Bleiburg

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Bleiburg
Pliberk
Coat of arms Location
Coat of arms of BleiburgPliberk
Map of Austria, position of BleiburgPliberk highlighted
Administration
Country Flag of Austria Austria
State Carinthia
District Völkermarkt
Mayor Stefan Visotschnig (SPÖ)
Basic statistics
Area 69.72 km² (26.9 sq mi)
Elevation 479 m  (1572 ft)
Population 4,083  (01/01/2001)
 - Density 59 /km² (152 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate VK
Postal code 9150
Area code 04235
Website www.bleiburg.at

Coordinates: 46°35′24″N 14°47′56″E / 46.59, 14.79889

Bleiburg (Slovene: Pliberk) is a small town in the state of Carinthia, Austria, south-east of Klagenfurt, in the district of Völkermarkt, near the Slovenian border. It is located approximately 479m above sea level.

A square in Bleiburg.
A square in Bleiburg.

According to the census of 2001, Bleiburg has approximately 4,100 inhabitants. The municipality of Bleiburg extends to 69.70 square kilometers. It is an old border town located in the Feistritz valley near the Hochpetzen mountain in the Karawanken group.

Bleiburg is home to a district court, military barracks and to the local productive and services industry. The name of Bleiburg, literally meaning "Lead Castle", can be attributed to the lead mining operations in the Petzen mountain.

The oldest surviving document mentioning the town is dated to 1228. Bleiburg was elevated to the status of a city in 1370. The annual Wiesenmarkt (meadow market) has taken place every year at least since 1428 on September 1.

Between 1918 and 1920, Bleiburg was occupied by Yugoslav troops, but, in spite of the sizeable Slovenian minority in the surrounding villages, remained with Austria.

In May 1945, Bleiburg was the initial location of the Bleiburg massacre, in the course of which Yugoslav partisans killed thousands of Croatians, Slovenians and Domobrans.

In early September of 2004, the Austrian media reported that the Croatian government had decided to purchase a plot of land near Bleiburg in order to erect a monument to commemorate the massacre, which sparked some minor political controversy in Austria.

According to the 2001 census 30.4% of the population are Carinthian Slovenes (in 1971 there were 52.8% Carinthian Slovenes)

Village Number of peoople 2002 Percent of Slovenes 1991 Percent of Slovenes 1951
Aich/Dob 167 68.6% 76,2%
Dobrowa/Dobrava 21 30,4% 68,7%
Draurain/Breg 16 100% 100%
Einersdorf/Nonča vas 284 44,8% 78,1%
Kömmelgupf/Komeljski Vrh 25 59,3% 78,1%
Kömmel/Komelj 78 62,8% 100%
Moos/Blato 166 82,1% 88,1%
Replach/Replje 67 56,8% 81,7%
Rinkenberg/Vogrče 282 67,1% 78,3%
Rinkolach/Rinkole 93 87,0% 100%
Ruttach/Rute 49 50,0% 75,9%
Schilterndorf/Čirkovče 169 57,2% 90,2%
Wiederndorf/Vidra vas 171 51,2% 85,1%
Loibach/Libuče 426 42.6% 47.7%
St.Georgen/Šentjur 38 21,9% 32,6%
St.Margarethen/Šmarjeta 83 58,5% 99,3%
Bleiburg/Pliberk 1205 15,7% 15,9%
Ebersdorf/Drveša vas 385 18,0% 21,0%
Woroujach/Borovje 79 26,7% 81,9%
Grablach/Grablje 30 56,4% 100%
Schattenberg/Senčni kraj 25 64,7% 100%
Lokowitzen/Lokovica 6 40,0% 66,7%
Weissenstein/Belšak 28 35,7% 100%
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