Irschen

Irschen

Coat of arms
Irschen

Location within Austria

Coordinates: 46°45′N 13°1′E / 46.750°N 13.017°E / 46.750; 13.017Coordinates: 46°45′N 13°1′E / 46.750°N 13.017°E / 46.750; 13.017
Country Austria
State Carinthia
District Spittal an der Drau
Government
  Mayor Gottfried Mandler
Area
  Total 33.35 km2 (12.88 sq mi)
Elevation 809 m (2,654 ft)
Population (1 January 2014)[1]
  Total 1,990
  Density 60/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 9773
Area code 04710
Website www.irschen.at

Irschen is a municipality in the district of Spittal an der Drau in the Austrian state of Carinthia.

Geography

It consists of the Katastralgemeinden Irschen, Ritterdorf, and Simmerlach. It is situated on the northern slope of the Upper Drava Valley, near the B 100 Drautal Straße highway and the Drautalbahn railway line.

History

A settlement area since the Early Iron Age (Hallstatt Culture), Irschen may be identical to the Idunum polis in the former Celtic kingdom of Noricum, as mentioned in Ptolemy's Geographia. In Roman times a mansio laid on the road leading over the Gailbergsattel mountain pass to Italia. Ursus I, Patriarch of Aquileia probably built a first church about 810 in the place then called Ursen, which was mentioned as Castrum Ursen in a 1086 deed. In medieval times Irschen was a mining area, especially for gold.

It was recently revealed that English actress Billie Piper has a home in this region.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Irschen.
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