Lesachtal

The Lesachtal valley is located in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is the uppermost part of the valley formed by the Gail River, and stretches from the border between East Tyrol and Carinthia to Kötschach-Mauthen (alt. 705 m).

In East Tyrol the valley dug by the Gail River is called the Tilliach valley. The Lesachtal valley borders the Lienzer Dolomite mountains and the Gailtal Alps to the north, and the Karnisch Alps to the south. Most settlements and paths are over 300 meters above the bottom of the valley.

The Lesachtal valley is located in the administrative district of Hermagor. The municipality of Lesachtal (area 19.62 km2, pop. 1,665) comprises the villages of Liesing, Maria Luggau, and Sankt Lorenzen im Lesachtal.

History

The Lesachtal was inhabited by Slaves in 600 A.D. It was one of the first Carinthian valleys to be germanised.

The Landgericht Lesach was conferred to Burg Pittersberg in 1380 and was since then only an office of this Herrschaft. It belonged to the Grafen von Görz-Tirol, and after their decease to the Landesfürsten and finally, together with Goldenstein, to the Grafschaft Ortenburg.

With the creation of the local communities (Ortsgemeinden) in 1850, the three communities Luggau, St. Lorenzen und Liesing were consituted. The subcommunities (Katastralgemeinden) Kornach and Strajach merged with the community of Mauthen, but obtained in 1882 independent status as the community of Unterlesach. Ten years later the two Katastralgemeinden Birnbaum and St. Jakob became independent local communities (Ortsgemeinden). With the Carinthian local government reform in 1973, the eastern community St. Jakob merged with Kötschach-Mauthen, while the four western communities were merged into the present community of Lesachtal.

During WW I the frontline between Austria-Hungary and Italy was located on the ridge of the Carinthian Alps. Many old positions and fortifications bear witness to the War in the mountains (see: Gebirgskrieg 1915–1918).