Reichenau (Kärnten)

Reichenau is a municipality in the district of Feldkirchen in the Austrian state of Carinthia.HistoryThe remote and densely forested area of the upper Gurk Valley was settled by Celtic colonists when the region was part of the Noricum kingdom, which in 15 BC was incorporated as a province of the Roman Empire. From about 590 Alpine Slavs immigrated into the lower parts of the valley, followed by Bavarian settlers in the 10th century.In the High Middle Ages, when the area was part of the Duchy of Carinthia, the valley belonged to the estates of Millstatt Abbey. From about 1300 the Benedictine monks had large parts of the woodland cleared. The village of Reichenau (possibliy derived from Rauch, "smoke" referring to slash-and-burn agriculture) was first mentioned in a 1332 deed. A chapel in the neighbouring village of Sankt Lorenzen at a height of 1477m (today the highest situated parish church in Carinthia) was already documented in 1216.A Protestant prayer house in Wiedweg was first mentioned in 1787. About 16% of the local population confess to the Protestant Church.PoliticsSeats in the municipal assembly as of 2009 elections: Freedom Party of Austria : 9Social Democratic Party of Austria : 7Austrian People's Party : 3