Hermagor-Pressegger See () is a town 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 ...

. It is the administrative centre of the

Hermagor District The Bezirk Hermagor () is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in Carinthia, Austria. The district has an area of and a population of (as of 1 January 2016). The administrative center of the district is Hermagor-Pressegger See. History Its ...

. The town is named after Saint Hermagoras of Aquileia, the first

bishop of Aquileia This is a list of bishops and patriarchs of Aquileia in northeastern Italy. For the ecclesiastical history of the diocese, see Patriarchate of Aquileia. From 553 until 698 the archbishops renounced Papal authority as part of the Schism of the Thr ...

Geography

Location

Hermagor is located in the lower

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 at the northern foot of 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 ...

, close to the border with

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, the

Naßfeld Pass Nassfeld Pass (, ) is a mountain pass connecting Hermagor-Pressegger See, Hermagor in the Austrian state of Carinthia with Pontebba in the Italy, Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located in the Carnic Alps between the Gail (river) ...

connects it with the Italian municipality of

Pontebba Pontebba (; ; ) is a (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Geography Pontebba, named after meaning "bridge", is situated at the confluence of the Pontebbana creek and th ...

. In the north, the road leads via

Gitschtal Gitschtal ( Slovene: ''Višprijska dolina'') is a town in the district of Hermagor in the Austrian state of Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, ...

into 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 ...

, across

Kreuzberg Saddle Kreuzberg Saddle () is a high mountain pass across the Gailtal Alps in the Austrian state of Carinthia. The high pass is part of the B 87 ''Weißensee Straße'' highway connecting the market town of Greifenburg in the Drava valley with Gitscht ...

to the Weissensee lake and further down to

Greifenburg Greifenburg is a market town in the district of Spittal an der Drau in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography The settlement stretches in the upper Drava Valley (''Drautal'') between the Kreuzeck mountain range in the north, part of the High ...

in the

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

valley. Hermagor station is a stop on the Gailtal Railway line from

Arnoldstein Arnoldstein (, ) is a market town in the district of Villach-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography Location Arnoldstein is located at Austria's southern border between the Carnic Alps and the Karawanken mountain range, near the c ...

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 ...

. The municipal area comprises shallow

Pressegger See Lake PresseggGunn, Clare A. 1988. ''Tourism Planning''. New York: Taylor & Francis, p. 48 (, ) is a lake in Carinthia, Austria. It is located in a glacial valley within the Gailtal Alps, a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps, east of He ...

, one of the warmest lakes in Austria with extensive reed banks.

Municipal arrangement

Hermagor-Pressegger See is divided into the following cadastral communities: It is further divided into the following settlements: Achleiten (4), Aigen (4), Bergl (24), Braunitzen (12) (''Boronica''), Brugg (31) (''Moste''), Burgstall (9), Danz (26), Dellach (94) (''Dole''), Egg (178) (''Brdo''), Eggforst (10), Förolach (162), Fritzendorf (58) (''Limarče''), Görtschach (173), Götzing (22) (''Gocina''), Grafenau (0) (''Kazla''), Grünburg (70), Guggenberg (34), Hermagor (1.527) (''Šmohor''), Jenig (178) (''Jenik''), Kameritsch (80) (''Kamerče''), Khünburg (247), Kleinbergl (30), Kraß (14), Kraschach (57) (''Krošani''), Kreuth ob Möschach (19) (''Rut(e)''), Kreuth ob Mellweg (60) (''Rut(e)''), Kreuth ob Rattendorf (76) (''Rute(e)''), Kühweg (202), Kühwegboden (156), Latschach (86) (''Loče''), Liesch (7), Möderndorf (223) (''Modrinja vas/ves''), Mellach (49) (''Mele''), Mellweg (45) (''Melviče, Maloviše''), Micheldorf (167) (''Velika vas/ves''), Mitschig (79) (''Mičiče''), Nampolach (27) (''Napole''), Neudorf (271), Neuprießenegg (36), Obermöschach (38), Obervellach (243), Paßriach (143)(''Pažirje''), Podlanig (51) (''Podlanig''), Postran (123) (''Postran''), Potschach (61) (''Potoče''), Presseggen (222) (''Preseka''), Presseggersee (130) (''Preseško jezero''), Radnig (203), Radnigforst (0), Rattendorf (343) (''Radnja vas''), Schinzengraben (26), Schlanitzen (41) (''Zelenica''), Schmidt (1), Siebenbrünn (2), Sonnenalpe Naßfeld (27)(''Mokrine''), Sonnleitn (17), Süßenberg (20) (''Planja''), Toschehof (0) (''Tesinje''), Tröpolach (535) (''Dobropolje, Dropolje''), Untermöschach (48), Untervellach (229), Watschig (129) (''Vočiče''), Wittenig (50), Zuchen (3) (''Suha'').

History

Archaeological finds have shown that the historic

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

mining area was already settled around 1800-1200 BC. It later was part of the

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 ...

kingdom of

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 ...

, which was incorporated into the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

in 15 BC. The parish of Saint Hermagoras 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 ...

was first mentioned in an 1169 document, probably a foundation of the

Patriarchs of Aquileia The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in ...

. Due to its strategic location, it quickly prospered, obtained

market rights 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 rural ...

in 1288, and became the main settlement of the Gail valley. In 1779 the botanist

Franz Xaver von Wulfen Franz Xaver Freiherr von Wulfen (5 November 1728 – 17 March 1805) was an Austrian botanist, zoologist, mineralogist, alpinist, and Jesuit priest. He is credited with discovering the flowering plants '' Wulfenia carinthiaca'', '' Saxifraga ...

discovered ''

Wulfenia carinthiaca ''Wulfenia carinthiaca'', commonly known as wulfenia, is a plant in the plantain family. It is endemic to the Gartnerkofel mountain of the Carnic Alps at the Austro-Italian border. It was discovered in 1779 by Franz Xaver von Wulfen, for whom ...

'' on the slopes of the Gartnerkofel peak. Hermagor became capital of the eponymous

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

in 1868 and was home of an

Imperial-Royal Landwehr The Imperial-Royal Landwehr ( or ''k.k. Landwehr''), also called the Austrian Landwehr, was the territorial army of the Cisleithanian or Austrian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1869 to 1918. Its counterpart was the Royal Hungarian Land ...

garrison. The Gailtal Railway line was built from 1894, it was extended in 1915 for military purposes on the Italian Front of World War I. Hermagor obtained

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

on 10 October 1930, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the

Carinthian plebiscite The Carinthian plebiscite (, ) was held on 10 October 1920 in the area in southern Carinthia predominantly settled by Carinthian Slovenes. It determined the final border between the Republic of Austria and the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croa ...

. The present-day municipality of Hermagor-Pressegger See was established by a merger of several formerly independent communes in the course of a 1973 administrative reform.

Population

Points of interest

* Möderndorf Castle, including the Gail Valley Museum *Garnitzenklamm, canyon with numerous waterfalls *Egger Alm, seasonal mountain pasture with regional cheese production (Gailtaler Almkäse) *Wurzer Dirndl, local production of alpine style traditional clothing (Dirndl)

Economy

The economy of Hermagor today largely depends on tourism, especially

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

around

Nassfeld Nassfeld or Naßfeld (, ) is a town and ski resort in the district Hermagor-Pressegger See, Hermagor of the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. It is located below the Nassfeld Pass. Lake Pressegg is nearby, where it is possible to ...

Pass, the largest ski area in Carinthia. Pressegger See and the surrounding mountains are also a traditional summer retreat and a popular destination for hikers.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (''Stadtrat'') as of 2015 local 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): 11 *

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): 9 *

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 * ''Karl Tillian - Pro Hermagor'' (

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 *

The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *The Greens – The Green Alternative, Austria *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' * Greens of Andorra * The Greens (Benin) *The Greens (Bulgaria) * Greens of Bosnia and He ...

: 1

International relations

Hermagor is twinned with: *

(since 1998)

Notable people

Matija Majar Matija Majar, also spelled Majer (7 February 1809 – 31 July 1892), pseudonym Ziljski, was a Carinthian Slovene Roman Catholic priest and political activist, best known as the creator of the idea of a United Slovenia. Biography Majar was bor ...

(1809–1892), Catholic priest and Carinthian Slovene political activist * Roland Assinger (born 1973), skier

References

External links

*http://www.hermagor.at/ *http://www.nassfeld.at/ {{Authority control Cities and towns in Hermagor District Gailtal Alps Carnic Alps