Bad Bleiberg

Not to be confused with Bleiburg.

Bad Bleiberg (Slovene: Plajberk pri Beljaku) is a market town in the Villach-Land District of Carinthia, Austria. Originally a mining area, especially for lead (German: Blei), Bad Bleiberg today due to its hot springs is a spa town. Bad Bleiberg is situated west of the district's capital Villach in a high valley on the northern slope of the Dobratsch massif, part of the Gailtal Alps mountain range. It consists of the Katastralgemeinden Bleiberg and Kreuth.

History

King Henry II of Germany granted the area around Villach to the newly created Diocese of Bamberg at the Frankfurt synod of 1 November 1007, together with other Carinthian estates like Griffen or the Canal Valley around Tarvisio. When under Emperor Frederick II Bamberg evolved to a Prince-Bishopric, the territories became ecclesiastical exclaves within the territory of the medieval Duchy of Carinthia. In 1759 the Bamberg estates were finally acquired by Empress Maria Theresa and incorporated into Habsburg Carinthia.

The mine was first mentioned as Pleyberg in a 1333 deed and operated by the Fugger family from the late 15th century onwards. Georgius Agricola described the mining and smelting of lead and zinc in his 1556 book De re metallica. Mining operations ceased in 1993 for economic reasons, today a toruist mine offers guided underground tours.

When in 1951 a hot spring had flooded an adit, a public bath was established and Bleiberg received the official Bad title of a spa town in 1978.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (Gemeinderat) as of 2009 elections:

• Independent List Bad Bleiberg (ULB): 9
• Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 6
• Freedom Party in Carinthia (FPK): 3
• The Greens – The Green Alternative: 1

Twin town

• Pradamano, Italy

Notable people

Oskar Potiorek (1853–1933), Austro-Hungarian army officer