Wernberg

Wernberg Castle

Coat of arms

Wernberg

Location within Austria

Coordinates: 46°37′N 13°56′E / 46.617°N 13.933°ECoordinates: 46°37′N 13°56′E / 46.617°N 13.933°E

Country

Government

• Mayor

Franz Zwölbar (SPÖ)

Area

• Total

26.42 km² (10.20 sq mi)

Elevation

590 m (1,940 ft)

Population (1 January 2016)

• Total

5,587

• Density

210/km² (550/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postal code

9241

Area code

04252

Website

www.wernberg.gv.at

Wernberg (Slovene: Vernberk) is a municipality in the district of Villach-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia.

Wernberg lies on the Drava river at the foot of the Ossiach Tauern range, east of Villach, and between Ossiacher See on the north, Wörthersee on the east, and the Faaker See in the southern part of the municipality. It is located at the northwestern rim of the traditional settlement area of Carinthian Slovenes.

The municipal area comprises the cadastral communities of Neudorf (Nova vas), Sand (Pešče), Trabenig (Trabenče), Umberg (Umbar), and Wernberg (Vernberk).

Archaeological findings indicate an early settlement of the area already in Roman times. A castle near the village of Sternberg, today a ruin, was first mentioned in a deed issued at Saint Paul's Abbey about 1170/80. Wernberg itself first appeared in a document dated 17 November 1227 determining the demolition of a Drava bridge and the transfer of Werdenberch Castle to the Carinthian estates of the Bishopric of Bamberg.

The castle, situated on arock above the Drava river, was built under the rule of Duke Bernhard of Carinthia, it later passed to the Austrian Habsburgs. Held by the Khevenhüller noble family from 1519 onwards, the present-day Renaissance building was erected at the behest of the Carinthian governor George Khevenhüller (1533–1587). Part of the Ossiach Abbey estates from 1672, it is since 1935 a possession of the Catholic Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood.

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Wikipedia