Spittal an der Drau
| Spittal an der Drau | |
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View from Mt. Goldeck towards the Gurktal Alps
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 Spittal an der Drau
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| Coordinates: 46°47′N 13°29′E / 46.783°N 13.483°ECoordinates: 46°47′N 13°29′E / 46.783°N 13.483°E | |
| Country | Austria |
| State | Carinthia |
| District | Spittal an der Drau |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Gerhard Pirih (SPÖ) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 48.51 km2 (18.73 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 560 m (1,840 ft) |
| Population (1 January 2016) | |
| • Total | 15,505 |
| • Density | 320/km2 (830/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal codes | 9800, 9701, 9702 |
| Area code | 4762 |
| Website | www.spittal-drau.at |
Spittal an der Drau is a town in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia. It is the administrative centre of Spittal an der Drau District, Austria's second largest district (Bezirk) by area.
The town is located on the southern slopes of the Gurktal Alps (Nock Mountains), between the Lurnfeld Basin and the Lower Drava Valley. Despite its name the historic core of Spittal originated on the banks of the small Lieser tributary, which flows into the Drava at the foot of Mt. Goldeck, a peak of the Gailtal Alps south of the town. Its summit can be reached by cable car.
The municipal area consists of seven Katastralgemeinden: Amlach, Edling, Großegg, Molzbichl, Olsach, Spittal proper, and St. Peter-Edling. In Großegg (incorporated in 1973), the area of Spittal extends to the southern shore of Lake Millstatt.
The settlement was first mentioned in an 1191 deed issued by Archbishop Adalbert of Salzburg, when the local Carinthian counts Hermann I and Otto II of Ortenburg had a hospital (Spittl) with a chapel built where the ancient road leading to the Katschberg Pass and Salzburg crossed the Lieser river. The adjacent settlement received market rights in 1242. Together with the Ortenburg estates, Spittal in 1418 was inherited by Count Hermann II of Celje. The Counts of Cilli, raised to immediate Reichsgrafen in 1436, became extinct when Count Ulrich II was killed by the liegemen of László Hunyadi in 1456, after which the Habsburg emperor Frederick III, also Duke of Carinthia, seized his territory.
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