jpg, Ruin of Feldsberg castle File:Moellbruecke Drauhofen 04.jpg, Drauhofen castle

References

{{authority control Cities and towns in Spittal an der Drau District