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Villach

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coat of Arms	Map

General information
Federal State:	Carinthia
Bezirk:	Villach (Statutarstadt)
Area:	134.89 km²
Population:	57,612 (2002)
Population density:	428/km²
Elevation:	501 m
Postal code:	A-9500
Area code (telephone):	+43 4242
Location:	46°37′30″N, 13°50′3″E
Community Identification Number:	20201
Address of the City Hall:	Rathausplatz 1 A-9500 Villach
Website:	http://www.villach.at
e-mail:	service@villach.at
Politics
Mayor:	Helmut Manzenreiter (SPÖ)
Map: Villach in Carinthia

Villach [ˈfɪlax] (Slovenian Beljak) is the second largest city in Carinthia in the south of Austria, on the river Drau (Slovenian Drava) and represents an important traffic junction for Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. It currently has 57,646 inhabitants.

1 Geography
- 1.1 Geographical position
- 1.2 Structure
2 History
- 2.1 Incorporations
3 Politics
4 Festivals
5 Notable citizens
6 External link

The centre is located at the western border of the Klagenfurt Basin at the confluence of the Drau and Gail rivers.

The municipal area borders resp. surrounds several lakes, among Ossiacher See, Faaker See, Silbersee, Vassacher See, Magdalensee and St. Leonharder See.

Villach is also surrounded by the mountains of the Alps which are used for skiing in winter and hiking in summer. It is located half an hour by train or car from the border to Italy or Slovenia.

The following locations and districts belong to Villach:

Bogenfeld, Dobrova, Drautschen, Drobollach am Faaker See, Duel, Egg am Faaker See, Goritschach, Graschitz, Gratschach, Greuth, Gritschach, Großsattel, Großvassach, Heiligen Gestade, Heiligengeist, Kleinsattel, Kleinvassach, Kratschach, Kumitz, Landskron, Maria Gail, Mittewald ober dem Faaker See, Mittewald ob Villach, Neufellach, Neulandskron, Obere Fellach, Oberfederaun, Oberschütt, Oberwollanig, Pogöriach, Prossowitsch, Rennstein, Serai, St. Andrä, St. Georgen, St. Leonhard, St. Magdalen, St. Michael, St. Niklas an der Drau, St. Ruprecht, St. Ulrich, Tschinowitsch, Turdanitsch, Untere Fellach, Unterfederaun, Unterschütt, Unterwollanig, Urlaken, Villach-Auen, Villach-Innere Stadt, Villach-Lind, Villach-Seebach-Wasenboden, Villach-St. Agathen und Perau, Villach-St. Martin, Villach-Völkendorf, Villach-Warmbad-Judendorf, Weißenbach, Zauchen

View across the river Drau towards the south

The oldest human traces found in Villach date back to 3500 BC. A lot of Roman artifacts were found there. Villach got its first mayor in the 16th century. On January 25, 1348 an earthquake destroyed a big part of Villach followed by another earthquake in 1690. There were also several fires in Villach which destroyed a lot of buildings. During the time of Napoleon's reign Villach was a part of France. It was reconquered in 1813.

In 1905 a part of the municipal area St. Martin was incorporated. In 1973 the city area enlarged through doing the same with Landskron, Maria Gail and Fellach and reached its current extent.

The municipal council (Gemeinderat) consists of 45 members, whereas the mayor has the presidency.

The municipal council is composed of (2003):

SPÖ: 28 seats
FPÖ: 8 seats
ÖVP: 6 seats
Die Grünen: 2 seats
BLT: 1 seat

The city government of Villach (Stadtsenat) consists of seven members. The mayor has the presidency, who is elected directly by the population of Villach. The two vice-mayors and the town-councillors are elected by the municipal council, whereas the party affiliation is set by the election result.