The Lavanttal ('Lavant Valley', , Gams, Ivan. 1992. "Labotska dolina." ''Enciklopedija Slovenije'', vol. 6. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, pp. 87–87. or ;

Southern Bavarian Southern Bavarian or South Bavarian, is a cluster of Upper German dialects of the Bavarian group. They are primarily spoken in Tyrol (i.e. the Austrian federal state of Tyrol and the Italian province of South Tyrol), in Carinthia and in t ...

: ''Lovnthol'') lies in the

Lavanttal Alps The Lavanttal Alps (, ) are part of the Central Eastern Alps in Austria and Slovenia, between the river Mur in the north and the Drava in the south. The mountains are named after the central valley of Lavanttal and the Lavant River which runs i ...

in southern

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 ...

in the eastern part of the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

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 ...

. It covers just under . Approximately 60,000 people live in the area.

Geography

The Lavant River flows through the valley, having its source on the Zirbitzkogel in

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

and discharging into the

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

near

Lavamünd Lavamünd () is a market town in the district of Wolfsberg (district), Wolfsberg in the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. The Drava#Hydroelectric power plants, Lavamünd hydroelectric power plant on the Drava River and the Soboth res ...

. It is divided into the Upper Lavant Valley (), which lies north of the Twimberger Graben, and the Lower Lavant Valley (), which is further south. The lower, broader valley nestles between the mountains of the

Koralpe The Koralpe (, , or ), also referred to as ''Koralm'' (), is a mountain range in southern Austria which separates eastern Carinthia from southern Styria. The southern parts of the range extend into Slovenia. Running from north to south, it drain ...

and Saualpe. The Upper Lavant Valley lies between the Packalpe and the

Seetal Alps The Seetal Alps () are a mountain range in the Lavanttal Alps, Lavanttal or Noric Alps in Austria south of the River Mur (river), Mur between Scheifling and Zeltweg. Their highest peak is the Zirbitzkogel (2,396 m). Topography The Seetal ...

. The Lavant Valley forms the greater part of the administrative district of Wolfsberg.

Name

The valley derives its name from the Lavant River, which flows through it for from north to south. It has its source in the border region between Styria and Carinthia, on the Styrian mountain of Zirbitzkogel. Near Lavamünd, in the southernmost part of the Lavant Valley, the Lavant empties into the

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

Climate

The climate of the Lavant Valley is relatively dry, with around of precipitation annually.Strunz, Gunnar. 2014. ''Kärnten: Natur und Kultur zwischen Alpen und Wörthersee.'' Berlin: Trescher Verlag, p. 26. The valley often suffers from

temperature inversion In meteorology, an inversion (or temperature inversion) is a phenomenon in which a layer of warmer air overlies cooler air. Normally, air temperature gradually decreases as altitude increases, but this relationship is reversed in an inver ...

during the winter half year, which brings fog and high levels of pollution in the valley bottom. The land at medium elevations around to are thus climatically preferred; they are sunnier and warmer than the terrain of the valley floor.

Agriculture

The growing of maize and the rearing of pigs and chickens are the main forms of agriculture in the valley. In the Lower Lavant Valley and the adjacent Granitz Valley there are many orchards, especially of apples used to make cider and

schnapps Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to ...

products. Here there are also several meadow orchards. Another speciality is

asparagus Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus (genus), Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. Description ...

. The majority of the Carinthian vineyards, only around , are located in the Lavant Valley.

Art and culture

Well-known artistic personalities such as

Christine Lavant Christine Lavant (born Christine Thonhauser, mar. Christine Habernig; 4 July 1915 – 7 June 1973) was an Austrian poet and novelist. Life Lavant was born in the hamlet of Großedling (today part of Wolfsberg, Carinthia, Wolfsberg) in the ...

, Switbert Lobisser, and Gerhart Ellert have done much to promote the culture of the valley. There are regular special exhibitions in the Benedictine monastery of

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

, which enhance the extensive art collections.

References

External links

Online publication ''Das Lavanttal''

Private collection about the Lavant Valley

The Lavant Valley in the Internet – Municipality of Lavanttal

Literature

*Bäk, Richard: "Geologie und Landschaftsbild des Kärntner Lavanttales", in: ''Schatzhaus Kärntens: Landesausstellung St. Paul 1991, 900 Jahre Benediktinerstift'', Klagenfurt, 1991, Vol. 2, pp. 309 ff., *Schober, Eduard: ''Das Lavanttal'', Wolfsberg, 1990 *Thelian, Werner und Richter, Nicole: ''Lust auf Lavanttal'', Klagenfurt, 2007, {{Authority control Lavanttal Alps Valleys of Carinthia