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Friesach (Slovenian: Breže) is a town in the district Sankt Veit an der Glan, Carinthia, Austria. It is known as the oldest town in Carinthia.

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Location 1.2 Municipal arrangement 2 History 3 Demographics 4 Objects of interest 5 Economy 6 Politics 6.1 Municipal Council 6.2 Twin cities 7 Famous inhabitants 8 External links

Friesach covers an area of 120.83 km² and its mean elevation is 631 meters above sea level. It is located in northern Carinthia near Styria, about 40 km north of Carinthia's capital, Klagenfurt.

Friesach is divided into the following boroughs: Friesach, St. Salvator and Zeltschach.

It is further divided into the districts of Dobritsch, Dobritsch, Dörfl, Engelsdorf, Friesach, Gaisberg, Grafendorf, Guldendorf, Gundersdorf, Gunzenberg, Gwerz, Harold, Hartmannsdorf, Hundsdorf, Ingolsthal, Judendorf, Kräuping, Leimersberg, Mayerhofen, Moserwinkl, Oberdorf I, Oberdorf II, Olsa, Pabenberg, Reisenberg, Roßbach, Sattelbogen, Schratzbach, Schwall, Silbermann, St. Johann, St. Salvator, St. Stefan, Staudachhof, Stegsdorf, Timrian, Wagendorf, Wels, Wiegen, Wiesen, Zeltschach, Zeltschachberg, Zienitzen, Zmuck.

This town was first mentioned in an 860 document when the land around the fortress of Petersberg was donated by "Ludwig the German".

During the Middle Ages, it was a principal market town and commercial center due to an important trade route that ran from Vienna to Venice that ran through here. The town flourished when Archbishop Eberhard II made it the second largest city in the Archdiocese of Salzburg and the most important town in Carinthia. At a time it even minted its own currency called the Frizatik.

As of the 2001 census, Friesach has 5,335 inhabitants. Of that, 89.8% are Roman Catholic, 2.6% are Evangelist and 1.5% are Muslims. 4.8% of the population is non-religious.

• Church of St. Peter
• Church of St. Blaise
• Dominikanerkloster

Friesach has several small to medium-sized industries, including metalworking and textilemaking. Like most of Austria, tourism is popular.

Friesach's local council consists of 23 members of the following parties:

• 13 SPÖ
• 4 FPÖ
• 6 LSM

The mayor is Maximilian Koschitz, part of the SPÖ party.

• Cormons, Italy
• Bad Griesbach, Germany

• Gerda Hofstatter (1971-), professional billiards player

• Official site (in German)
• Walled Towns Friendship Circle
• Sightseeing Information on Friesach in English

Coordinates: 46°57′N, 14°24′E