Finkenstein am Faaker See () 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 rura ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Geography

It is located south of

Villach Villach (; ; ; ) 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 population is 61,887. Together wit ...

and the

Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.

River, on the northern slope of the

Karawanks The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks (; , ) 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 direction, the Karawanks chain is o ...

with Mt. Mittagskogel (''Kepa''), close to the border with

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. The municipal area comprises the southern shore of

Lake Faak Lake Faak (; ) is a lake in the Austrian state of Carinthia. With an area of approximately , it is the state's fifth-largest lake. Geography The lake is located southeast of Villach in the Drava Valley, below the northern slope of the Karawanks m ...

. The municipality includes the

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� ...

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 (; ; ) are the Indigenous peoples, indigenous minority of Slovenes, Slovene ethnicity, living within borders of the Austrian state of Carinthia, neighboring Slovenia. Their status of the minority group ...

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 legally unfree but socially elite class of knights, administrators, and officials in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire, drawn from a mix of servile origins, free commoners, and ...

, the Lords of Finkenstein, it was an important outpost overlooking the

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 ...

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 (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

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

Dietrichstein The House of Dietrichstein was one of the oldest and most prominent Austrian nobility, Austrian noble families originating in the Duchy of Carinthia. The family belonged to the Uradel, high nobility (German: ''Hochadel''). The Mikulov Castle, Niko ...

, 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 (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) 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 ('), meani ...

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, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

, moreover Elan snowboards 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 ( , 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): 12 *

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): 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): 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 Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

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

Notable people

Franc Treiber Franc Treiber (28 January 1809 – 24 October 1878) was a Slovene Roman Catholic priest, poet, and composer. Life and work Born in Faak (Bače), Carinthia, Treiber studied theology at the Klagenfurt seminary under Anton Martin Slomšek and was ...

(1809–1878), priest, poet, and composer *

Günther Porod Günther Porod (; 1919 in Faak am See near Villach – 1984 in Graz) was an Austrian physicist. He is best known for his work on the small-angle X-ray scattering method, done in collaboration with his teacher Otto Kratky, and in particular ...

(1919–1984), physicist *

Peter Wrolich Peter Wrolich (born 30 May 1974) is a retired Austrian professional road bicycle racer. He is Slovenes, Slovenian from Austria. 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 point ...

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

References

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