Matrei in Osttirol

Coat of arms

Matrei in Osttirol

Location within Austria

Coordinates: 47°00′00″N 12°32′24″E / 47.00000°N 12.54000°ECoordinates: 47°00′00″N 12°32′24″E / 47.00000°N 12.54000°E

Country

Government

• Mayor

Andreas Köll

Area

• Total

277.8 km² (107.3 sq mi)

Elevation

975 m (3,199 ft)

Population (1 January 2016)

• Total

4,675

• Density

17/km² (44/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postal code

9971

Area code

04875

Vehicle registration

Website

www.matrei-ost.tirol.gv.at

Matrei in Osttirol is a market town in the Lienz District in the Austrian state of Tyrol (East Tyrol). It is situated about 29 km (18 mi) north of Lienz within the Hohe Tauern mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps. Its municipal area comprises parts of the Granatspitze Group and the Venediger Group, with the Großvenediger peak (3,657 m (11,998 ft)) as its highest point. The population largely depends on tourism, seasonal agriculture and forestry.

The settlement of Matereie was first mentioned in an 1170 deed, its name derived from Indo-European mater ("mother"). It appeared as Windisch Matrei in 1335, the denotation Wendish however not referring to the long assimilated Alpine Slavic population but distinguishing it from North Tyrolean Matrei am Brenner. It remained the official name of the municipality until 1921.

In the mid 8th century, the Slavic principality of Carantania had been incorporated by the German stem duchy of Bavaria, which itself became part of the Frankish Carolingian Empire in 788. The East Tyrolean area down to the Drava river was Christianised by missionaries from the Archdiocese of Salzburg in the north, its sphere of influence confirmed by Emperor Charlemagne in 811. Upon the Carolingian fragmentation of the 9th century, it belonged to the Lurngau, a county of the re-established Bavarian duchy within East Francia.

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Wikipedia