Griffen | |
|---|---|
 West-southwest view of Griffen | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Griffen Location within Austria | |
| Coordinates:46°42′N14°44′E / 46.700°N 14.733°E /46.700; 14.733 | |
| Country | Austria |
| State | Carinthia |
| District | Völkermarkt |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Josef Müller (ÖVP) |
| Area | |
• Total | 74.75 km2 (28.86 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 484 m (1,588 ft) |
| Population (2018-01-01)[2] | |
• Total | 3,466 |
| • Density | 46.37/km2 (120.1/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 9112 |
| Area code | 04233 |
| Website | www.griffen.at |
Griffen (Slovene:Grebinj) is amarket town in the district ofVölkermarkt in theAustrian state ofCarinthia.
Griffen lies in the wideJauntal valley of theDrava River, between theKlagenfurt basin in the west and theLavant Valley in the north.
The municipal area comprises thecadastral communities of Griffnerthal, Großenegg (Tolsti Vrh), Haberberg (Gabrje), Kaunz (Homec), Kleindörfl (Mala vas), Pustritz (Pustrica), Sankt Kollmann (Šentkolman), Wölfnitz (Golovica), and Wriesen (Brezje). It is further subdivided into 35 villages and hamlets.
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From the 7th century onwards, theJauntal (Slovene:Podjuna) area was a centre of theSlavic settlement of the Eastern Alps and part of the early medieval principality ofCarantania. Up to today it remains a core territory of theCarinthian Slovenes.
The settlement was first mentioned in an 822 deed, after Carantania had been incorporated into theCarolingian Empire and evolved to the BavarianMarch of Carinthia. From 1124 onwards BishopOtto of Bamberg hadGriffen Castle erected within theCarinthian possessions of theprince-bishopric, received from the hands of KingHenry II of Germany in 1007. TheGrivena fortress was acknowledged as a Bamberg estate by EmperorFrederick Barbarossa in 1160. From 1237 Griffen heldmarket rights.
From about 1233 the Bamberg bishops had theRomanesque Griffen parish church enlarged and rebuilt as aPremonstratensian monastery. The first canons descended fromVessra Abbey in the FranconianCounty of Henneberg. The monastery complex was completed in 1272 and significantly enlarged byBaroque buildings in the 17th century. Griffen remained the only Premonstratensian abbey in theInner Austrian lands until its abolition under the rule of EmperorJoseph II in 1786.
Griffen itself remained a possession of the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg until the estates were purchased by EmpressMaria Theresa in 1759. The castle decayed and today lies in ruins. The present-day municipality emerged in 1850, it temporarily also comprised neighbouringRuden. After theCarinthian referendum of 1920, multiple tensions arose between the Slovene- and German-speaking population, which culminated in the persecution and displacement of Carinthian Slovenes after the AustrianAnschluss toNazi Germany in 1938.
Seats in the municipal assembly (Gemeinderat) as of 2009 local elections:
The village of Altenmarkt (Stara vas) is the birthplace of Austrian writerPeter Handke, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.
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