Fresach

Geschichte

Fresach is a municipality in Villach-Land District, in the Austrian state of Carinthia.GeographyThe municipal area lies within the Nock Mountains (Mirnock massif) north of the Drava Valley. In the southwest, the Drava River forms the boundary with the market town of Paternion. It comprises the cadastral communities of Fresach, Moosach and Tragenwinkl. Fresach has achieved the status of a Luftkurort (air spa).About two-thirds of the local population profess Protestantism. A former prayer house erected in 1784 and preserved in its original condition is today the seat of a museum of the Lutheran diocese in Carinthia.HistoryArchaeological artifacts indicate a permanent settlement of the area since the Bronze Age. The Mirnock slopes were colonized by Alpine Slavs about 590, followed by Bavarian settlers in the 8th century. Part of the Imperial Duchy of Carinthia from 976, the estates were held by the local Counts of Ortenburg. A first Catholic church was erected in the 12th century, rebuilt after an Ottoman raid in 1478. The present-day Late Gothic building was finished in 1523.