Carinthia

Carinthia (German: Kärnten, German pronunciation: [ˈkɛɐ̯ntn̩], Slovene: Koroška,  pronunciation , Croatian: Koruška, Italian: Carinzia, Hungarian: Karintia) is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carinthian Slovene dialects, which predominated in the southern part of the region up to the first half of the 20th century, are now spoken by a small minority.

Carinthia's main industries are tourism, electronics, engineering, forestry, and agriculture. The multinational corporations Philips, Infineon and Siemens have large operations there.

Name

The name “Carinthia” (Carantania) comes from the pre-indogermanic root “car” meaning “rock”.Carantania is also related to the Old Slavic Korotan, from which the modern name Koroška arose, and it derives from pre-Slavic "carantia".

Geography

Carinthia consists mostly of the Klagenfurt basin and the mountain ranges of Upper Carinthia. The Carnic Alps and the Karawanken/Karavanke make up the border to the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Slovenia. The Hohe Tauern mountain range with mount Grossglockner 3,797 m (12,457.35 ft) separates it from the northern state of Salzburg. To the northeast and east beyond the Packsattel mountain pass is the state of Styria (German: Steiermark, Slovenian: Štajerska). The main river is the Drau (Drava), it makes up a continuous valley with the East Tyrol to the west. Tributaries to the Drau are the Gurk, the Glan, the Lavant, and the Gail rivers. Carinthia's lakes including Wörther See, Millstätter See, Ossiacher See, and Faaker See are a major tourist attraction.

Duchy of Carinthia

The Duchy of Carinthia (German: Herzogtum Kärnten; Slovene: Vojvodina Koroška) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchies.

Carinthia remained a part of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, and a crown land of Austria-Hungary until 1918. By the Carinthian Plebiscite in October 1920, the main area of the duchy formed the Austrian state of Carinthia. A small southeastern part (the present-day region of Slovenian Carinthia) was included in the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The southwestern Canal Valley (Val Canale) with the town of Malborghetto Valbruna was ceded to the Kingdom of Italy by the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain.

Carantania and medieval dynasties

In the seventh century the area was part of the Slavic principality of Carantania, which fell under the suzerainty of Duke Odilo of Bavaria in about 743. The Bavarian stem duchy was incorporated into the Carolingian Empire when Charlemagne deposed Odilo's son Duke Tassilo III in 788. In the 843 partition by the Treaty of Verdun, Carinthia became part of East Francia under King Louis the German. From 889 to 976 it was the Carinthian March of the renewed Bavarian duchy, though in 927 the local Count Berthold of the Luitpolding dynasty was vested with ducal rights by the German king Henry the Fowler. After Berthold became Duke of Bavaria in 938, both territories were ruled by him. Upon his death in 948 the Luitpoldings, though heirs of the royal Ottonian dynasty, were not able to retain their possessions, as King Otto I bought the loyalty of his younger brother Henry I with the Bavarian lands.

Carinthia (disambiguation)

Carinthia (/kəˈrɪnθiə/) may refer to:

See also