Villach

Villach stands on the Drava in Carinthia, near Alpine routes leading toward Italy. It belonged to the bishops of Bamberg from 1007 until 1759, even as the surrounding duchy passed to the Habsburgs. The settlement gained market rights in 1060 and was recorded as a town by about 1240. Earthquakes in 1348 and 1690 caused severe damage. In the sixteenth century Villach became a centre of Protestantism in Carinthia; during the Counter-Reformation around 1600, many Protestant residents left, contributing to a temporary economic decline. In 1759 Maria Theresa purchased the Bamberg possessions in Carinthia, bringing Villach under Habsburg rule. French forces later occupied it during the Napoleonic Wars, until Austria recovered it in 1813.