Together with other Alpine towns Villach engages in theAlpine Town of the Year Association for the implementation of the Alpine Convention to achieve sustainable development in the Alpine Arc. In 1997, Villach was the first town to be awarded Alpine Town of the Year.
Villach is astatutory city, on theDrau River near its confluence with theGail tributary, at the western rim of theKlagenfurt basin. The municipal area stretches from the slopes of theGailtal Alps (Mt. Dobratsch) down toLake Ossiach in the northeast.
The Villach city limits comprise the following districts and villages:
Drobollach am Faaker See (Drobolje ob Baškem jezeru)
Duel (Dole)
Egg am Faaker See (Brdo ob Baškem jezeru)
Goritschach (Goriče)
Graschitz (Krošče)
Gratschach (Grače pri Šentrupertu)
Greuth (Rute pri Beljaku)
Gritschach (Griče)
Großsattel (Sedlo)
Großvassach (Velike Laze pri Beljaku)
Heiligen Gestade
Heiligengeist (Sveti Duh)
Kleinsattel (Malo Sedlo)
Kleinvassach (Male Laze pri Beljaku)
Kratschach (Hrašče pri Mariji na Zilji)
Kumitz
Landskron (Vajškra)
Maria Gail (Marija na Zilji)
Mittewald ober dem Faaker See (Na Dobrovi)
Mittewald ob Villach
Neufellach (Nova Bela)
Neulandskron (Nova Vajškra)
Obere Fellach (Gornja Bela)
Oberfederaun (Gornji Vetrov)
Oberschütt (Rogaje pod Dobračem)
Oberwollanig
Pogöriach (Pogorje)
Prossowitsch (Prosoviče)
Rennstein
Serai (Seraje)
St. Andrä
St. Georgen
St. Leonhard
St. Magdalen
St. Michael
St. Niklas an der Drau (Miklavž na Dravi)
St. Ruprecht
St. Ulrich
Tschinowitsch (Činoviče)
Turdanitsch (Trdaniče pri Mariji na Zilji)
Untere Fellach (Spodnja Bela)
Unterfederaun (Pod Vetrovom)
Unterschütt (Zabuče pri Brnci)
Unterwollanig
Urlaken
Villach-Auen (Log pri Beljaku)
Villach-Innere Stadt (Beljak - Mesto)
Villach-Lind (Beljak - Lipa)
Villach-Seebach-Wasenboden
Villach-St. Agathen und Perau
Villach-St. Martin
Villach-Völkendorf
Villach-Warmbad-Judendorf (Beljaške Toplice)
Weißenbach
Zauchen (Suha pri Vernberku)
In 1905 a part of the municipal area St. Martin was incorporated. In 1973 the city area was further enlarged through the incorporation of Landskron, Maria Gail and Fellach.
The oldest human traces found in Villach date back to the lateNeolithic. ManyRoman artifacts have been discovered in the city and its vicinity, as it was near an importantRoman road (today calledRömerweg) leading fromItaly into theNoricum province established in 15 BC. At the time, amansio namedSanctium was probably located at thehot spring in the present-day Warmbad quarter south of the city centre. After theMigration Period and theSlavic settlement of the Eastern Alps about 600 AD, the area became part of theCarantania principality.
When about 740 PrinceBoruth enlisted the aid of DukeOdilo of Bavaria against the invadingAvars, he had to acceptBavarian overlordship. An 878 deed of donation, issued by theCarolingian rulerCarloman of Bavaria, mentioned a bridge (ad pontem Uillach) near the royal court ofTreffen, in what is today Villach.[citation needed] In 979 EmperorOtto II enfeoffed Bishop Albuin ofBrixen with the Villach manor. After his death, KingHenry II in 1007 ceded the settlement to the newly establishedBishopric of Bamberg. The bishops also held the adjacent estates along the strategically important route to Italy up toPontafel, which they retained until 1759 while the surroundingCarinthian ducal lands passed to the AustrianHouse of Habsburg in 1335.
Drava bridge near the city centre
Villach receivedmarket rights in 1060, though it was not mentioned as atown in records until about 1240. The parish church dedicated toSt. James was first documented in 1136. EmperorFrederick II conferred the citizens the right to hold an annual fair on the feast of 25 July (Jakobitag) in 1222. The1348 Friuli earthquake devastated large parts of the town; another devastating earthquake occurred in 1690. There were also several fires in Villach, which destroyed many buildings. The first documented mayor took office in the 16th century.
From 1526 onwards, many citizens turnedProtestant and the Villach parish became a centre of the new faith within the Carinthian estates, which entailed harshCounter-Reformation measures by the ecclesiastical rulers. From about 1600, numerous residents were forced to leave the town, precipitating an economic decline. In 1759 theHabsburg empressMaria Theresa formally purchased the Bamberg territories in Carinthia for a price of one millionflorins. Villach was incorporated into the "hereditary lands" of theHabsburg monarchy and became the administrative seat of a Carinthian district.
During theNapoleonic Wars, the city was occupied byFrench troops and became part of the short-livedIllyrian Provinces from 1809, until it was re-conquered by the forces of theAustrian Empire in 1813 and incorporated into the AustrianKingdom of Illyria by 1816. The city's economy was decisively promoted by a western branch of theSouthern Railway line, which finally reached Villach in 1864, providing growth and expansion. By 1880, the town had a population of 6,104. InWorld War I, Villach near theItalian front was the seat of the 10th Army command of theAustro-Hungarian Army.
The town obtainedstatutory city status during theinterwar period on 1 January 1932. After the AustrianAnschluss toNazi Germany in 1938, the mayor of Villach was Oskar Kraus, an enthusiasticNazi.[5] On 9 November 1938 Villach was a site of the nationwideKristallnacht pogroms with violent attacks on theJewish population. A memorial for the 1919 border conflict that led to theCarinthian Plebiscite caused controversy when it was inaugurated in 2002, as Kraus, who had not been especially prominent in the conflict, was the only person named.[6]
DuringWorld War II, allied forcesbombed Villach 37 times. About 42,500 bombs killed 300 people and damaged 85% of the buildings. Nevertheless, the city quickly recovered.[7] Today, Villach is a bustling city with commerce and recreation, yet it retains its historic background.
On 15 February 2025, a 14-year-old boy was killed while five people were injured in aknife attack. A 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker was arrested by two female police officers.[8][9]
The city government of Villach (Stadtsenat) consists of seven members. It is chaired by the mayor, who is directly elected by the people. The other members—two vice-mayors and four town councillors—are appointed by the municipal council, with party affiliations according to the election results.
Mayor Günther Albel, SPÖ
First Deputy Mayor Petra Oberrauner, SPÖ
Second Deputy Mayor Gerda Sandriesser, SPÖ
Councillor Peter F. Weidinger, ÖVP
Councillor Erwin Baumann, FPÖ
Councillor Harald Sobe, SPÖ
Councillor Katharina Spanring, ÖVP
In the March 2015 elections, Günther Albel was elected with 55.46 per cent of the votes cast.[11]
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