Kötschach-Mauthen

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Kötschach-Mauthen

Coat of arms
Kötschach-Mauthen
Location within Austria
Coordinates: 46°40′N 13°0′E / 46.667°N 13.000°E / 46.667; 13.000Coordinates: 46°40′N 13°0′E / 46.667°N 13.000°E / 46.667; 13.000
Country Austria
State Carinthia
District Hermagor
Government
 • Mayor Walter Hartlieb
Area
 • Total 154.48 km2 (59.65 sq mi)
Elevation 705 m (2,313 ft)
Population (1 January 2013)[1]
 • Total 3,409
 • Density 22/km2 (57/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 9640
Area codes 2 03 07
Website www.koetschach-mauthen.at

Kötschach-Mauthen (Slovene: Koča-Muta ) is a municipality in the district of Hermagor in Carinthia in Austria.

Geography

The municipality lies 34 km in the west of Hermagor at the transition of the upper Gailtal into Lesachtal. It's just a few minutes away from Plöcken Pass, and hence Friuli/Italy.

Municipality arrangement

Kötschach-Mauthen is divided into the four municipalities Kötschach, Mauthen, Strajach and Würmlach. It covers 31 localities (in parentheses number of inhabitants according to the 2001 population census):

  • Aigen (17)
  • Buchach (11)
  • Dobra (6)
  • Dolling (9)
  • Gailberg (4)
  • Gentschach (25)
  • Gratzhof (12)
  • Höfling (35)
  • Kosta (11)
  • Kötschach (1.612)
  • Kreuth (82)
  • Kreuzberg (15)
  • Krieghof (5)
  • Kronhof (14)
  • Laas (231)
  • Lanz (13)
  • Mahlbach (11)
  • Mandorf (34)
  • Mauthen (760)
  • Nischlwitz (13)
  • Passau (3)
  • Plöcken (0)
  • Plon (15)
  • Podlanig (37)
  • Sankt Jakob im Lesachtal (83)
  • Sittmoos (14)
  • Strajach (96)
  • Weidenburg (78)
  • Wetzmann (24)
  • Würda (0)
  • Würmlach (343)
Castle Manndorf
Well at the Main Square in Kötschach
Mainstreet in Mauthen
Way of the Cross at Sankt Jakob im Lesachtal
One of the many water wheels in Lesachtal

History

Today's municipality was established around 200 BC. A Venetian rock inscription from this time still exists today in Würmlach. A Roman road ran over the Plöckenpass, where a Roman settlement was situated above present-day Mauthen .

In the Middle Ages the region experienced economic growth due to the exploitation of iron ore, gold, silver and lead. Most of today's towns were already mentioned in the Middle Ages: Mauthen 1276, Höfling 1300, Kötschach 1308, Podlanig 1374, Würmlach 1374 and St. Jakob 1376. In the 16th century followed Laas 1510, Mandorf 1521, and Gentschach 1590.

Since the 16th century the region belonged to the Count of Ortenburg. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Carinthian Plebiscite the town became a Market Municipality in 1930.

In 1958 Kötschach and Mauthen were merged and became the municipality of Kötschach-Mauthen. A few years later, in 1973, extensive areas in the upper Gailtal and in the lower Lesachtal were added to the municipality.

Population

According to the 2001 population census Kötschach-Mauthen has 3.613 inhabitants. 95,0% of its inhabitants are Austrian, 1,2% German and 0,9% Turkish citizens. 89,1% of the population are Roman-Catholic, 6,6% Protestant and 1,3% are Muslim. 1,8% of the population are without any religious confession.

Gailtaler Dom

The parish church "Unsere liebe Frau" (better known as "Gailtaler Dom") in Kötschach is a Late Gothic church and was built by Bartholomäus Viertaler. Mentioned for the first time in 1399, it was rebuilt extensively in the first half of the 16th century (1518–27).

Economy and infrastructure

Kötschach-Mauthen is a central municipality in the upper Gailtal and at the same time a gate to the Lesachtal. Wood processing, the production of heat exchangers, tourism in general and gastronomy in particular are important economic factors of the region. Kötschach-Mauthen is well known as a wellness and climatic spa. The town boasts a modern outdoor and indoor swimming pool ("Aquarena"), which is the biggest in both Upper Gailtal and Lesachtal.

The National Hospital in nearby Laas consists of a medical department as well as a department for chronic patients.

In Würmlach the pipelines AWP, which goes to Schwechat near Vienna, and TAL, which leads to Karlsruhe in Germany, split up. Since 2005 gas is being pumped from Würmlach's biological gas facility to Kötschach into its combined heat and power station.

Politics

Since the 2003 elections the local council consists of

  • SPÖ (12 mandates)
  • ÖVP (6)
  • FPÖ (3)
  • List Thurner (2)

References

  1. ↑ Statistik Austria - Bevölkerung zu Jahres- und Quartalsanfang, 2013-01-01.

External links

Municipalities in the district of Hermagor
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