Bad_Kleinkirchheim

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Bad Kleinkirchheim

Bad Kleinkirchheim is a municipality in the District Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia / Austria.

Geography

Location

Bad Kleinkirchheim's average height is 1,087 meters above sea level and covers 74.01 square kilometers. It lies between Millstätter See and the Gurk valley. It is surrounded by several mountains, for it is located in a valley. 35% of the surface is alpine grassland, 28% forest, approximately 9.6% meadows and fields as well as 1.3% pastures; only 0.1% are small brooks and moorland surfaces.

Municipal arrangement

Bad Kleinkirchheim is divided into 3 Katastralgemeinden: Kleinkirchheim, Sankt Oswald, and Zirkitzen. It can be further divided into nine Ortschaften:

Kleinkirchheim	Sankt Oswald	Zirkitzen
Aigen (population: 57)	Sankt Oswald (168)	Rottenstein (99)
Bach (302)	Staudach (167)	Zirkitzen (418)
Kleinkirchheim (357)
Obertschern (127)
Unterschern (168)

History

The settlement apparently didn't exist before Roman times. A minister was mentioned named Pabo in a document dated 5 July 1166, in which archbishop Konrad II of Salzburg confirms the donation of a chapel in the area. This is considered the first mention of Bad Kleinkirchheim.

In September 1473 the Turks broke into the region, robbing the town and plundering the valleys. On 25 June 1478 a group of about 600 farmers tried unsuccessfully to drive out their leaders. By 1480 the Turks had left, possibly as a result of an invasion of Hungarians.

During the Reformation, many farmers in the area became Lutheran, however by the late 16th century freedom of religion had been bestowed on the residents. But when Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor rose to power, he made Roman Catholicism the official religion. However, Protestants still managed to smuggle books and hold secret meetings, and in 1781 a Protestant or Jew would have nearly all the rights of a Catholic.

Bad Kleinkirchheim was shortly ruled by France during the Napoleonic Wars. The Revolution of 1848 also affected the area, as farmers (which then made up most of the town's population) got more rights.

Finally, in 1973, Bad Kleinkirchheim officially had the "Bad" (bath, spa) attached to its name, Kleinkirchheim, a reference to the popular hot spring.

Demographics

Bad Kleinkirchheim officially has a population of 1,863 people, as of the census of 2001. Following is a list of the population increase since 1869:

Year	Inhabitants
1869	915
1880	968
1890	970
1900	968
1910	1,062
1923	944
1934	1,055
1939	1,043
1951	1,268
1961	1,352
1971	1,731
1981	1,783
1991	1,889
2001	1,863

Bad Kleinkirchheim has a population density of 25 people per square kilometer, which is thinly settled compared to Carinthia being 59 and Austria as a whole being 98. The decrease in population between 1910 and 1923 was caused by World War I, and the rise between 1951 and 1971 was due to an increase in tourism.

93.4% of the inhabitants of Bad Kleinkirchheim are Austrian by nationality. The largest portion of the foreign population comes from South-East Europe (Yugoslavia 1.7%, Croatia 1.0%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.5%) as well as from Germany (1.4 %). 95.2% of the population speak German, 1.8% Serbian and 1.0% Croatian. 62.3% of the population admit themselves to Roman Catholicism, 30.8% are Protestants and 2.0% Orthodox, 0.8% are Muslims, 3.5% are without religious confession.

Buildings

This town is most famous for its church, built circa 1492. There are also a lot of farms and mills.

Sports

Overal, this town is known for ski resorts, offering a skiable field of 185 km, plus 16 km for the ski touring. The Alpine Skiing World Cup is also held here often. Its own ski club, the Ski Club Kleinkirchheim, was established in 1947 and has about 2,000 members, a population larger than the town itself.

Besides skiing, other less popular sports include football, golf, and tennis. The town also has a chess club.

Politics

The Mayor of the town is Matthias Krenn (FPÖ). The local council consists of 15 members. Of those members, 7 are FPÖ, 4 SPÖ, 3 ÖVP, and the last is independent.