Malta, Austria

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 46°58′0″N 13°31′0″E / 46.96667, 13.51667

Malta
Coat of arms	Location

Administration
Country	Austria
State	Carinthia
District	Spittal an der Drau
Mayor	Hanspeter Schaar
Basic statistics
Area	261.77 km² (101.1 sq mi)
Elevation	843 m (2766 ft)
Population	2,185 (14/06/2008)
- Density	8 /km² (22 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal code	9854
Area code	04733

Malta is a municipality in the Austrian state of Carinthia, in the district of Spittal an der Drau, west of the town of Gmünd. Situated within the Hohe Tauern mountain range, it covers most of the valley of the Malta river, a tributary of the Lieser. The municipality includes the Katastralgemeinden Dornbach, Malta and Maltaberg. With an area of about 262 square kilometres it is one of the largest in Austria.

Maria Hilf Assumptio

First settled in pre-Roman times, the first documented mention of Malta was between 957 and 992 under the name Locus Malontina. The parish church of Maria Hilf Assumptio is Gothic, built in various stages between the 13th and the 15th centuries. It has a Roman gravestone set into the wall, 15th-century paintings in the vaults, and 14th century frescoes on the walls of the choir. In the neighbourhood is Dornbach Palace (originally gothic, but with alterations added in the 16th century); it is surrounded by a circuit of walls and a moat.

This 14th century painting in Malta's old church reminds some people of Mickey Mouse.

Tourism brings 123,603 overnight stays per year. Attractions include the former provost's cottage (turned into an open-air museum), the Koschach nature trail and the Malta Hochalm mountain road leading to the Kölnbrein arch dam, with 200 metres Austria's highest. In 1987 the Nationalpark Hohe Tauern was extended as far as the Ankogel mountain range and today, some 85.7 square kilometres of municipal territory are part of the national park.