Millstatt | |
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 Coat of arms | |
  Millstatt Location within Austria | |
| Coordinates:46°48′19″N13°34′18″E / 46.80528°N 13.57167°E /46.80528; 13.57167 | |
| Country | Austria |
| State | Carinthia |
| District | Spittal an der Drau |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Johann Schuster (SPÖ) |
| Area | |
• Total | 57.74 km2 (22.29 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 611 m (2,005 ft) |
| Population (2018-01-01)[2] | |
• Total | 3,460 |
| • Density | 60/km2 (160/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 9872 |
| Area code | 4766 |
| Vehicle registration | SP |
Millstatt am See[a] is amarket town of theSpittal an der Drau District inCarinthia,Austria. The traditional healthresort andspa town onLake Millstatt is known for former BenedictineMillstatt Abbey, founded about 1070.
It is situated on the southern slope of theGurktal Alps (Nock Mountains), on analluvial fan peninsula on the lake's northern shore. The municipal area reaches from an elevation of 588 m (1,929 ft) at the lakeside to 2,101 m (6,893 ft)AA at the crest of the Millstätter Alpe massif. It comprises thecadastral communities of Millstatt proper,Obermillstatt, Matzelsdorf, and Laubendorf.
Beneath the Millstatt marketplace stand the extensive buildings of the former Benedictine monastery with its four massive towers and the monastery church at the highest point.
While the oldest archaeological artifacts found in the area date back to theNeolithic, the name "Millstatt" may refer to theCeltic expression "mils" meaning mountain stream or brook. TheCelts entered this region from the 5th century BC onwards, their kingdomNoricum came under control of theRoman Empire in 16 BC. During theMigration Period in the 6th centurySlavic tribes settled here in the principality ofCarantania, which became amarch ofBavaria and theFrankish Empire in the late 8th century. According to legend, a Carantanian dukeDomitian († 802?) converted to Christianity and built the first church of Millstatt. He also had one thousand statues ofpagan gods ("mille statuae", see the coat of arms) gathered and thrown into the lake.
About 1070 the BavarianCount PalatineAribo II and his brother Poto establishedMillstatt Abbey, aBenedictine monastery, in Millstatt including a donation of extensive landed property around the lake and estates inSalzburg andFriuli. Although no document is saved the first monks probably descended fromHirsau Abbey. The monastery church, now parish church ofChrist the Savior andAll Saints, was erected in the second quarter of the 12th century. It replaced an earlier church from the days of theCarolingian dynasty, of which some cut stone slabs remained in secondary utilization. While the Counts ofGorizia,Ortenburg andCilli held the office of aVogt protector the monastic community included up to 150 brothers, who made Millstatt a cultural centre of Upper Carinthia and left a famouscodex—the 'Millstatt Manuscript'—inMiddle High German language from around 1200. The decline of the monastery in consequence of economic and disciplinary difficulties led to its abolition byPope Paul II in 1469.
TheHabsburg emperorFrederick III, by this time also Carinthian duke and Vogt of Millstatt, had urged on this decision for the sake of his foundation of theknightly order ofSt. George to which he handed over the monastery and its estates on 14 May 1469. The order left aRenaissance knightly palace south of the monastery finished in 1499. It was meant to serve as a protector against the increasing attacks byOttoman forces, however, the very few knights did not succeed and the area was devastated by the Turks several times between 1473 and 1483. After the death of EmperorMaximilian I in 1519 the disbandment of the order began until its final abolition in 1598.
Meanwhile, theReformation had spread throughout Carinthia and the majority of the population had turned Protestant. The Habsburg archdukeFerdinand II, regent ofInner Austria and later Holy Roman Emperor intended to exterminate Protestantism in his hereditary lands and therefore furnished theJesuit College atGraz with the benefit of the Millstatt monastery. From 1598 onwards the Jesuits pushed theCounter-Reformation by convincing as well as forcing the local inhabitants to return to theCatholic belief. The history of the monastery came to an end, when the Jesuit order wassuppressed byPope Clement XIV in 1773.
After this date Millstatt fell into meaninglessness as monastic centre and the monastic buildings decayed. With Upper Carinthia it became part of the NapoleonicIllyrian Provinces according to the 1809Treaty of Schönbrunn, but was restored to theAustrian Empire by resolution of theVienna Congress in 1815. In 1825 the mountaineerJoseph Kyselak (1799–1831) passed the place and made a note of bedraggled houses and bygone splendour. From 1857 the Carinthian monument conservator Baron Gottlieb von Ankershofen (1795–1860) engaged himself to preserve the remaining art treasures.
The present-day municipality of Millstatt was established in the wake of theRevolutions of 1848 as one of the subsequently founded Carinthian municipalities. In 1888Obermillstatt was split off as a separate community, but both parts of Millstatt merged again in 1973.
Millstatt was since the 1960s a destination of mass tourism (mostly from West Germany), but has recently evolved as destination of quality tourism and a hotspot of second homes/ vacation properties.
A first guest fromVienna is documented in 1869, arriving by train at theVillach railway terminus and staying at the local inn. From about 1870 onwards Millstatt developed from a sedate village to a fashionable summerresort for the nobility and the wealthy bourgeoisie of theAustro-Hungarian Empire. It was in this year when wealthy publisher and son of an oldBohemian glass manufacturing dynasty, Rudolf Schürer von Waldheim, came to Millstatt to build the first hotel in town, theHotel See-Villa according to plans designed by architectKarl Mayreder in 1883-84. The area gained direct access to the AustrianSouthern Railway line by the opening of the branch-off to nearby Spittal-Millstättersee station in 1873, followed by the inauguration of theTauern Railway line in 1909.
On 7 June 1885,Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, younger brother of EmperorFranz Joseph, visited theSee-Villa and talked about it in highest tones; thus, increasing the popularity of the hotel and of Millstatt in general.[4] During theFin de siècle era of the 1880s and 90s numerous inns and hotels opened, while nobles and rich citizens had lavish holiday homes erected on the lakeside. The town's increasing economic dependence on tourism became obvious in the first recession duringWorld War I, later Millstatt was badly hurt by theGreat Depression of the late 1920s. The local authorities tried to encounter the narrow circumstances by obtaining spa town status in 1921, laying out a promenade and spa gardens, and the opening of the public lido with its prominent diving tower in 1931.
However, conditions worsened witheconomic sanctions applied by theGerman government on theFirst Austrian Republic from 1933. In addition, the political turmoil during the rise ofAustrofascism and the transition to theFederal State of Austria erupted in violent fights, when during the 1934July Putsch localNazis attacked the Millstatt police station. Tourism was definitely disrupted inWorld War II, while severalKinderlandverschickung camps were established, mainly for children fromBerlin.
After the war many villas were requisitioned by theBritish occupation forces. Nevertheless, in the 1950s and 60s, Millstatt became a popular destination ofWirtschaftswunder mass tourism, mainly fromWest Germany. The number of overnight stays in summer reached heady heights, largely affecting the biological diversity and ecology of the lake. The increasingeutrophication could be stemmed by sewage works, but also due to a declining number of guests, which has reached the climax around 1980. In recent years Millstatt has become the site of numerousvacation properties.
Seats in the municipal assembly (Gemeinderat) as of 2015 local elections:
Millstatt istwinned with:
Helgoland,Germany, since 1974Wendlingen, Germany, since 1992
San Daniele del Friuli,Italy, since 1993
Media related toMillstatt at Wikimedia Commons
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