Obervellach

Obervellach
Obervellach
Country	Austria
State	Carinthia
District	Spittal an der Drau
Mayor	Wilhelm Pacher
Area	104.41 km2 (40 sq mi)
Elevation	632 m  (2074 ft)
Population	2,358 (1 January 2011)[1]
- Density	23 /km² (58 /sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal code	9821
Area code	04782
Website	www.obervellach.at Coordinates: 46°55′0″N 13°12′0″E / 46.916667°N 13.2°E / 46.916667; 13.2

Obervellach (Slovene: Zgornja Bela ) is a municipality in the district of Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia in Austria. It is situated in the valley of the Möll river, on the southern slope of the Hohe Tauern mountain range. The municipal area includes the Katastralgemeinden of Pfaffenberg, Lassach and Söbriach.

Main square

The settlement of Velach was first mentioned in a deed issued by the Bishop Abraham of Freising (957-994), a Bavarian missionary among the East Alpine Slavs in the former principality of Carantania. The name is probably derived from Slavic bela ("white"). The traditional gold and silver mining area from the 12th century onwards was a possession of the Meinhardiner counts of Görz, their ministeriales resided at Falkenstein Castle high above the valley. After the conflict over the inheritance of Count Ulrich II of Celje, in which the Meinhardiner were defeated by Emperor Frederick III, the area of Obervellach in 1460 was finally incorporated into the Carinthian possessions of the House of Habsburg.

Twin towns

• Muggia, Italy

References

1. ^ Statistik Austria - Bevölkerung zu Jahres- und Quartalsanfang, 2011-01-01.