Feld am See
Feld am See () is a municipality in the district of Villach-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography. It is located in the Gegend valley of the Nock Mountains range at the shore of the Brennsee (or "Feldsee"), between the Mirnock massif in the southwest (el. ) and Wöllaner Nock () in the northeast. The municipal area consists of one cadastral community, Rauth, also the oldest settlement in the area. Population. The census in 2001 counted 1,188 inhabitants. 66.0% are Protestants (whole Carinthia: 10.3%), 27.5% are Roman Catholics, 0.8% are Muslims and 5.1% belong to other denominations. History . The hidden "Gegend" was not populated until the High Middle Ages, when about 1300 its sunny northern side was stubbed and the name of the valley was first mentioned in a 1308 deed. While large estates were held by the Carinthian Counts of Ortenburg, the village called "Rauth" (from , root out) was the most important settlement in the whole area for a long time. The settlement of Feld am See itself arose with the construction of a Protestant parish church in 1787. The remote Gegend valley had long been a centre of Crypto-protestantism, until the 1781 Patent of Toleration  issued by Emperor Joseph II ended the Counter-Reformation persecutions. The lake called Brennsee was named after a local tavern and distillery ("Brenn") which was founded in 1632. The present-day municipality was established in 1850; an elementary school was founded one year later. In the late 19th century summer tourism around the lake started. Between 1973 and 1991 Feld am See and neighbouring Afritz am See were united to a single municipality. Politics. Seats in the municipal council ("Gemeinderat") as of 2015 local elections: Twin towns — sister cities. Feld am See is twinned with: Cultural Activities and Associations. Several  associations exist in Feld am See. Sights. Main sights are: Places to visit: