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26-592: Bad Bleiberg is situated west of the district's capital Villach in a high valley on the northern slope of the Dobratsch ( Villacher Alpe ) massif, the easternmost part of the Gailtal Alps mountain range. The municipal area comprises the cadastral communities of Bleiberg proper and Kreuth. King Henry II of Germany granted the Carinthian lands around Villach to the newly created Diocese of Bamberg at

52-538: A part of the municipal area St. Martin was incorporated. In 1973 the city area was further enlarged through the incorporation of Landskron, Maria Gail and Fellach. Villach has a cool summer humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfb ). The oldest human traces found in Villach date back to the late Neolithic . Many Roman artifacts have been discovered in the city and its vicinity, as it was near an important Roman road (today called Römerweg ) leading from Italy into

78-499: Is derived from manere , signifying to pass the night at a place while travelling (the word is likely to be the source of the English word mansion , though their uses are entirely different). These substantial structures, normally in the form of a villa, were dedicated to the travellers' rest and refreshment. Guests were expected to provide a passport to identify themselves. In many cases infrastructure to sustain them sprang up around

104-677: Is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia . It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. As of January 2018 , the population is 61,887. Together with other Alpine towns Villach engages in the Alpine Town of the Year Association for the implementation of the Alpine Convention to achieve sustainable development in

130-588: The Ancient World were later surveyed, developed and carefully maintained by the Romans, featuring purpose-built rest stops at regular intervals, known as castra . Probably originally established as simple places of military encampment, in process of time they included barracks and magazines of provisions ( horrea ) for the troops. Over time the need arose for a more sophisticated form of shelter for travelling dignitaries and officials. The Latin term mansio

156-661: The Frankfurt synod of 1 November 1007, together with other estates like Griffen or the Canal Valley around Tarvisio . When under Emperor Frederick II Bamberg was elevated to a Prince-Bishopric , the territories became ecclesiastical exclaves within the territory of the Carinthian dukes. In 1759 the Bamberg estates were finally acquired by Empress Maria Theresa and incorporated into Habsburg Carinthia. The mine

182-709: The Noricum province established in 15 BC. At the time, a mansio named Sanctium was probably located at the hot spring in the present-day Warmbad quarter south of the city centre. After the Migration Period and the Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps about 600 AD, the area became part of the Carantania principality. When about 740 Prince Boruth enlisted the aid of Duke Odilo of Bavaria against

208-440: The mansio , but also the villas of provincial officials; forts and ultimately even cities. Ox-drawn carts could travel about 30 km per day; pedestrians a little farther, so each mansio was about 25 to 30 km from the next. At each mansio cisiarii kept gigs for hire and for conveying government dispatches ( Cisium ; Essedum ). The Itinerarium Burdigalense , which is a road book drawn up in 333, mentions in order

234-455: The mansiones from Bordeaux to Jerusalem with the intervening mutationes , and other, more considerable places, which are called either civitates , vici , or castella . The number of leagues or of miles between one place and another is also set down. New mansio locations continue to be discovered and yield archaeological elements, e.g. in July 2024 a ring with the inscription "Roma"

260-451: The 2015 elections: The city government of Villach (Stadtsenat) consists of seven members. It is chaired by the mayor, who is directly elected by the people. The other members—two vice-mayors and four town councillors—are appointed by the municipal council, with party affiliations according to the election results. In the March 2015 elections, Günther Albel was elected with 55.46 per cent of

286-720: The Alpine Arc. In 1997, Villach was the first town to be awarded Alpine Town of the Year. Villach is a statutory city , on the Drau River near its confluence with the Gail tributary, at the western rim of the Klagenfurt basin. The municipal area stretches from the slopes of the Gailtal Alps (Mt. Dobratsch) down to Lake Ossiach in the northeast. The Villach city limits comprise the following districts and villages: In 1905

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312-623: The Austrian Anschluss to Nazi Germany in 1938, the mayor of Villach was Oskar Kraus, an enthusiastic Nazi . On 9 November 1938 Villach was a site of the nationwide Kristallnacht pogroms with violent attacks on the Jewish population. A memorial for the 1919 border conflict that led to the Carinthian Plebiscite caused controversy when it was inaugurated in 2002, as Kraus, who had not been especially prominent in

338-527: The Villach parish became a centre of the new faith within the Carinthian estates, which entailed harsh Counter-Reformation measures by the ecclesiastical rulers. From about 1600, numerous residents were forced to leave the town, precipitating an economic decline. In 1759 the Habsburg empress Maria Theresa formally purchased the Bamberg territories in Carinthia for a price of one million florins . Villach

364-501: The adjacent estates along the strategically important route to Italy up to Pontafel , which they retained until 1759 while the surrounding Carinthian ducal lands passed to the Austrian House of Habsburg in 1335. Villach received market rights in 1060, though it was not mentioned as a town in records until about 1240. The parish church dedicated to St. James was first documented in 1136. Emperor Frederick II conferred

390-669: The case may be. One of the best hostels was the Tabernae Caediciae at Sinuessa on the Via Appia . It had a large storage room containing barrels of wine, cheese and ham. Many cities of today grew up around a taberna complex, such as Rheinzabern in the Rhineland, and Saverne in Alsace . A third system of way stations serviced vehicles and animals: the mutationes ("changing stations") ( ἀλλαγαὶ ). In these complexes,

416-399: The citizens the right to hold an annual fair on the feast of 25 July ( Jakobitag ) in 1222. The 1348 Friuli earthquake devastated large parts of the town; another devastating earthquake occurred in 1690. There were also several fires in Villach, which destroyed many buildings. The first documented mayor took office in the 16th century. From 1526 onwards, many citizens turned Protestant and

442-432: The conflict, was the only person named. During World War II , allied forces bombed Villach 37 times. About 42,500 bombs killed 300 people and damaged 85% of the buildings. Nevertheless, the city quickly recovered. Today, Villach is a bustling city with commerce and recreation, yet it retains its historic background. The municipal council ( Gemeinderat ) consists of 45 members, with the mayor as president, and following

468-525: The invading Avars , he had to accept Bavarian overlordship. An 878 deed of donation, issued by the Carolingian ruler Carloman of Bavaria , mentioned a bridge ( ad pontem Uillach ) near the royal court of Treffen , in what is today Villach. In 979 Emperor Otto II enfeoffed Bishop Albuin of Brixen with the Villach manor. After his death, King Henry II in 1007 ceded the settlement to the newly established Bishopric of Bamberg . The bishops also held

494-535: The road were required by law to offer hospitality on demand. Frequented houses no doubt became the first tabernae (Latin word " taberna " ("shed" or "hut"; from tabula , meaning "board"), which were hostels , rather than the " taverns " we know today. A tabernaculum or small taberna was a portable place of worship for the Hebrews , thus producing the word tabernacle . As Rome grew, so did its tabernae, becoming more luxurious and acquiring good or bad reputations as

520-444: The same locations as the mansiones . A private system of cauponae were placed near the mansiones . They performed the same functions but were somewhat disreputable, as they were frequented by thieves and prostitutes. Graffiti decorate the walls of the few whose ruins have been found. Genteel travellers needed something better than cauponae . In the early days of the viae , when little unofficial travel existed, houses placed near

546-571: The votes cast. Villach is twinned with: There are several festivals throughout the year: Mansio In the Roman Empire , a mansio (from the Latin word mansus, the perfect passive participle of manere "to remain" or "to stay") was an official stopping place on a Roman road , or via , maintained by the central government for the use of officials and those on official business whilst travelling. The roads which traversed

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572-602: Was decisively promoted by a western branch of the Southern Railway line, which finally reached Villach in 1864, providing growth and expansion. By 1880, the town had a population of 6,104. In World War I , Villach near the Italian front was the seat of the 10th Army command of the Austro-Hungarian Army . The town obtained statutory city status during the interwar period on 1 January 1932. After

598-671: Was discovered at a mansio near Coriglia close to Orvieto . The mansio was under the superintendence of an officer called " mansionarius ". As the bishops assumed control in the Christian West during the fifth and sixth centuries, the office of mansionarius developed new connotations. Mansionarius is inserted as a synonym of prosmonarius/paramonarius in canon 2 of the Fourth Ecumenical Council (451). Non-official travellers needed refreshment too, and different grades of facilities were available, often at

624-519: Was established in 1850, it received the status of a market town in 1930. When in 1951 a hot spring had flooded an adit, a public bath was established and Bleiberg received the official Bad title of a spa town in 1978. Seats in the municipal assembly ( Gemeinderat ) as of 2015 local elections: Oskar Potiorek (1853–1933), Austro-Hungarian army officer Villach Villach ( German pronunciation: [ˈfɪlax] ; Slovene : Beljak ; Italian : Villaco ; Friulian : Vilac )

650-473: Was first mentioned as Pleyberg in a 1333 deed issued by the Bamberg bishops; it was operated by the Swabian Fugger family from the late 15th century onwards. Georgius Agricola described the mining and smelting of lead and zinc in his 1556 book De re metallica . Mining operations ceased in 1993 for economic reasons, today a tourist mine offers guided underground tours. The current municipality

676-624: Was incorporated into the "hereditary lands" of the Habsburg monarchy and became the administrative seat of a Carinthian district. During the Napoleonic Wars , the city was occupied by French troops and became part of the short-lived Illyrian Provinces from 1809, until it was re-conquered by the forces of the Austrian Empire in 1813 and incorporated into the Austrian Kingdom of Illyria by 1816. The city's economy

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