Carinthia (German: Kärnten) is the southernmost Austrian state or Land; it is chiefly famous for its mountains and lakes.
It consists mostly of a basin inside the Alps, with the Carnian Alps and the Karawanken/ Karavanke making up the border to Italy and Slovenia. The Hohe Tauern mountain range divides it from the state of Salzburg. To the East lies the state of Styria/Štajerska and it makes up a continuous valley with the eastern part of the Tyrol to the West. Its lakes including Wörther See, Millstätter See, Ossiacher See and Faaker See are a major tourist attraction. The main river is the Drau/Drava.
State AT-2 (ISO)
Capitol Klagenfurt
Governor Jörg Haider(BZÖ)
Area 9,535,97 km²
Population 559,891
Density 69-km²
History
In 745 the former Slavic principality of Karantania became a margraviate of the Frankish Empire. The March of Carinthia was created in 889 by Carloman, king of Bavaria and given to his son Arnulf of Carinthia. In 976 Emperor Otto II separated it from Bavaria and made it an independent duchy within the Holy Roman Empire. When the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806, Carinthia became a constituent land of the Austrian Empire and a crown land of Austria-Hungary in 1867. After the end of the First World War southern Carinthia was occupied by troops of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
Carinthia, East Tyrol and Styria now formed the UK occupation zone of Allied-administered Austria. The Allied occupation ended in 1955 by the Austrian State Treaty, which restored Austria's sovereignity.
Administrative Divisions
The state is divided into eight districts (Bezirke), and two Statutory cities (Statutarstädte).
Statutarstädte:
Klagenfurt
Villach
Tourist attractions
Major tourist attractions are the cities Klagenfurt and Villach, St. Paul's Abbey in the Lavanttal, the lakes Wörthersee, Ossiachersee, Faaker See, Millstätter See, ski resorts Nassfeld/Hermagor, Gerlitzen, Bad Kleinkirchheim, Heiligenblut, Gurk Cathedral, Hochosterwitz castle, the Großglockner mountain - Austria's highest mountain - and the Nockberge for alpine sport.
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