The Bezirk Lienz () is an administrative district (''

Bezirk The German language, German term (; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ; derived from , "circle") translated as "district" can refer to the following types of administrative divisions: * , a subdivision of a city in the sense of a borough (e ...

'') in

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

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 ...

. It is the only district in

East Tyrol East Tyrol, occasionally East Tirol (), is an exclave of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, separated from North Tyrol by parts of Salzburg State and parts of Italian South Tyrol (''Südtirol'', ). It is coterminous with the administrative ...

. The district borders the

Pinzgau The Bezirk Zell am See is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, and congruent with the Pinzgau region (). The area of the district is , with a population of 84,124 (May 15, 2001), and population dens ...

(

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

) in the north, the districts

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

and Hermagor (both

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 ...

) in the east,

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

(

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 south, and

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

(

) in the west. The area of the district is with a population of 48,833 o January 1, 2019, and population a density of . The administrative center of the district is

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 ...

. In 1918, it was occupied by the Italian Army. In 1919,

Trentino Trentino (), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento (; ; ), is an Autonomous province#Italy, autonomous province of Italy in the Northern Italy, country's far north. Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the Regions of Italy, region of Tren ...

and South Tyrol were split from what is now the Austrian state of Tyrol in the

Treaty of Saint-Germain A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, conventi ...

(these three entities made up the old Austro-Hungarian

county of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an Imperial State, estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with th ...

). Since this time,

has been separated from

North Tyrol North Tyrol, rarely North Tirol (), is the main part of the Austrian federal state Tyrol, located in the western part of the country. The other part of the federal state is East Tyrol, which also belongs to Austria, but doesn't share a border wi ...

by about of border between the federal state of

and South Tyrol. Accordingly, it forms an inner-Austrian

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

of the federal state of Tyrol. It was also the only part of modern Tyrol not occupied by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, instead forming part of the

British zone The British occupation zone in Germany (German: ''Britische Besatzungszone Deutschlands'') was one of the Allied-occupied areas in Germany after World War II. The United Kingdom, along with the Commonwealth, was one of the three major Allied po ...

Geography

The district comprises parts of the

Puster Valley The Puster Valley ( ; , ) is one of the largest longitudinal valleys in the Alps that runs in an east-west direction between Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria, and Mühlbach near Brixen in South Tyrol, Italy. The South Tyrolean municipalities of th ...

, the valleys of Iseltal,

Defereggen The Defereggen Valley (), or simply Defereggen (), is the middle of the three East Tyrolean high mountain valleys running from east to west. Its parallel-running neighbours are the Puster Valley and the Virgen Valley. The Defereggen Valley is l ...

, Virgental,

Kalser Tal Kalser is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Erwin Kalser Erwin Kalser (22 February 1883 – 26 March 1958) was a German-Jewish Siegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 19 ...

, and the Tyrolean Gailtal. Mountain ranges in the district include parts of the

Hohe Tauern The High Tauern ( pl.; , ) 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 Salzburg, Carinthia and East Tyr ...

with

Venediger Group The Venediger Group () is a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps. Together with the Granatspitze Group, the Glockner Group, the Goldberg Group, and the Ankogel Group, it forms the main ridge of the High Tauern. The highest peak is the Groß ...

and

Glockner Group The Glockner GroupKev Reynolds, Reynolds, Kev (2005). ''Walking in the Alps'', 2nd ed., Cicerone, Singapore, p.409, . () is a sub-group of the Austrian Central Alps in the Eastern Alps, and is located in the centre section of the High Tauern on ...

, the Defereggen Alps, the Lienz Dolomits and the Karnisch Alps. The shortest road connection to North Tyrol is the Felbertauern road (P1) and the

Felbertauern tunnel The Felbertauern Tunnel (German, ''Felbertauern'') is a 5.2 km long tunnel in the Austrian Alps. The tunnel connects the Felber valley (in the north, region of Salzberg) with the Tauern valley (in the south, region of Tyrol). Construction began ...

(about ). Lienz is located at a road junction between the federal Felbertauern road (B108), a road to the Puster Valley (B100) and South Tyrol, and a road to the Drautal valley and

Administrative divisions

The district is divided into 33

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

: *

Abfaltersbach Abfaltersbach is a municipality in the district of Lienz 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, ...

(654) *

Ainet Ainet is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the Count ...

(925) * Amlach (378) * Anras (1,297) *

Assling Assling is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the C ...

(1,881) *

Außervillgraten Außervillgraten is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol, Ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or ...

(789) *

Dölsach Dölsach is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the C ...

(2,274) * Gaimberg (835) *

Heinfels Heinfels is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the C ...

(1,007) *

Hopfgarten in Defereggen Hopfgarten in Defereggen is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically t ...

(765) *

Innervillgraten Innervillgraten is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol. The region is one of the most remote regions in Austria. A year-long connection to the valley was established as late as 1956. The death of Pius Walder ...

(974) * Iselsberg-Stronach (617) *

Kals am Großglockner Kals am Großglockner is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the exclave of East Tirol in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography Kals is located in northern East Tirol, near the border to Salzburg and Carinthia. Located in the valleys ...

(1,231) * Kartitsch (833) * Lavant (298) *

Leisach Leisach is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the Cou ...

(824) *

(11,816) *

Matrei in Osttirol Matrei in Osttirol is a market town in the Lienz District in the Austrian state of Tyrol (East Tyrol). It is situated about north of Lienz within the Hohe Tauern mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps. Its municipal area comprises parts of th ...

(4,781) *

Nikolsdorf Nikolsdorf is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the ...

(910) *

Nußdorf-Debant Nußdorf-Debant () is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core ...

(3,308) *

Oberlienz Oberlienz is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the ...

(1,411) *

Obertilliach Obertilliach is a municipality in the district of Lienz District, Lienz, in the Austria, Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol. Geography It is located in East Tyrol, in a high valley of the upper Gail (river), Gail River east of the Kartitsch ...

(712) *

Prägraten am Großvenediger Prägraten am Großvenediger is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historical ...

(1,225) *

Sankt Jakob in Defereggen Sankt Jakob in Defereggen (Southern Bavarian: ''St. Jakoub in Dejfreggin'') is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Ita ...

(934) *

Sankt Johann im Walde Sankt Johann im Walde is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the ...

(291) *

Sankt Veit in Defereggen Sankt Veit in Defereggen ("Saint Vitus in the Defereggen Valley") is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography Sankt Veit lies in the central Defereggen Valley and is the municipality in Eastern Tyrol with ...

(734) *

Schlaiten Schlaiten is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Its name is most likely of Slavonic origin, deriving from ''*slatina'', which means ''swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: ...

(470) *

Sillian Sillian is a market town in the district of Lienz, in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography The municipality, at a height of about , is the main settlement in the East Tyrolean '' Hochpustertal'', the eastern part of the Puster Valley, stretch ...

(2,072) * Strassen (827) * Thurn (635) * Tristach (1,410) *

Untertilliach Untertilliach is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of ...

(251) *

Virgen Virgen is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It includes part of the Virgen valley in the Venediger Group mountain range, and extensive parts of the municipality are in High Tauern National Park. The history o ...

(2,199)

References

{{Authority control * Enclaves and exclaves Districts of Tyrol (federal state)