By the consistent growth of the city, some smaller villages around – though officially municipalities in their own right – are now widely considered to be suburbs of Lienz. Those suburbs comprise:
Lienz itself was first mentioned asLuenzina in a deed issued by theBishop of Brixen about 1030. The settlement itself, together with neighbouringPatriasdorf, then belonged of thePatriarchs of Aquileia, who were elevated toimmediate landlords by EmperorHenry IV in 1077. It was then purchased by the scions of theMeinhardiner dynasty, who held the office of AquileianVögte (reeves) and chose Lienz as a residence. From about 1127 they called themselvesCounts of Görz (Gorizia).
Located on the important trade route fromVenzone inFriuli toSalzburg, themarket town of Lienz receivedcity rights on 25 February 1242. In 1278 the Counts finishedBurg Bruck, a castle that until 1500 served as their local seat. When the Meinhardiner became extinct in 1500 upon the death of CountLeonhard of Gorizia, their estates were bequeathed to theHabsburg KingMaximilian I and finally incorporated into theCounty of Tyrol. From the status of a princely residence, Lienz sank to the insignificance of a provincial town within theHabsburg monarchy.
Lienz has relatively warm and humid summers and cold winters. 1971–2000 there was a recorded precipitation of 915 mm (36 in). Most of the rain falls during the summer months, especially from June to August (respectively 98, 119 and 100 mm (3.9, 4.7 and 3.9 in)). The driest months are January and February (42 and 35 mm (1.7 and 1.4 in))
The average temperature in July is 18.5 °C (65.3 °F). In January it is about −5.2 °C (22.6 °F). Lienz is also one of the sunniest cities in Austria with an average of 5.4 hours of sun per day or 1952 hours per year. TheKöppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Dfb" (humid continental).[5]
Lienz is located at a road junction between the Drautalstraße highway, leading fromCarinthia to thePuster Valley in the Italian province ofSouth Tyrol (B100), and the Felbertauernstraße (B108) from Lienz toMittersill inSalzburg. It is also connected by theDrautalbahn railway line fromVillach toInnichen in South Tyrol. TheFelbertauerntunnel between Mittersill and Lienz was completed in 1967.[8]
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