Feld am See is a municipality 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 municipalit ...

in the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n state of

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

Geography

It is located in the Gegend valley of the

Nock Mountains The Nock Mountains ( or ''Nockgebirge'') are the westernmost and highest mountain range of the Gurktal Alps in Austria, spread over parts of the federal states of Carinthia, Salzburg and Styria. Their appearance is characterised by numerous dome ...

range at the shore of the Brennsee (or ''Feldsee''), between the Mirnock massif in the southwest (el. ) and Wöllaner Nock () in the northeast. The municipal area consists of one

cadastral community A cadastral community (or cadastre community, cadastral r cadastremunicipality, cadastral r cadastrecommune,Problémy s překladem termínu „katastrální území“ do angličtiny. in: Geodetický a kartografický Obzor. Český úřad zeměm� ...

, Rauth, also the oldest settlement in the area.

Neighboring municipalities

Population

The census in 2001 counted 1,188 inhabitants. 66.0% are

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

(whole Carinthia: 10.3%), 27.5% are Roman Catholics, 0.8% are Muslims and 5.1% belong to other denominations.

History

The hidden ''Gegend'' was not populated until the High Middle Ages, when about 1300 its sunny northern side was stubbed and the name of the valley was first mentioned in a 1308 deed. While large estates were held by the Carinthian

Counts of Ortenburg The Counts of 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 Franconian House of Sponheim, ...

, the village called ''Rauth'' (from , root out) was the most important settlement in the whole area for a long time. The settlement of Feld am See itself arose with the construction of a Protestant parish church in 1787. The remote Gegend valley had long been a centre of

Crypto-protestantism Crypto-Protestantism is a historical phenomenon that first arose on the territory of the Habsburg Empire but also elsewhere in Europe and Latin America, at a time when Catholic rulers tried, after the Protestant Reformation, to reestablish Cath ...

, until the 1781

Patent of Toleration The Patent of Toleration (, ) was an edict of toleration issued on 13 October 1781 by the Habsburg emperor Joseph II. Part of the Josephinist reforms, the Patent extended religious freedom to non-Catholic Christians living in the crown lands ...

issued by Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

ended the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

persecutions. The lake called Brennsee was named after a local tavern and distillery (''Brenn'') which was founded in 1632. The present-day municipality was established in 1850; an elementary school was founded one year later. In the late 19th century summer tourism around the lake started. Between 1973 and 1991 Feld am See and neighbouring

Afritz am See Afritz am See () is a municipality in Villach-Land District in the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. Name The name ''Afritz'' is ultimately derived from the Slovene prepositional phrase ''za brdce'' 'behind the small hill'. The Slove ...

were united to a single municipality.

Politics

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

Social Democratic Party of Austria The Social Democratic Party of Austria ( , SPÖ) is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (, SDAPÖ) and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria () from 1945 unt ...

(SPÖ): 6 *

Freedom Party of Austria The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five part ...

(FPÖ): 6 *

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...

(ÖVP): 3

Twin towns — sister cities

Feld am See is twinned with: *

Wilhermsdorf Wilhermsdorf is a municipality in the district of Fürth in Bavaria in Germany. As of 2020 it has a population of 5,479. It is twinned with Feld am See in Austria and Jahnsdorf, also in Germany. Neighboring municipalities Wilhermsdorf bord ...

, Germany, since 1988

Cultural Activities and Associations

Several associations exist in Feld am See. * MGV Feld am See - a male choral society * Gemischter Chor Feld am See - a choir * Frauentrachtengruppe Feld am See - a women's association wearing traditional costumes * Trachtenkapelle Feld am See - a traditional Austrian big band * Mirnock-Oldies - an Oldtimer association * and some more

Sights

Main sights are: * Protestant church of Feld am See (built in 1787) * Catholic church of Feld am See (build in 1960) * Alpen Wildpark Feld am See - a deer park and museum * Mirnockriese - a stone statue of a legendary giant Places to visit: * Brennsee - one of two bathing lakes *

Afritzer See Afritzer See is a lake of Carinthia, Austria. Geography The lake is situated in the Gegendtal Valley, running from east to west through the Nock Mountains range of the Gurktal Alps. Though the named after the settlement of Afritz on the eastern ...

- the second bathing lake * Feldpannalm - scenic mountain pasture

References

External links

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