| Karawanks | |
|---|---|
| Karavankas, Karavanks | |
 View of the Eastern Karawanks from Hochstuhl/Stol | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Hochstuhl / Veliki Stol |
| Elevation | 2,236 m (7,336 ft) |
| Coordinates | 46°26′3″N14°10′24″E / 46.43417°N 14.17333°E /46.43417; 14.17333 |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 120 km (75 mi) |
| Geography | |
.png) The Karawanks (red, left) andPohorje (red, right) | |
| Countries | |
| Range coordinates | 46°25′N14°25′E / 46.417°N 14.417°E /46.417; 14.417 |
| Parent range | Southern Limestone Alps Carinthian-Slovenian Alps |
TheKarawanks[1][2] orKaravankas[3][4] orKaravanks[5][6] (Slovene:Karavanke;German:Karawanken,German pronunciation:[kaʁaˈvaŋkŋ̍]ⓘ) are amountain range of theSouthern Limestone Alps on the border betweenSlovenia to the south andAustria to the north. With a total length of 120 kilometres (75 mi) in an east–west direction, the Karawanks chain is one of the longest ranges inEurope.[7] It is traversed by important trade routes and has a great tourist significance. Geographically and geologically, it is divided into the higher Western Karawanks and the lower-lying Eastern Karawanks. It is traversed by thePeriadriatic Seam, separating theApulian tectonic plate from theEurasian Plate.
Near the summit of theDreiländereck (1,508 m) is thetripoint of the three countries: Austria, Italy and Slovenia.
The Karawanks form the continuation of theCarnic Alps east of theSlizza stream near thetripoint of Austria, Slovenia and Italy atArnoldstein. They are confined by theDrava Valley in the north (calledRosental/Rož) and theSava in the south, separating it from the adjacentJulian Alps. In the east, they border on theKamnik–Savinja Alps andPohorje ranges.
A number of mountain passes on important trade routes cross the range, likeWurzen (Koreno),Loibl (Ljubelj) orSeeberg (Jezero), which have been used sinceprehistory. Nowadays the AustrianKarawanken Autobahn (A11) runs fromVillach to theKaravanke motorway tunnel, which traverses the Western Karawanks connecting it with the SlovenianA2 motorway atJesenice. A parallel railway line crosses the range through theKarawanks railway tunnel.
The Karawanks are a popularmountaineering area with numerousmountain huts. Many of the peaks offer a good view of theKlagenfurt basin on the Austrian side and theLjubljana basin on the Slovene side. The northern Austrian side is rocky and precipitous while the Slovenian side is less steep, covered withspruce forests and low bushypine at lower elevations with grass higher up.
The Karawanks were settled already in theStone Age, as indicated particularly by findings fromPotok Cave. InRoman times, they represented the southern border of theNoricum province, and later, of theSlavic principality ofCarantania. The ancient geographerClaudius Ptolemy mentioned theKarwankas mountains about 150 AD. The name probably is derived fromCeltickarv 'deer', a connection that has survived in theKošuta (Slovene for 'hind') massif.[8]
From the first half of the 11th century, the Karawanks formed the border between the territory of theDuchy of Carinthia and the adjacentMarch of Carniola in the south. After Carniola had been elevated to aduchy in 1364, both lands became part ofInner Austria and werecrown lands of theHabsburg monarchy from 1526 up toWorld War I. The northern slopes of the Karawanks had been historically settled byCarinthian Slovenes, nevertheless in October 1920, theCarinthian Plebiscite decided that the crest was the border between theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (laterYugoslavia); only themunicipality of Jezersko had already passed from Carinthia to Yugoslavia.
In the final weeks of theSecond World War the Karawanks passes witnessed intense fighting. The24th SSKampfgruppe (battlegroup) commanded by SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS (Brigadier)Heinz Harmel was ordered to keep the Karawanken passes open between Yugoslavia and Austria. This task was critical in allowing German forces to withdraw from Yugoslavia in order to surrender to British rather than Yugoslav forces. TheKampfgruppe succeeded in its final task, and was one of the last German units to surrender, when it encountered the British6th Armoured Division on 9 May 1945.[9]
After World War II the Karawanks remained the border between Austria and theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and finally the independent Slovenia from 1991. Since the entry of Slovenia to theSchengen Area in 2007, a free movement of people and goods across the Karawanks has been allowed, and the two countries started to aim for an economic integration of their border areas.[10]
The place names have German as well as Slovenian names, and today the peaks along the main chain of the Karawanks are usually displayed in Slovene and German on hiking maps:
| Peak | Elevation | |
|---|---|---|
| Hochstuhl / Veliki Stol | 2,236 m | 7,336 ft |
| Wertatscha/Vrtača | 2,180 m | 7,150 ft |
| Mittagskogel/Kepa | 2,143 m | 7,031 ft |
| Petzen/Peca | 2,125 m | 6,972 ft |
| Golica/Kahlkogel | 1,836 m | 6,024 ft |
| Wertatscha/Vrtača | 2,181 m | 7,156 ft |
| Koschuta/Košuta | 2,133 m | 6,998 ft |
| Begunjščica/Begunschitza | 2,060 m | 6,760 ft |
| Loibler Baba / Košutica | 1,968 m | 6,457 ft |
| Techantinger Mittagskogel / Trupejevo Poldne | 1,931 | 6,335 ft |
| Ouschewa/Olševa | 1,929 m | 6,329 ft |
| Frauenkogel / Dovška Baba | 1,891 m | 6,204 ft |
| Hahnkogel/Klek | 1,753 m | 5,751 ft |
| Dreiländereck/Peč | 1,508 m | 4,948 ft |
Mountain ranges of theSouthern Limestone Alps according to theAVE | ||
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