Carinthia

Carinthia is a federal state in southern Austria that stretches across the Eastern Alps and several valleys, encompassing numerous lakes such as Wörthersee and Millstätter See. The landscape is shaped by mountain ranges like the Karawanks along the Slovenian border and the Hohe Tauern to the north, with broad valleys and basins lying between them.

The area was a Celtic kingdom that became the Roman province of Noricum in 16 BCE and was later settled by Slavic tribes. The Duchy of Carinthia emerged in 976 as the first Imperial State following the German stem duchies and remained part of the Habsburg core lands for centuries.

The Prince's Stone near Karnburg recalls the medieval ducal installations where each new ruler answered questions from his subjects in both Slovene and German before taking office. This bilingual ceremony reflected the ethnic makeup of the population and shaped how the territory was governed for centuries.

The state is well connected by rail through Villach junction and by road through the Katschberg and Tauern tunnels that link the area with Salzburg and the rest of Austria. Most lakes lie in the southern part between Klagenfurt and the border mountains, while the northern regions are higher and steeper.

The Klagenfurt Basin contains several lakes whose water temperature reaches up to 28 degrees Celsius in summer, making them the warmest Alpine lakes in Europe. This exceptional warming occurs because of the sheltered location between the mountains and the relatively shallow depth of many of these bodies of water.