Dellach () is a municipality in the district of Hermagor, 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

The municipal area lies in the upper

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, between the neighbouring municipalities of

Kötschach-Mauthen Kötschach-Mauthen 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 Gailtal and Carnic Alp ...

in the west and Kirchbach in the east. The

Carnic Alps The Carnic Alps (; ; ; ) are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Italian Friuli (Province of Udine) and marginally in Veneto. Etymology They are ...

in the south form the border with Paularo in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In the north rises Mt.

Reißkofel The Reißkofel is, at 2,371 metres above the Adriatic (7,779 ft), the highest mountain of the Gailtal Alps east of the ''Lienz Dolomites''. It is situated in the centre of the Gailtal range, part of the Southern Limestone Alps, in the Austrian ...

, the highest peak of the

Gailtal Alps The Gailtal Alps ( or ''Drauzug''), is a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria. It rises between the River Drava (''Drau'') and the Gail (river), Gail valley (in southwestern Carinthia (state), Carinthia) and through the southe ...

east of the Lienz Dolomites, with an elevation of .

History

Archaeological findings in the hamlet of Gurina denote a settlement since the age of the

Hallstatt culture The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western Europe, Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallst ...

, when the local

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

population ran copper smelting facilities to coin mints. It became one of the first

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

cities in present-day Austria, when the area was part of the

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the 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, R ...

province. The village of ''Doelach'' itself was first mentioned in a 1370 deed; the name was possibly derived from

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

''dolina'': "valley". A church in nearby Sankt Daniel existed since

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

times. For a long time, the estates were held by the

Counts of Gorizia The County of Gorizia (, , , ), from 1365 Princely County of Gorizia, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. Originally mediate ''Vogts'' of the Patriarchs of Aquileia, the Counts of Gorizia (''Meinhardiner'') ruled over several fiefs in the are ...

, until they fell 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 ...

. The present-day municipality was established in 1850.

Politics

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

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): 8 *

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 *

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): 3

External links

Municipal site

References

Cities and towns in Hermagor District Gailtal Alps {{Carinthia-geo-stub