1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Carinthia

CARINTHIA (see 5.336), a territory of the Austrian Republic, is bounded N. by Styria and Salzburg, E. by Yugoslavia and Styria, S. by Italy and Yugoslavia and W. by Tirol.

Area and Population.—The total area of Carinthia before the World War was 4,005 sq. m., and the pop. (in 1910) 396,200 (99 per sq. mile). The terms of peace deprived Carinthia of Kanal-Thal together with Tarvis and the lead-mines of Raibl, which were given to Italy; the district of Seeland, S. of the Karawanken, abandoned by Austria; the valley of the Mies with the lead-mines of Mies and Schwarzenbach and the district surrounding the mouth of the Lavant, which was given to the Southern Slavs. The district of Tarvis had (1910) some 7,700 inhabitants, of whom 5,700 were Germans. The districts given to the Southern Slav state then had 17,500 inhabitants, of whom 3,200 were Germans.

It was arranged that the basin of Klagenfurt should decide its future allegiance by plebiscite. This plebiscite was taken in two distinct zones, the outer (Zone I. or A) of which reached nearly to Klagenfurt, the capital of the district, and comprised an area of 667 sq. m., with (1910) 72,138 inhabitants, of whom 31.5% were German; the inner (Zone II. or B) included a smaller portion of the district of Klagenfurt, and comprised an area of 132 sq. m., with (1910) 58,600 inhabitants, of whom 89.7% were German. The voting in Zone I. resulted, on Oct. 10 1920, in a choice of allegiance to Austria by 59.1% of the total votes; Zone II., therefore, went Austrian also.

In the Carinthia of to-day (apart from the two above-mentioned Zones) 94.8% were German in 1910. Most of the Slovene population is in Gail-Thai. As Zone I. was occupied by the Southern Slavs at the time of the Austrian census of 1920, the total number of the inhabitants of the Carinthia of to-day is unascertained. The portion under Austrian rule in 1920 (inclusive, therefore, of Zone II.) had 297,257 inhabitants (99 per sq. mile). In 1910 the pop. was 299,091 ; in Zone I. 72,138. Altogether, therefore, the present-day Carinthia had, on Dec. 31 1910, 371,229 inhabitants (101 per sq. mile). The population of the district which exercised the plebiscite was in 1910 93.3% Roman Catholic and 6.5% Evangelical. The proportion of males to females was as 1,000 to 992; in 1920, however, the proportion was as 1,000 to 1,067.

For administrative purposes Carinthia has been divided into seven districts and an autonomous city the capital, Klagenfurt (pop. 26,111 in 1920). Other important places are Villach (pop. 21,896); St. Veit, until 1518 the capital of Carinthia (pop. 5,927); Wolfsberg (pop. 5,808) ; Spittal (pop. 4,406) and Bleiberg (pop. 2,861). In the Electoral Zone I. are Vülkermarkt (pop. in 1910 2,631) and Oberferlach (pop. in 1910 3,194).

Agriculture.—Of the Carinthia of to-day (with the exception of the Electoral Zone I.) 8.69% of the soil was unproductive in 1900. Of the productive areas 15.6% consisted of arable, 0.4% gardens, 11% meadowland, 25.1% grazing land (mostly high-lying), 47.7% woodlands (mostly coniferous). Stock-raising is well developed, but suffered severely during the World War. In 1918 there were 164,309 head of cattle (of which 66,501 were milch cows) and 97,766 swine.

The Carinthian breeds of cattle (Lavanttaler and Mölltaler) and of horses are greatly prized. Bee culture, in conjunction with the cultivation of buckwheat, is actively pursued.

Minerals.—The mineral wealth is still noteworthy, notwithstanding the loss of important mining districts. The gold-mines of Tauern are not worked. Copper and antimony ores are being mined, but are not smelted locally. On the other hand, the output of lead (12,000 tons in 1915, or over 92% of the whole present output of Austria) and zinc (400 tons, or 54% of the whole output) ores is important in the Gail-Thaler Alps, especially in Bleiberg and Kreuth. Since the Raibl mines fell to Italy and those of Mies and Schwarzenbach to Yugoslavia, Bleiberg has regained its importance as the chief lead-mining centre in Austria. Consequently its products of lead and lead colours (white and red lead) are considerable.

The iron-mining industry, which was once widespread, is now active only at Hüttenberg, at the foot of the Saualpe. The ore raised (in 1915 98,000 tons, or 5% of the whole output of Austria) is carried away from Carinthia to be smelted elsewhere. Lignite (Braunkohle) is found in many parts of Carinthia, especially in Lavant-Thal ; the output of this, however, was in 1915 only 84,000 tons, or 3% of the whole Austrian output.

Manufactures.—Carinthia is richly endowed with water-power; but, in spite of that, its industries are inconsiderable. The most important are the manufacture of scythes (Himmelberg), the ironworks of Ferlach and Feistritz, the small-arms factory at Ferlach, all kinds of lead-ware, some paper and some woollen factories (Viktring) and machinery (Brückl). Klagenfurt and Wolfsberg are busy centres of the weaving industries and also of the manufacture of and trade in articles in products of wood notably cellulose, lignine and pasteboard.

Communications.—Since the opening of the Tauern and Kara- wanken lines, Villach has become an important railway centre, being at the intersection of the Salzburg-Trieste-Vienna-Venice and Marburg-Franzensfeste (Hungary-Tirol) railways.

See Norbert Krebs, Länderkunde der österreichischen Alpen (1913), “Das Klagenfurter Becken,” Geographische Zeitschrift (1909); Martin Wutte, Germans and Slovenes in Carinthia (1918), Das Kärntner Abstimmungsgebiet (1920); Franz Heritsch, “Die österreichischen und deutschen Alpen,” Handbuch der regionalen Geologie (vol. ii., part 5, 1915); Victor Conrad, Klimatographie von Kärnten (1913).