page_title: Turracher Höhe Pass
section_title: The "divided" village
hierarchical_section_title: Turracher Höhe Pass / Geography / The "divided" village
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Turracherhöhe Ortsmitte; im Hintergrund Landesgrenze-Schild, rechts Landesfahnen Steiermark, Kärnten
context_page_description: Turracher Höhe, also called Turracherhöhe, refers to a village, a pass across the Alps, and a countryside in the Gurktal Alps in Austria. The village and the Turracher Lake at the pass, which both share the same name, are separated by the border of the two federal states of Styria and Carinthia. Because of its distance to early settlement areas and its high location, the region was not settled until relatively late. In the 17th century, mining was started below the Turracherhöhe. The opening up of the top of the pass by a paved road did not occur until later. During the 20th century, the region was gradually developed for tourism. Efforts are being made to maintain the
  diversity of flora and fauna of the Turracherhöhe by means of landscape conservation areas and careful and nature-oriented extension of the tourist facilities.
context_section_description: For a long time, there were only single farmsteads and accommodations for lumberjacks who chopped wood for the mines and smelting works in Turrach, as well as for the seasonal miners and stonemasons, on the Turracher Höhe. A compact settlement did not develop until tourism emerged in the second half of the 20th century.
  Today, the village on the pass summit has around 100 inhabitants, and there are more than 400 secondary residences. Like the Turracher Lake, it belongs partly to the Styrian municipality of Predlitz-Turrach and partly to the Carinthian municipality of Reichenau. The border of the federal states runs roughly through the middle of the village and the lake. The northern part, which belongs to Styria, has the postal code 8864, the southern part on Carinthian territory has the postal code 9565; on the other hand, the telephone area code is the same for the whole village (04275).
  Thus, there are formally two villages on Turracher Höhe, where the Styrian part belongs to the district of Turrach in the municipality of Predlitz-Turrach, and the village of Turracherhöhe (official spelling) on the Carinthian side is a district of the municipality of Reichenau. But no town signs were installed within the village; a town sign at the entrance of the village announces the Reichenau district of "Turracherhöhe" on the Carinthian side, and a sign bears the inscription "Fremdenverkehrsgebiet Turracher Höhe" (Tourist Region Turracher Höhe) at the entrance to the Styrian village. Those who are not aware of the division of the village due to administrative politics can only suspect that the border between the two states runs here because of the two state flags along the former federal road.
  In the wide saddle of the pass summit, where the road runs horizontally for two kilometres, there are two luxury hotels, a resort belonging to the German trade union IG Bau and over 30 small and medium-sized hotels and guest houses. There are many vacation houses in the southern and western stone pine forest, as well as the eastern side of the lake. However, these houses are predominantly concealed by trees or are situated in hollows, so they barely stand out from the natural surroundings.
  The facilities include a bank and some shops for athletic items and souvenirs. But there is no grocery store or gasoline station in Turracher Höhe, for example. For a long time, there was also no church or chapel. An ecumenical place of worship was not built until 1985, at the suggestion of the inhabitants. It is administered by the parish of Stadl an der Mur and is available for all Christian creeds.
caption: Turracherhöhe village centre. The state flags of Styria and Carinthia on the right
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