Malta, Austria

Malta

Coat of arms

Malta

Location within Austria

Coordinates: 46°58′N 13°31′E / 46.967°N 13.517°ECoordinates: 46°58′N 13°31′E / 46.967°N 13.517°E

Country

Government

• Mayor

Klaus Rüscher

Area

• Total

261.77 km² (101.07 sq mi)

Elevation

843 m (2,766 ft)

Population (1 January 2016)

• Total

2,024

• Density

7.7/km² (20/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postal code

9854

Area code

04733

Malta is a municipality in the district of Spittal an der Drau, in the Austrian state of Carinthia.

The municipal area, with 262 square kilometres (101 sq mi) the second largest in Carinthia, covers most of the Maltatal valley, stretching from the Ankogel Group of the Hohe Tauern range in the northwest down to the town of Gmünd on the Lieser river, a tributary of the Drava. In the southwest it borders on the Reißeck municipality, while the Alpine crest including the Ankogel and Hochalmspitze peaks forms the northern border with the Austrian state of Salzburg. It includes the cadastral communities (Katastralgemeinden) of Dornbach, Malta proper, and Maltaberg.

Formerly an agricultural area, the local economy today largely depends on tourism with about 120,000 overnight stays per year. Attractions include a former provost's cottage (turned into an open-air museum) and the Fallbach Klettersteig, a via ferrata along the Fallbach waterfall. In 1987 the Nationalpark Hohe Tauern was extended as far as the Ankogel Group and today, some 85.7 square kilometres of the municipal area are part of the national park territory.

Already settled in pre-Roman times, the first documented mention of Malta was between 957 and 992 under the name locus Malontina. In the 11th century, Ödenfest Castle was erected on the northern slopes of the Maltatal valley, then held by ministeriales of the Bishops of Brixen. It was devastated in the early 14th century, when the local Counts of Malta revolted against the Meinhardiner dukes of Carinthia.

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Wikipedia