Reißeck

Infobox Town AT
name=Reißeck
name_local=
image_coa = Wappen at reisseck.png

state = Carinthia
regbzk =
district = Spittal an der Drau
population =2521
population_as_of = 2001
population_ref =
pop_dens =
area = 139.83
elevation = 613
lat_deg=46
lat_min=53
lat_hem=N
lon_deg=13
lon_min=18
lon_hem=E
postal_code = 9815, 9816
area_code =04783
mayor = Gerd Pichler
website = [http://www.reisseck.at www.reisseck.at]

Reißeck is a municipality in the district of Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia in Austria. Situated within the valley of the Möll River, a tributary to the Drava, Reißeck consists of the four Katastralgemeinden "Kolbnitz", "Zandlach", "Penk" and "Teuchl". The commune was established in 1973 and named after the northern "Reißeck" mountain (2,965m/9,727ft), a part of the Hohe Tauern range like the Kreuzeck Group in the south.

"Kolbnitz" is the site of two hydroelectric power plants ("Kraftwerk Kolbnitz" and "Kraftwerk Rottau") run by the Verbund power company. The water is collected in several reservoirs at the "Reißeck" and "Kreuzeck" mountains as well as in the northern Malta valley and lead to the plant through five penstocks with an maximum altitude difference of about 1772m/5815ft. Seven ("Kraftwerk Kolbnitz") resp. four ("Kraftwerk Rottau") Pelton wheels, generating a maximum electric power of 138 to 220 Megawatt each, provide an overall annual electricity production of 1013 mio Kilowatt hours. A funicular railway parallel to the penstock runs up the "Reißeck" mountain to a hotel at an altitude of 2236m/7336ft.

Danielsberg

The cone shaped 966m (3170ft) "Danielsberg" west of "Kolbnitz" had been a settlement area since the days of the Stone Age. Archaelogical artifacts found near the water well at the summit indicate the existence of a Celtic sacred grove and a Roman temple. An Early Christian church dedicated to prophet Daniel was probably erected about 313.

After Bishop Modestus had christianized the area again in the 8th century, a new church was built at the summit in 1172. It was first mentioned as "monte sancti Danielis" in a 1252 deed at the occasion of Count Meinhard I of Gorizia-Tyrol's unsuccessful campaign against Duke Bernhard von Spanheim. The church was enlarged in 1515 and a steeple attached in 1750. Beneath the church is the "Herkuleshof", now a hotel, erected in 1908.

Transportation

Reißeck can be reached via the "B106 Mölltal Straße" highway from Lurnfeld in the Drava valley to Obervellach and the Tauern Rail Tunnel. It also has access to the "Tauernbahn" railway line from Spittal an der Drau to Schwarzach im Pongau at the stations "Kolbnitz" and "Penk".

Twin towns

*flagicon|Germany Königsbronn, Germany
*flagicon|Germany Thalmässing, Germany