Ossiach () is a municipality in the Feldkirchen District 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 ...

. The small settlement is mainly known for Ossiach Abbey.

Geography

It is located at the southern shore of

Lake Ossiach Lake Ossiach (, ) is a lake in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is the state's third largest lake after Lake Wörth () and Lake Millstatt (). Geography Lake Ossiach is located in the southern Nock Mountains range of the Gurktal Alps along t ...

, on the slope of the small ''Ossiacher Tauern'' range within the Nock Mountains, a range of the

Gurktal Alps The Gurktal Alps (, ) is a mountain range in the Central Eastern Alps in Austria which is named after the valley of the Gurk river. The range stretches west to Lake Millstatt and east to Neumarkter Sattel (north-northwest of Neumarkt in Steie ...

, at the road between

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 Feldkirchen. The commune consists of the Katastralgemeinden ''Alt-Ossiach'', ''Ossiach'', ''Ostriach'', ''Rappitsch'', ''Tauern'' and ''Untertauern''.

History

Ossiach Abbey was founded about 1000. The monastery church was mentioned in a 1028 deed, hence the first of the

Benedictine Order The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

in the

Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (; ; ) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchies. Car ...

. The abbey developed to an ecclesiastical and cultural centre of the region, though no larger homestead arose outside its walls. After the dissolution of the monastery by the order of 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 ...

in 1783, the rural area from 1850 was part of neighbouring Steindorf. The Ossiach municipality was not established until 1904. Today the church is also renowned for the

Carinthischer Sommer The Carinthian Summer is a music and cultural festival in the Austrian province of Carinthia. It was founded in 1969 in Ossiach

classical music festival, held around July and August each year. The pianist

Wilhelm Backhaus Wilhelm Backhaus ('Bachaus' on some record labels) (26 March 1884 – 5 July 1969) was a German pianist and pedagogue. He was particularly well known for his interpretations of Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin and Brahms. He was also much adm ...

held his last concert here on June 29, 1969. Since 1974, the abbey has held church opera productions, particularly the parables of

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

, as well as other theatrical productions. Some Austrians have written works specifically for the festival, including Cesar Bresgen (''Das Spiel vom Menschen'', 1982) and

Dieter Kaufmann Dieter Kaufmann (born 22 April 1941) is an Austrian composer. Biography Kaufmann was born in Vienna and grew up in Carinthia. He studied music, German philology, art history, violoncello, composition (with Karl Schiske, Gottfried von Einem, Oli ...

(''Bruder Boleslaw'', 1989). A

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

stands in the village of ''Tauern''. First mentioned in 1290, the ''Tauernkirche'' was rebuilt in 1519 in a Late Gothic style and received a Baroque equipment including a

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

in the 17th century.

Neighboring municipalities

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2003 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): 4 *

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

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Feldkirchen District